EgyptAir investigators focus on co-pilot

As Egyptian officials won time to send their own experts to review the cockpit voice recorder tape, a federal law enforcement official and other sources close to the investigation described the evidence yesterday that led the United States to the verge of putting the FBI in charge of the inquiry as a potential criminal matter.

The current theory of the fate of EgyptAir 990, the Boeing 767 that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off Massachusetts killing 217 people, is both tentative and incomplete, the law enforcement official stressed. Further electronic enhancement of the tape recording and input from the Egyptian experts could alter the sketchy understanding of what went on.

With no sign of any mechanical malfunction or explosion, investigators have been drawn to actions of the crew as captured on the cockpit voice recorder and synchronized with the plane's movements preserved in the flight data recorder.

The law enforcement official, commenting only on condition of anonymity, and other sources close to the case gave this account what those recorders show:

Relief co-pilot Capt. Gameel el-Batouty, scheduled to take over much later in the 11-hour New York-to-Cairo flight, enters the cockpit and asks to fly. His request is accepted.

The cockpit door is opened later, after which there is no conversation, leading investigators to conclude el-Batouty is alone.

He says in Arabic: "I made my decision now. I put my faith in God's hands."

Shortly thereafter, the autopilot is turned off and the jet begins to descend steeply from 33,000 feet.

The cockpit door opens again. Investigators believe the pilot, Capt. Ahmed Mahmoud el-Habashy, has returned because he is heard to ask what's going on. They believe he tries to regain control because he is heard to say, "Pull with me. Help me. Pull with me." There is no sound of struggle, but some investigators believe that phrase is said in an argumentative tone.

At about this time, there is an unusual split in the plane's elevators: One moves up and the other down. These flaps on either side of the tail usually move up or down in unison to lower or raise the plane's nose.

Boeing has told investigators crew members must apply 50 pounds of pressure in opposite directions on the pilot's and co-pilot's control yokes to achieve this split outcome. Investigators surmise this may be evidence of a struggle between two crew members over how to respond to the steep dive.

Also 35 seconds after the autopilot was turned off, the jet's two engines were turned off, the NTSB said Wednesday. And, in the last few seconds of flight data, the aircraft's speed brake was deployed. The plane then regains some altitude, stalls and drops into the sea 50 seconds after the autopilot was turned off.

Shortly thereafter the jet's two engines are shut off. The plane regains some altitude, stalls and drops into the sea.

In Egypt, relatives angrily rejected any notion el-Batouty planned to commit suicide, described him as a loving father of five and denied the family had financial problems. Family members said el-Batouty had just bought two automobile tires in the United States for his son's car and they believed the tires were on Flight 990.

Married for 27 years, el-Batouty joined EgyptAir in 1987 after training pilots at Egypt's Civil Aviation Authority and the air force. The 59-year-old aviator had more than 5,000 flight hours in a Boeing 767 and was to have retired in March.

11-18-99