November 18, 1999
Web posted at: 3:27 p.m. EST (2027 GMT)

In this story: What really happened? Egyptian outrage over suicide theory First lawsuit RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As investigators try to prove or rule out a suicide theory in the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990, they are beginning work on a complete, precise transcript of the plane's cockpit voice recorder tape. The job is expected to take at least five days.

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So far, there is no evidence of explosion or mechanical malfunction in the October 31 crash that killed 217 people. But officials also stress that the suicide hypothesis remains unproven and that no one has been accused of a crime.

Investigators say backup co-pilot Gameel el-Batouty, who may have been alone in the cockpit, is heard saying in Arabic on the tape, "I made my decision now; I put my faith in God's hands." The words, which may be a Muslim prayer, were spoken just before the Boeing 767 began its fatal plunge into the Atlantic Ocean off the Massachusetts coast.

Moments later, according to this account, Capt. Ahmed al-Habashy, the plane's pilot, returned to the cockpit and struggled in vain to pull the plane out of its plunge.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday the last 15 seconds of the available data show the plane's left elevator, the horizontal portion of the tail, controlled by the captain, was in a "nose-up" position in an apparent attempt to recover from the steep dive -- while the right elevator, controlled by el-Batouty, was in a "nose-down" mode.

The flap-like devices control the up-and-down motion of the aircraft.

The National Transportation Safety Board's cockpit voice recorder group and translators are to compile "a literal, factual transcript of all conversations and sounds," the board said.

They will be assisted by representatives from Boeing Co., which built the plane, along with officials from engine-maker Pratt & Whitney, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Egypt, which objected to transferring the case to the FBI before Egyptian experts could analyze the tape.

The group will work all weekend and hopes to complete the transcript next week, the NTSB said Wednesday. If the case is eventually turned over to the FBI, it's possible Egyptian investigators also would play a role.

Many Egyptians are outraged over speculation that the plane may have been brought down intentionally. "Yes, it does bother me that information has leaked," said Nabil Fahmi, Egypt's ambassador to the United States. "Part of it may be correct. Part of it may not be correct."

"I think you have to take into account there are many families involved here and it's important not to ignore the pain and suffering that they have already gone through," Fahmi said on CNN's "Larry King Live."

"It's also important not to feed into speculation by providing piecemeal information. Not all of the information that is out there is correct. And even the information that is out there is not necessarily the full story. We want the truth," the ambassador said.

Nihad Awad, executive director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, said "focusing on the prayer as a sign of potential crime ... demonstrates to me a lack of knowledge of Islam."

"I think it reflects badly on the investigation," he told CNN.

Awad said the words spoken by el-Batouty were a "positive" expression, not something a Muslim would say to precede "evil," such as suicide. He said he voiced the same prayer as he left his home Thursday on his way to be interviewed.

In related developments:

• A $50 million wrongful-death lawsuit was filed by the estate of Ghassan Koujan, 38, a chef from Paterson, New Jersey, who died aboard Flight 990. The suit, which names named EgyptAir and the Boeing Co. as defendants, was the first to result from the tragedy.

• There is renewed interest in putting video cameras -- not just voice recorders -- in airliner cockpits. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, has asked the Transportation Department, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board to speed up a study on how to upgrade data collection during airplane flights.

Cairo Bureau Chief Ben Wedeman, Correspondents Carl Rochelle, Pierre Thomas and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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