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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 August 2000 Issue No. 495 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 August 2000 Issue No. 495
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A non-American cause
By Amira Ibrahim
EGYPTIAN pilots and families of crew members of EgyptAir Flight 990 reacted angrily to the release of the NTSB report which left the cause of the crash unresolved. They were even further outraged by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) leaks to the American press which accused co-pilot Gamil El-Batouti of involvement in indecent activities.
"The persistent media focus on the character of uncle Batouti only shows that the American investigators are bankrupt," the co-pilot's nephew, Walid El-Batouti, told Al-Ahram Weekly.
"This is the first aviation accident in the world where the cause was said to have been specified within 48 hours after the crash," he stated. "They first accused Captain Ahmed El-Habashi, the flight captain, of being the suicidal pilot. Then it was my uncle. They said he recited Islamic verses from the Qur'an and thus he was a fundamentalist. Then they said he was depressed as he was about to retire. Now they say he was a man going after teenagers. What else will they hang on El-Batouti?" asked Walid El-Batouti.
He added, "It is obvious that the NTSB investigators are determined to find a non-American cause on which to blame the crash. The Boeing is an American-manufactured plane. It took off from an American airport, it was flying under American radar control and it crashed near the American coast. The only non-American factor in the whole story are the pilots."
At a press conference on Tuesday, Walid El-Batouti, a lawyer, said that his family is considering filing a lawsuit against American newspapers and TV stations, which published or broadcast allegations about his uncle.
On the other hand, the Egyptian Pilots Association is considering filing a lawsuit against USA Today to prevent the publication of reports which "distort the facts and reputations of Egyptian pilots." "Sexual harassment is familiar in the higher classes of American society, not Egyptian. But, in their rush to judge, they cannot understand the cultural differences between the two societies," Walid Murad, head of the Association, told the Weekly. "It is my duty as an Egyptian to defend El-Batouti and to defend the reputation of Egyptian pilots, and I will do that to the very end," added Murad.
An EgyptAir official said Egyptian investigators had attached to the investigation dossier a report by a US psychiatrist on co-pilot Gamil El-Batouti's state of mind.
The psychiatrist based his analysis on El-Batouti's recorded words during the plane's plunge, the official said. The psychiatrist's report confirmed that El-Batouti's tone, language and behaviour did not constitute those of a person on the verge of suicide.
Murad said the NTSB should turn its inquiry over to a third party unless it releases key evidence. "We want the release of radar images and to question an air traffic controller on duty at the time of the 31 October crash," he said.
US investigators denied access to the radar images on the pretext that they contained military secrets. "This is a weak excuse," he said.
Murad also asked that two pilots from Germany and Jordan, who were said to have seen a shooting fireball while flying in the same area where Flight 990 went down, be questioned.
"Furthermore, Egypt should receive the plane's wreckage and the two black boxes to re-examine them," added Murad.
He indicated that by concealing evidence and leaking reports, the US investigations risked losing credibility.
"If US authorities reject the Egyptian demands, it is necessary that the investigation dossier be withdrawn from the NTSB and given to a neutral party to reopen the inquiry," he said.
Speaking to the Weekly, Injy, daughter of Captain Ahmed El-Habashi, said that the conclusions of the report did not come as a surprise.
"We knew they would revert to the suicide theory. The NTSB files lead to only one conclusion, that the plane was deliberately crashed into the sea by the co-pilot," stated El-Habashi.
"Releasing the report without specifying the cause of the crash is an attempt to build up public support for the NTSB's conclusion, ahead of the announcement that the co-pilot brought down that airplane," she added.
Relatives of crew members have sued the Boeing Company and other companies on the grounds that the crash was caused by flaws in the aircraft.
Related stories:
Finding the 'truth' of Flight 990
Boeing coverup? 29 June - 5 July 2000
Tail unit scenario gains credence 2 - 8 December 1999
Was it sabotage? 25 Nov. - 1 Dec. 1999
Public outrage over suicide leak 25 Nov. - 1 Dec. 1999
'We need to know' 4 - 10 November 1999
Unravelling the tragedy 4 - 10 November 1999Related sites:
The National Transportation Safety Board
Egypt Air
