The US draft report into the EgyptAir plane crash that killed 217 people amounts to "unacceptable speculation,” Egypt's transport minister has said, quoted by BBC.online.
The report, sent to Egyptian Government and airline officials on Thursday, is thought to support the theory that the co-pilot intentionally plunged the plane into the sea.
Ibrahim el-Dimeiri, who as transport minister is Egypt's most senior civil aviation official, told the Middle East News Agency he had ordered investigators to draft a technical response to the report.
Egypt has 60 days to respond to the controversial report.
The Boeing 767 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Nantucket, Massachusetts, after leaving New York for Cairo on 31 October 1999.
The US official report into the crash of EgyptAir flight 990 concluded on Wednesday that there was no mechanical problem, claiming that Gameel al-Batouti, the plane's co-pilot, brought the plane down on purpose, said reports.
Al-Batouti was believed to be at the controls of the aircraft when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, on October 31, 1999. All 217 people on board the aircraft were killed.
A source close to the investigation told CNN the National Transportation Safety Board's report does not use the word "suicide."
The source said that's because it is impossible to determine the motive of the pilot.
But the finding sparked outrage from Egyptian authorities, who insist the NTSB has not adequately examined flight control problems with the Boeing 767, said CNN.
In a statement released Wednesday, EgyptAir said: "This investigation and other Boeing 767 problems have raised questions about the integrity of the elevator control system, which makes the aircraft go up and down.
"We urge the NTSB, the FAA, and Boeing to continue to press their inquiry into what caused the loss of Flight 990 and to consider the possibility there might be an inherent flaw in the design and/or maintenance procedures of the Boeing 767 flight control system.
"We and the aviation industry owe it to the families of those aboard Flight 990, and to the flying public, to learn what caused this tragedy and ensure that it never happens again – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
