1 00:00:01,863 --> 00:00:06,385 A Boeing 767 cruises high above the Atlantic Ocean on its way to Egypt. 2 00:00:08,146 --> 00:00:10,631 Two-hundred-and-seventeen people are onboard. 3 00:00:11,701 --> 00:00:14,635 Just half an hour after takeoff, disaster strikes. 4 00:00:15,429 --> 00:00:18,639 The pilot and co-pilot struggle desperately for control of their aircraft. 5 00:00:22,229 --> 00:00:26,026 The lives of all onboard will depend on these two pilots 6 00:00:26,129 --> 00:00:28,545 and what they do about this dive towards the ocean. 7 00:00:34,103 --> 00:00:37,175 - 3,000? - We're not getting any oxygen! 8 00:00:37,278 --> 00:00:40,419 - We have the terrain alarm. - Aero Peru 3... 9 00:00:40,523 --> 00:00:43,388 We are in an emergency. 10 00:00:55,848 --> 00:00:58,610 The John F. Kennedy International Airport outside New York City 11 00:00:58,713 --> 00:01:01,613 is one of the busiest airports in the world. 12 00:01:01,716 --> 00:01:06,618 In 1999, nearly 32-million passengers fly in and out. 13 00:01:07,481 --> 00:01:11,209 More than 340,000 flights take off and land. 14 00:01:15,351 --> 00:01:17,456 EgyptAir Flight 990 is destined 15 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:21,115 to be one of the most controversial ever to leave this airport. 16 00:01:24,153 --> 00:01:26,086 - Whoa! - The fate of this flight 17 00:01:26,189 --> 00:01:29,779 challenges the strength of an international friendship between two allies, 18 00:01:29,882 --> 00:01:32,644 and uncovers a hidden mechanical flaw 19 00:01:32,747 --> 00:01:36,130 in one of the world's most popular airliners. 20 00:01:37,476 --> 00:01:39,133 The FBI will become involved. 21 00:01:39,237 --> 00:01:41,135 We reviewed surveillance tapes 22 00:01:41,239 --> 00:01:45,277 to indicate whether or not anything unusual was loaded on that the plane. 23 00:01:46,313 --> 00:01:50,179 Investigators in two countries develop two different theories. 24 00:01:50,282 --> 00:01:53,872 Was this a tragic accident, or a terrible crime? 25 00:02:03,778 --> 00:02:08,576 Just after 1 a.m. on October 31, 1999, 26 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:13,650 the 217 people onboard EgyptAir Flight 990 are waiting for takeoff. 27 00:02:14,755 --> 00:02:18,448 The flight's command captain is Captain Ahmed el-Habashi. 28 00:02:18,552 --> 00:02:20,761 He has been with EgyptAir for 36 years. 29 00:02:20,864 --> 00:02:22,418 Yes. 30 00:02:22,521 --> 00:02:26,456 The Command First Officer is 36-year-old Adel Anwar. 31 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:30,771 He switched duty with another co-pilot so he could return home in time for his wedding. 32 00:02:30,874 --> 00:02:34,499 - Soon be a married man. - Congratulations, Adel. - Thank you very much. 33 00:02:34,602 --> 00:02:37,536 The airline's Chief Pilot for the Boeing 767, 34 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:40,367 Captain Hatem Rushdy, joins them in the cockpit. 35 00:02:42,748 --> 00:02:44,405 At 1:20 in the morning, 36 00:02:44,509 --> 00:02:47,753 First Officer Adel Anwar is going through his takeoff clearance 37 00:02:47,857 --> 00:02:49,686 with Air Traffic Control. 38 00:02:49,790 --> 00:02:53,449 ...fly the Gateway climb, climbing to 5,000. 39 00:02:53,552 --> 00:02:56,555 Following Gateway, clear for takeoff, runway 22 right. 40 00:02:56,659 --> 00:02:58,592 EgyptAir 990 heavy. 41 00:03:00,801 --> 00:03:04,391 - Cabin crew advised? - In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate. 42 00:03:04,494 --> 00:03:06,324 Cabin crew takeoff position. 