WASHINGTON (APBnews.com) -- A government file released today on
the crash of Egypt Air 990 leads to only one conclusion -- that the plane was
deliberately splashed into the sea by a co-pilot, according to law enforcement
sources close to the investigation.
The National Transportation Safety Board's decision to release the file now, say the sources, is an attempt to
build public support for the board's conclusion.
"The files help get the public on their side ahead of the time they announce that he brought down that airplane,"
said Vernon Grose, a security consultant who served on the NTSB during the Reagan Administration.
The 1,665-page file contains factual reports from the various investigative teams probing the cause of the 1999
crash off the coast of Nantucket, Mass., which killed 217 people, including 100 Americans.
'No other conclusion'
"Only factual information is being released," said NTSB chairman Jim Hall. "There is no NTSB analysis as to
the cause of the crash which is being developed and will be released in the future in a final report."
But law enforcement officials familiar with the FBI's criminal probe of the crash told APBnews.com that officials
concluded long ago that co-pilot Gameel el-Batouty was responsible for the tragedy.
"The process of elimination leads to no other conclusion," said the source, who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
While Hall condemned leaks of information regarding FBI interviews suggesting Batouty may have engaged in
behavior that led up to the crash, those allegations -- which have been vigorously denied by Batouty's family --
appear now to be bolstered by the absence in the files of any specific flight system troubles.
What is known is that Batouty was alone at the controls when the Boeing 767's autopilot was turned off and the
plane began a steep dive toward the sea.
Safety issues eliminated
The facts appear to have eliminated most, if not all, of the safety issues and with the review of the plane's
mechanical systems now essentially closed, it shifts the focus of the case to human action.
Egypt Air officials continue to press for further safety reviews, today calling for additional examinations of the
plane's elevator control system and radar information.
The unusual release of an interim report and absence of a public hearing are strong indications the NTSB has
already drawn its conclusions, said Grose, now chairman of Virginia-based Omega Systems.
He said the powerful political controversy over whether the crash was intentional has forced the NTSB to make
public the facts in the hope of avoiding an explosive reaction to the conclusions.
Lawsuits expected
U.S. officials have been frustrated by the diplomatic tensions with Egyptian officials, who have been reluctant to
accept the findings, said the law enforcement source.
So, the source said, U.S. officials have been "dribbling out news that is unpalatable to the Egyptian government
to make it a little more palatable to them" when the final conclusion is reached.
The release of the final report is complicated by the fresh wave of lawsuits it will undoubtedly touch off and the
extensive new inquiry into pilot safety, experts said.
"The NTSB wants to establish what caused the crash and what should be done in the future," said Grose. "But
the lawyers are sitting in the wings. If [Batouty] did it, all the lawsuits go to his side."
'We know enough'
The next question, he said, is how the NTSB will respond to the conclusions. "What are they going to do to
prevent another crash like this? Look at crew behavior, the screening of pilots."
Grose said the NTSB would have held a hearing to question more witnesses and bring out additional facts if
any questions about the cause of the crash remained. "You had it with TWA 800 and you had it with ValueJet,"
he said. "This says they are saying, 'We know enough."
"This public document is a tease," said Grose. "They want the public to draw its own conclusion so they laid it
all out for them."
11/11/99