EgyptAir 990 Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript

— -- EgyptAir strongly disputes the theory that copilot Gamil El Batouty may have deliberately plunged Flight 990 into the sea, which several U.S. investigators suspect may be the cause of the crash. Instead, EgyptAir asserts that there are problems with crucial components of the Boeing 767, and it has hired prominent U.S. aviation experts to argue that theory. Following is EgyptAir’s statement in response to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board’s release of its factual findings to date — findings which draw no conclusion, but which also find no evidence of mechanical failure.

“NTSB DOCKET INDICATES MECHANICAL FAILUREMAY HAVE CAUSED EGYPTAIR FLIGHT 990 ACCIDENT”

Facts Don’t Support So-Called “Deliberate Act,”Say Egyptian Investigators and U.S. Aviation Experts

The EgyptAir Flight 990 accident may havebeen caused by malfunctions of critical components of the aircraft’selevator control system, precipitating the plane’s crash into the AtlanticOcean off Nantucket on October 31, 1999, Egyptian investigators and U.S.aviation experts said today.

Although the NTSB investigation has not been completed, release of the NTSB“docket” today provided the public with the first official glimpse of“factual information.”

“There is nothing on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) or the flight datarecorder (FDR) to indicate that Flight 990 was intentionally crashed intothe ocean,” said Captain Shaker Kelada, Vice President of Safety forEgyptAir, who headed the EgyptAir investigative team working side-by-sidewith the NTSB.

“In fact, the docket indicates that the aircraft recovered from a sharpdescent during the final moments of the flight, indicative of the crew’sattempt to save the aircraft,” said Carl Vogt, former chairman of the NTSBwho is assisting members of the investigative team.

Initial speculation for the cause of the crash was based on theerroneous translation of an Arabic phrase spoken by the relief first officerin the final seconds of the flight. In addition, detailed analysis of the flight data recorder andsubsequent Boeing 767 simulator tests failed to provide credible evidencesupporting the early suspicion that the so-called “split elevators” resultedfrom any fight in the cockpit for control of the aircraft.

Metallurgical analysis of the Flight 990 wreckage showed that the rivets ontwo of the three bell cranks in the right elevator were sheared in adirection that would force the elevator down. The rivets on the remainingbell crank on the right elevator were sheared in the opposite direction.“This pattern of sheared bell crank rivets is consistent with the possiblefailure or jam of two power control units that would cause the airplane topitch down,” added Kelada.