43 00:03:06,703 --> 00:03:10,362 After an everyday blessing, the co-pilot assists the takeoff. 44 00:03:11,052 --> 00:03:13,538 For safety, both pilots push the throttles. 45 00:03:15,781 --> 00:03:18,405 On a flight of 10 hours, it's standard practice at EgyptAir 46 00:03:18,508 --> 00:03:22,236 to provide a relief crew to share the flying duties. 47 00:03:22,340 --> 00:03:24,514 The command crew takes off and lands, 48 00:03:24,618 --> 00:03:26,861 the relief crew flies the middle portion. 49 00:03:29,623 --> 00:03:34,075 Tonight Captain Raouf Noureldin and First Officer Gamil el-Batouty 50 00:03:34,317 --> 00:03:36,216 are the relief crew. 51 00:03:36,319 --> 00:03:38,701 They will take over after the first three or four hours 52 00:03:38,804 --> 00:03:41,738 and fly the plane until shortly before Cairo. 53 00:03:41,842 --> 00:03:44,016 V1. Rotate. 54 00:03:49,401 --> 00:03:52,611 Positive rate of climb both sides. One thousand. 55 00:03:53,336 --> 00:03:56,857 EgyptAir 990, heavy contact, departure now, 125.7. 56 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,653 1257. Bye. 57 00:04:00,101 --> 00:04:04,520 A large number of passengers are senior citizens from the United States 58 00:04:04,623 --> 00:04:08,800 looking forward to touring the wonders of ancient Egypt. 59 00:04:08,903 --> 00:04:12,666 My dad and Jinny were married in 1998, 60 00:04:12,769 --> 00:04:14,737 on October 23, 61 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,118 and to celebrate their first anniversary, 62 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:19,811 they decided to take a trip to Egypt. 63 00:04:20,812 --> 00:04:24,540 Anita Child's parents are retired and on their way to Egypt, as well. 64 00:04:24,643 --> 00:04:27,128 They always had a great time on these tours. 65 00:04:27,336 --> 00:04:29,717 They travelled frequently, 66 00:04:29,821 --> 00:04:33,307 and so it was a... pleasure trip. 67 00:04:33,411 --> 00:04:37,622 They were looking forward to seeing the Holy Land especially. 68 00:04:37,725 --> 00:04:41,660 Maureen Sacratini and her brother John Simermeyer enjoyed the fact 69 00:04:41,764 --> 00:04:43,731 that their parents loved to travel. 70 00:04:43,835 --> 00:04:47,804 They had been particularly fond of a program known as Elderhostel, 71 00:04:47,908 --> 00:04:51,118 and this particular vacation trip, uh, 72 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,363 to visit the pyramids and the other, uh, 73 00:04:54,466 --> 00:04:58,367 uh, historical, uh, sites in Egypt was an Elderhostel trip. 74 00:04:59,644 --> 00:05:03,544 There are 14 of EgyptAir's experienced crew operating the flight. 75 00:05:04,407 --> 00:05:08,549 There are also 33 Egyptian military officers and pilots onboard, 76 00:05:08,653 --> 00:05:11,483 returning after training with the American Armed Forces. 77 00:05:13,934 --> 00:05:17,800 Gamil el-Batouty used to be an Egyptian Air Force flight instructor. 78 00:05:17,903 --> 00:05:20,906 He's now one of the oldest first officers at EgyptAir. 79 00:05:22,701 --> 00:05:25,980 He's so much older than the other co-pilots that, out of respect, 80 00:05:26,084 --> 00:05:27,741 they call him "Captain." 81 00:05:29,087 --> 00:05:33,436 But some at EgyptAir think that "Captain" el-Batouty has been coasting too long 82 00:05:33,540 --> 00:05:35,542 on the favours of old friends. 