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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 June 2000 Issue No. 487 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 June 2000 Issue No. 487
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Focus Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Crash scenarios continue to clash
By Thomas GorguissianWithin a few weeks, the data collected and submitted by Egyptians and Americans investigating the 31 October crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 is expected to be made public. On Saturday, Aviation Week magazine cast doubt on the co-pilot suicide theory, presenting another explanation: a mechanical failure took place in the elevator actuator system of the Boeing 767-300.
A four-page letter dated 4 June was sent to Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) Administrator Jane Garvey by the chairman of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority, Abdel-Fattah Kato, suggesting the efficacy of this particular theory and asking for a further investigation.
In the magazine and on its web-site, staffer Sean Broderick said initial analysis of the flight data recorder (FDR) showed that after about 20 seconds into the dive a "split" took place in the Boeing 767-300 elevators, meaning they were being moved in opposite directions. The elevator, as described technically, "is a pair of small wing-like surfaces at the tail of the plane which control the up-or-down angle of the nose."
The split was said to have indicated a possible struggle between co-pilot Gameel El-Batouti and Captain Ahmed El-Habashi for control of the plane. But further analysis of the FDR and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), as Broderick wrote, revealed details that do not mesh with the suicide theory. He said split-elevator readings occurred when the plane was travelling "well beyond the aircraft's designed maximum operating speed, possibly close enough to the speed of sound, creating a physical anomaly." That speed, according to sources, "could cause the elevators to split without any input from the cockpit."
The author also included comments by experts that FDRs "are not designed to collect data at such speeds, meaning any readings during that part of Flight 990's descent could be unreliable."
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is leading the investigation into the crash, has not yet reached any official conclusion about its cause. NTSB Chairman Jim Hall testified on 11 April before Congress that, while the cause remains undetermined, the movements of the plane were "consistent with a deliberate action on the part of one of the crew members."
In previous statements, Hall had excluded both mechanical failure and weather conditions. NTSB officials declined to comment on the Aviation Week report.
The Washington Post has published details of what was described as "new scenarios," offered by senior Egyptian authorities at a meeting on 28 April with American safety officials. It said, "The Egyptians are upset at what they see as the failure of US authorities to consider all the evidence in the crash."
Perhaps the main point suggested by the Egyptian authorities, and reported by the Washington Post, was that "there is no evidence that El-Batouti committed suicide. El-Batouti was in good spirits before the flight, even offering Viagra pills to a friend, part of the stock he was taking back to friends in Egypt."
If El-Batouti did initiate the dive, he may have been responding to a sudden mechanical problem or to something he -- and possibly another crew member -- saw in the cockpit or outside, the Egyptians reasoned. There are indications that as the plane dived, there was coordination between two or three crew members working to prevent it from crashing.
"The Boeing 767 has experienced problems with elevator controls and the safety board should consider whether the dive was initiated by an uncommanded downward deflection of the elevators, flat panels on the horizontal tail section that control the aircraft's up and down movements," the Post quoted the Egyptians as saying.
According to the Post, it is clear from responses given by US officials to the Egyptian arguments that a significant gap remains on the cause or causes of the crash. And that what was once called "clashes of culture or perceptions" is still alive and kicking.
Recently The New York Times reported that "American investigators are wrapping up their investigation and may approve their conclusions without a public hearing," adding that "this unusual approach is meant to avoid further damage to relations with Egypt, which have been strained by the inquiry."
Officials on both sides are refusing to comment on the ongoing investigation. A week ago, Al-Ahram Weekly asked FAA Administrator Garvey whether the probe had become a political issue more than a technical one. "I think their [NTSB people's] commitment to getting to the cause of the accident, I think their commitment to finding out what occurred is very, very strong," Garvey said. "And even if there are political factors, I think they will be driven by doing the right thing. I'm quite convinced about that."
In a letter sent last week by Egypt's Ambassador to the US Nabil Fahmi to Frank Wolfe, chairman of the House transportation subcommittee, Egypt said it would give $10.6 million, $5 million immediately and the rest "expeditiously," to help with the cost of the US-led investigation into the crash. Reports said the investigation had so far cost around $14 million and may hit $17 million by the time the file is closed.
