The NTSB is working to analyze information on the flight data recorder recovered from the wreckage of Flight 990, which may explain why the plane crashed

In this story: Final seconds of tape being analyzed Weather hampers search of 2nd black box 1920 law may hamper relatives seeking damages RELATED STORIES, SITES

November 10, 1999
Web posted at: 8:19 p.m. EDT (0019 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The flight data recorder from an EgyptAir Boeing 767 that crashed off the Massachusetts coast indicates an uneventful flight until the plane's autopilot disconnected, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall revealed.

About eight seconds after the autopilot went out, Flight 990 began what appears to be "a controlled descent" from 33,000 feet to about 19,000 feet, he said.

VIDEO Watch the NTSB news conference on preliminary information from EgyptAir Flight 990's data recorder QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Carl Rochelle reports on the recovery of the flight data recorder QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     HOTLINES EgyptAir information lines: In the U.S.: (800) 243-1094 Outside the U.S.: (202) 245-2244 (202) 244-1460 (202) 418-3690 FBI Information line: 1-800-473-4761     MESSAGE BOARD Plane crashes     ALSO Depth comparison of various crashes Roller coaster ride of EgyptAir 990 disputed by experts Passengers and crew on EgyptAir Flight 990

"There is no evidence of thrust reverser deployment," Hall said at a Wednesday news conference. "The aircraft does not appear to have reached supersonic speed during this descent."

That dashed speculation that the plane's plunge was caused by a problem with a thrust reverser -- the cause of the crash in 1991 of another Boeing 767. Thrust reversers are used to slow an airplane upon landing. One of EgyptAir's reversers was out of service at the time of the crash.

The data on the recorder ends around 16,700 feet, and Hall said investigators are "still in the process of recovering data from the remaining 5 to 10 seconds."

Hall refused to comment on the behavior of the airplane following its initial descent.

During its last 10 seconds, radar data indicates, the plane descended to 16,700 feet before it climbed -- then crashed into ocean killing all 217 passengers and crew.

Hall's announcement came moments after the safety board gave the public its first glimpse of the badly dented orange housing that contained the recorder, as well as the beige tape recorder itself.

The unit was pulled out of the ocean Tuesday and flown immediately to NTSB headquarters in Washington for analysis.

The recorder was still dripping as officials from the board, flanked by Egyptian aviation officials and representatives of EgyptAir, held it up for photographers.

Its magnetic tape can capture information from 55 systems on the airplane, telling investigators such things as the 767's altitude, speed, spin, roll, when its electrical power was cut off -- and how the autopilot functioned.

The flight data recorder is able to collect the multitude of readings for a 24-hour period.

Hall repeatedly stressed the data is only preliminary and that an investigative team -- comprised of members from the NTSB, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney and Egyptian authorities -- is analyzing the data more thoroughly.

Listen to Hall describe the first information retrieved from the flight data recorder ( 680 K/40 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Hall also said searchers will "make every effort we can" to recover the cockpit voice recorder, which may provide more conclusive evidence of what caused the Cairo-bound jet to plunge into the Atlantic Ocean 10 days ago.

The head of the NTSB said the recorded pilot conversations may put into context what the data recorder indicated, explaining if pilots disconnected the autopilot or why they decided to descend 14,000 feet.

But at the crash site, heavy seas Wednesday forced Navy recovery teams to pull the USS Grapple's Deep Drone out of the water, and that vessel and other small ships were ordered to return to port because of worsening weather conditions.

Officials said a predicted window of better weather on Friday may allow the Grapple and its ROV to return to work.

A larger submersible vehicle, the Magnum, continued its search for the cockpit voice recorder on the ocean floor approximately 250 feet beneath the surface.

Three ships -- the submarine support vessel Carolyn Choest, USS Austin and Coast Guard cutter Juniper -- are to remain at sea in the debris field.

Relatives of crash victims may have trouble collecting damages because of a federal law passed in 1920. The Death on the High Seas Act was originally intended to help widows collect pay if their sailor husbands died at sea.

It severely limits damages for disasters that happen more than a few miles off U.S. shores. The EgyptAir crash was in international waters, about 50 miles from Nantucket.

Under the law, if family members did not rely on the deceased relative for income, they are barred from collecting damages.

The law, already under attack from relatives of the 230 people killed in the 1996 explosion of TWA Flight 800 off Long Island, New York, will be debated in Congress in coming weeks.

Correspondents Carl Rochelle and Martin Savidge and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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