83 00:05:36,612 --> 00:05:38,717 Just over 20 minutes after takeoff, 84 00:05:38,821 --> 00:05:41,064 el-Batouty is about to leave his seat. 85 00:05:44,585 --> 00:05:47,968 Former National Transportation Safety Board investigator Greg Phillips 86 00:05:48,071 --> 00:05:50,557 became an expert on the events of this flight. 87 00:05:50,660 --> 00:05:54,181 The relief first officer who would've been expected to come to the cockpit 88 00:05:54,423 --> 00:05:56,528 somewhere during the later part of the flight, 89 00:05:56,632 --> 00:05:58,703 uh, halfway or wherever he was comfortable, 90 00:05:58,806 --> 00:06:00,636 whatever the normal change would've been, 91 00:06:00,739 --> 00:06:03,673 came into the cockpit about 20 minutes after takeoff. 92 00:06:07,263 --> 00:06:09,714 Hello, Jimmy. How are you? 93 00:06:09,817 --> 00:06:11,785 How are you, sir? What's new? 94 00:06:13,303 --> 00:06:15,513 - I, uh, I slept, I swear. - Just wait. 95 00:06:15,616 --> 00:06:18,481 Let me tell you something. I'm not going to sleep at all. 96 00:06:18,585 --> 00:06:20,690 I might come sit for two hours and-- 97 00:06:20,794 --> 00:06:23,417 But I-I-I... I slept. I slept. 98 00:06:23,521 --> 00:06:25,385 You mean you're not going to get up? 99 00:06:25,488 --> 00:06:28,146 You will get up. Go and take some rest and come back. 100 00:06:28,249 --> 00:06:31,218 You should've told me this. You should've told me this, Captain Gamil. 101 00:06:31,321 --> 00:06:32,771 You should've said, "Adel-- 102 00:06:32,875 --> 00:06:36,534 - Did I even see you? - "I will work first." Just leave me a message. 103 00:06:36,637 --> 00:06:39,364 The younger first officer seems surprised that el-Batouty 104 00:06:39,468 --> 00:06:41,642 wants to replace him so early in the flight. 105 00:06:41,746 --> 00:06:45,784 ...and I'm not sleepy, so you take your time sleeping and when you wake up, 106 00:06:45,888 --> 00:06:48,718 whenever you wake up, come back, Captain, okay? 107 00:06:48,822 --> 00:06:50,617 - I'll come either way. - Captain. 108 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,620 - Come work the last few hours and that's all? - It's not like that. 109 00:06:53,723 --> 00:06:55,415 That's not the point. Look. 110 00:06:55,518 --> 00:06:58,556 If you want to sit here, there's no problem. 111 00:06:59,729 --> 00:07:03,353 I'll come back to you. I'll go and get something to eat and come back, alright? 112 00:07:03,457 --> 00:07:05,735 Fine, fine. Look here. Why don't you go... 113 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,981 Why don't they bring your dinner to you here, and then I'll go sleep, okay? 114 00:07:10,188 --> 00:07:12,742 - That's good. - Okay, with your permission, Captain. 115 00:07:13,571 --> 00:07:16,366 And with that, el-Batouty leaves to get his meal. 116 00:07:21,682 --> 00:07:24,167 Do you see how he does whatever he pleases? 117 00:07:26,342 --> 00:07:28,344 Do you know why that is? 118 00:07:28,448 --> 00:07:31,623 Captain el-Habashi senses his first officer's resentment 119 00:07:31,727 --> 00:07:34,212 and tries to smooth over the situation. 120 00:07:34,315 --> 00:07:37,318 - Are you a youngster? - Anwar wonders if el-Batouty wants to take over, 121 00:07:37,422 --> 00:07:40,943 because he may not want to work with Relief Captain Noureldin. 122 00:07:42,634 --> 00:07:45,326 Doesn't he want to work with Raouf, or what? 123 00:07:45,430 --> 00:07:48,537 It's possible, it's possible. God knows. 124 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:51,229 Look, you shouldn't get upset, right? 