Scoop Breaking News - A crew member, possibly a relief pilot, seized EgyptAir Flight 990’s controls and forced the plane
into a dive say reports. John Howard reports
A detailed analysis of the voice and data recorders aboard EgyptAir Flight 990 indicates that a crew member, possibly a
relief crew member, seized the controls of the passenger jet and forced the plane into a steep dive towards the
Atlantic.
FBI sources say that a veteran captain of the Boing 767, Ahmed el-Habashy, who had briefly left the cockpit and
returned, "struggled in vain to regain control of the aircraft after the other pilot calmly uttered an Arabic expression
about putting trust in God, switched off the auto pilot and pitched the aircraft into a high speeed dive."
The expression uttered by the relief pilot was, "Tawakilt ala Allah," which is a common phrase that can mean, "I put my
faith in God," or "I entrust myself to God."
However, with the hand-off to the FBI, Egyptian officials complained bitterly about the direction of the probe.
It became a serious diplomatic concern as the Egyptian ambassador met with Undersecretary Thomas Pickering at the State
Department.
The Egyptians asserted that "American authorities might have misread the evidence and too quickly dismissed the
possibility the plane, Boeing 767, crashed as a result of mechanical failure or some other cause.