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http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/world/dailynews/egyptair991130.htmlhttp://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/world/dailynews/egyptair991130.html
A Different Interpretation
Magazine: Pilots Worked Together
to Try to Save EgyptAir Plane
U.S. media have reported that the investigation into the EgyptAir Flight 990 crash has centered on relief co-pilot Gameel el-Batouty. But an Egyptian magazine is reporting an entirely different scenario. (AP Photo)
By Hoda Abdel-Hamid
ABCNEWS.com
C A I R O, Egypt, Nov. 30 — An article in an Egyptian government-run magazine that gives a very different interpretation of the final moments of EgyptAir Flight 990 than has appeared in U.S. news media has become a hot topic among many Egyptian citizens.
The well-regarded and generally trusted weekly Rose el Yousef, Egypt’s most-read magazine, gives a much more benign version of what happened in the cockpit leading up to the flight’s final moments than what has appeared previously.
The flight crashed Oct. 31 in the waters off the island of Nantucket, Mass., killing all 217 people aboard.
The magazine, in its latest edition, says that the cockpit voice data recorder shows none of the apparent struggle between pilots that has been reported, and says the captain never left the cockpit.
Sources have told ABCNEWS that the relief co-pilot, Gameel El-Batouty, appeared to take control of the aircraft after it reached cruising altitude, and that the captain then left the cockpit.
Batouty, the sources said, spoke a few words that appear to be a common Muslim religious phrase, and the autopilot was disconnected. The plane then started plunging, and the captain, Ahmed Mahmoud el-Habashy, appeared to return to the cockpit.
Batouty, the sources said, may have purposely steered the jet toward the water.
The reconstructions are based on analysis of the voice recorder, cross-referenced with the flight data recorder, radar and other information, the sources said.
‘Help Me, Batouty’
The magazine reports that the first thing heard on the tape is a three-way conversation among the pilot, Habashy, co-pilot Adel Anwar and Batouty. Habashy and Batouty were teasing Anwar about his upcoming wedding, jokingly advising him to reconsider his decision before the big day.
Habashy is heard throughout the conversation and is in the cockpit when the plane starts to nosedive, the magazine says.
The door of the cockpit is heard slamming because it was open, the magazine says, and is slammed shut by gravity as the plane plunges — not because Habashy comes back to the cockpit, according to the magazine.
Habashy is then heard saying: “What is happening? What is this? … Help me, Batouty. Pull, pull!”
Sources have told ABCNEWS that the plane’s tail elevator flaps were pointed in opposing directions — one to send the plane’s nose up, one to send it down. Those fins are controlled by the pilot and co-pilot’s steering mechanism and could indicate that the pilot and co-pilot were working at cross-purposes.
The magazine says that there are only two explanations for the crash: Either the elevator flaps malfunctioned, or there was a problem with the thrust reverser, which is a brake used to stop the plane once it lands.
A Prayer of Distress
It says that for the remaining 30 seconds of the tape, passengers are heard screaming and calling on God. One person is heard screaming more than the others, apparently a female flight attendant in the area near the cockpit, the magazine says.
Then Batouty is heard saying in a worried tone: “Allahoma, Fawadt Amri ellaika ya rab,” which can be translated as “God almighty, I delegate my destiny to you.” The phrase, generally said when someone is facing death and knows he is powerless, signifies that only God can help.
Today in Cairo, people in the street, at coffee houses, and at work were asking each other if they had read the article, and also seemed convinced that it was not the co-pilot who had brought the plane down, but rather some sort of mechanical malfunction.
Egyptian television and radio, which have generally been downplaying news of the tragedy, were silent about the magazine article and other assertions surrounding the case.
Hoda Abdel-Hamid is a producer for ABCNEWS based in Egypt.
No Investigation Here, Please
EgyptAir has not allowed U.S. investigators, including a psychologist, to interview relatives of the two pilots and two co-pilots aboard Flight 990.
“EgyptAir was not the right channel to go through to make this request,” airline Chairman Mohamed Fahim al-Rayan told reporters, adding that the request should be made through diplomatic channels.
The team that traveled to Cairo was reported to include experts from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, two FBI agents and a psychologist.
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