NTSB: EgyptAir Copilot At Fault

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 hinged on the actions of its copilot, who cut power to the engines and sent the plane downward to the sea.

The board said there was no evidence of any mechanical problems with the Boeing 767, which plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the Massachusetts island of Nantucket in October 1999. The crash killed 217 people.

In its report, the board did not offer a reason for the copilot's actions. There has been speculation that he committed suicide.

The safety board said the copilot, Gameel El-Batouty, was alone in the cockpit when he disconnected the autopilot, reduced power to the engines, and sent the plane downward.

"There was no evidence of any airplane system malfunction, conflicting air traffic, or other event that would have prompted these actions," the report said.

The report also said the copilot repeated the phrase, "I rely on God," for almost a minute and a half in a calm manner. This, the report said, "is not consistent with the reaction that would be expected from a pilot who is encountering an unexpected or uncommanded flight condition."

EgyptAir officials have suggested the crash may have been caused by a problem in the tail. In November 2000 and March 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered inspections of the Boeing 767's elevator — flaps on the tail that bend down or up to lift the plane's nose.

The safety board said there was no attempt by the copilot to try to stop the plane from heading toward the ocean.

The board did not offer a reason for the copilot's actions, though it considered possible scenarios.

The Los Angeles Times has reported El-Batouty might have been taking revenge against an EgyptAir executive who was on the flight.

El-Batouty took the controls of the plane shortly after it took off from New York's Kennedy Airport, a stopover on its Los Angeles to Cairo run.

Over the ocean, the plane began to plummet. A safety board transcript of the cockpit voice recorder showed the pilot, Mahmoud el-Habashy, crying, "Pull! Pull with me! Pull with me! Pull with me!" as he tried to bring the plane out of its fatal dive.

The board said the copilot continued to keep the plane heading downward, and then shut off the engines.

"The captain's actions were consistent with an attempt to recover the accident airplane and the relief first officer's were not," the report said.