DATE=8/11/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=EGYPT AIR INVESTIGATION (L)
NUMBER=2-265371
BYLINE=NICK SIMEONE
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Nearly a year after the crash of an Egyptian
airliner off the coast of Massachusetts, U-S air
safety investigators say they still have not
determined what caused the jet to plunge into the
Atlantic, killing all 217 people on board. But
Correspondent Nick Simeone reports some 16-hundred
pages of documents about the investigation released
Friday show no evidence of mechanical failure.
TEXT: The National Transportation Safety Board is
still not ready to conclude what brought down EgyptAir
flight nine-90 last October 31st. But the release of
much of the investigation's findings does not seem to
contradict early suggestions that a member of Egyptian
cockpit crew may have deliberately caused the crash.
Alone in the cockpit, a relief co-pilot can be heard
on the plane's voice recorder repeating in Arabic, "I
rely on God", "I rely on God." A second pilot then
returns to find the plane in a nosedive. He is heard
on the tape saying, "What's happening? What's
happening?" Then, the tape records both pilots
seemingly struggling to right the plane, with the
second pilot asking the first, "Did you shut the
engines?" and "Pull with me", an apparent and
ultimately futile attempt to pull the plane out of its
steep dive into the cold waters of the Atlantic.
On Friday, N-T-S-B Chairman Jim Hall told reporters U-
S air safety investigators have come up with nothing
to support Egypt's claim that the plane must have had
a mechanical problem.
/// HALL ACT ///
the Egyptian authorities have reviewed all the
material contained in the docket. Where they
have disagreements, they have been given the
opportunity to submit those disagreements in
writing.
/// END ACT ///
Chairman Hall says he stands by statements he made in
the days following the crash, that the plane may have
been taken down by the deliberate action of a
crewmember. But the leader of the Egyptian
investigating team, Mohsen El Missiry, rejects any
suggestion that an Egyptair pilot may be responsible,
saying more investigation needs to be done into
possible mechanical failure.
/// EL MISSIRY ACT ///
This is painful for the families and harmful to
the integrity of the investigation, which has
not reached any conclusion. Egypt will continue
to pursue the truth behind this tragedy.
/// END ACT ///
The investigation has strained U-S - Egyptian
relations and has already cost an estimated 17-million
dollars. A final conclusion into what brought the
plane down could still be months away. (SIGNED)
NEB/NJS/JP
11-Aug-2000 16:51 PM LOC (11-Aug-2000 2051 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
