Introduction to EgyptAir 990
On the morning of October 31, 1999, EgyptAir flight 990 from New York to Cairo
took off from JFK without incident. Over the next ten minutes the Boeing 767
climbed to its cruising altitude at 33,000 feet, but at 1:49:53 without any
warning, radar indicated the jet went into a steep dive and quite literally
fell out of the sky. Before the black box recorders could be recovered from
the bottom of the ocean, a private company, Megadata Corp., released radar findings
three days later indicating that the plane fell from 33,000 feet to 16,000 feet
and then climbed back up to 24,000 feet before breaking apart in its final dive
into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nantucket (1).
Even before the data recorders were recovered, the mystery
of what happened to EgyptAir 990 began to evolve.
Recovery of the crash debris proved to be difficult, and controversial.
However, once the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder
(FDR) were retrieved, the dilemma of EgyptAir 990's cryptic demise became not
just scientific, but cultural, political and religious.
According to the National
Transporation Safety Board (NTSB), the relief co-pilot, Gamil al-Batouti,
entered the cockpit twenty minutes after takeoff and requested that he start
his shift several hours early. The command first officer protested, but the
relief co-pilot insisted. Then, after the pilot, Capt. Ahmed Mahmoud el-Habashy,
left the cockpit to go to the bathroom, Batouti began a repetitious recitation
of a simple Muslim prayer, disconnected the autopilot, set the engines back
to idle position and put the airplane in a severe 40 degree downward dive. At
some point, the pilot returned to the cockpit and struggled to regain altitude,
at which point Batouti cut power to the engines. Furthermore, according to the
NTSB, because Habashy was pulling back on the control yoke and Batouti was pushing
forward, they broke the tandem
control mechanism called a torque tube that causes the control yoke to work
together to control the airplanes elevators, and therefore the left elevator
was angled up and the right elevator was angled down. The NTSB refrained from
giving a motive to Batouti's actions, but it suggested early on that the crash
was caused by the co-pilot's intent (2).
Speculation began immediately.
With the FDR being recovered on November 9, and the CVR found
a full two weeks after the crash, experts and crackpots alike began to run through
the possible scenarios. Given the string of suspicious plane crashes that had
preceded EgyptAir's mysterious plummet, such as TWA Flight 800, SilkAir Flight
111 and Alaska Airlines Flight 261, conspiratorial explanations based on the
radar data alone were rampant. Parallels were drawn between accounts of missiles
and bombs being used on these previous flights with the flight scenario of EgyptAir
990. Once the FDR was retrieved, the scenarios shifted to accommodate the new
data. People speculated that the pilots had been reacting to something they
saw (evasive maneuver), a mechanical malfunction or a missile or bomb damaging
the plane. However, once the CVR was successfully transcribed, two camps definitely
emerged in the battle over causes: the NTSB group which leaned towards a pilot
suicide scenario, and basically everyone else who unwilling to buy this explanation,
whether due to skepticism, lack of evidence or politics. Before the CVR was
recovered, developing scenarios whereby Batouti was a hero trying to rescue
his injured craft were much easier, but afterwards, this task became an exercise
in creative interpretation. The two sides were saying extremely different things
about exactly the same evidence. Often, however, the conspiracy side conveniently
left out parts of the CVR transcript and FDR data that were not supportive of
their explanation (4).
Even if the combination of data from the recorders dispels the
"mystery" of EgyptAir 990's demise, it does little to explain the motive the
co-pilot had for committing mass murder and suicide. On top of that, the handling
of the situation by both the government of the United States as well as Egypt
is revealing for its bungling and political motivations. Therefore, an examination
of the various theories and their illumination of strange coincidences, as well
as the cultural, political and religious factors involved, provide those interested
in conspiracy theory with plenty of insights, not just regarding U.S. and Egypt
policy, but the creation and function of conspiracy theory as an avenue of civic
participation.
Sources:
©
2003 Jacob Lunow. All rights revered, all wrongs
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