125 00:07:51,332 --> 00:07:53,645 By the prophet, he's just talking nonsense. 126 00:07:53,749 --> 00:07:55,958 That's it. 127 00:07:57,753 --> 00:08:01,895 - Everything's under control. - Okay, chief. - Thanks, Adel. 128 00:08:01,998 --> 00:08:06,555 First Officer Anwar concedes and is ready to hand over to el-Batouty. 129 00:08:09,350 --> 00:08:11,007 Normally, this is the most relaxed, 130 00:08:11,249 --> 00:08:14,217 easy part of a long flight for pilots and passengers alike. 131 00:08:16,703 --> 00:08:19,050 The highly automated aircraft systems 132 00:08:19,257 --> 00:08:22,398 will take care of the flying for several hours. 133 00:08:22,502 --> 00:08:26,264 It's very unusual for an airplane flying over the Atlantic at nighttime 134 00:08:26,367 --> 00:08:28,577 to encounter any kind of difficulties. 135 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:33,582 We normally expect accidents to happen in approach or landing or near airports, 136 00:08:33,685 --> 00:08:37,240 and very seldom do we get anything out over the ocean in the middle of the night. 137 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:43,868 - Excuse me, Jimmy, while I take a quick trip to the toilet. - Go ahead, please 138 00:08:43,971 --> 00:08:47,803 Before it gets crowded, while they're still eating. I'll be back to you. 139 00:08:52,497 --> 00:08:54,464 Before the captain returns, 140 00:08:54,568 --> 00:08:57,606 disaster will strike EgyptAir Flight 990. 141 00:08:58,468 --> 00:09:01,782 The fate of everyone onboard will be in the hands of the co-pilot, 142 00:09:01,886 --> 00:09:04,647 the man who shouldn't be here in the first place. 143 00:09:12,966 --> 00:09:15,624 On a Boeing 767 bound for Cairo, 144 00:09:15,727 --> 00:09:19,938 EgyptAir's Flight 990 appears to be cruising smoothly over the Atlantic. 145 00:09:20,836 --> 00:09:24,460 The relief first officer, Gamil el-Batouty, is alone in the cockpit, 146 00:09:24,564 --> 00:09:26,393 while the captain has gone to the washroom. 147 00:09:28,464 --> 00:09:30,949 But then the plane dips, plunging down. 148 00:09:31,053 --> 00:09:32,606 Whoa! 149 00:09:33,814 --> 00:09:38,508 The nose pitches down, creating zero-G, weightlessness, throughout the aircraft. 150 00:09:38,612 --> 00:09:42,374 This airplane basically started at one-G, 151 00:09:42,478 --> 00:09:45,308 which is what we'd expect for a level cruise flight. 152 00:09:45,412 --> 00:09:47,621 As you push the nose down, 153 00:09:47,725 --> 00:09:50,969 as if you would be cresting the top of a hill in a car at a high speed, it drops away, 154 00:09:51,073 --> 00:09:53,765 you'd feel the airplane fall away from you, 155 00:09:53,869 --> 00:09:56,734 and you would start to feel a little light in the seat; 156 00:09:56,837 --> 00:10:00,358 and as the dive progressed, you would feel a bit lighter yet. 157 00:10:02,843 --> 00:10:04,051 I rely on God. 158 00:10:05,466 --> 00:10:07,572 Whatever the first officer is intending, 159 00:10:07,676 --> 00:10:09,988 he says nothing except this phrase again and again. 160 00:10:11,127 --> 00:10:12,577 Adel! 161 00:10:12,681 --> 00:10:15,960 Captain el-Habashi fights the disorientation of zero gravity, 162 00:10:16,063 --> 00:10:18,790 desperately trying to return to the cockpit. 163 00:10:23,795 --> 00:10:27,488 An American journalist living in France studied this flight extensively. 164 00:10:27,592 --> 00:10:30,630 Sixteen seconds after the dive began, 165 00:10:30,733 --> 00:10:34,116 when the airplane had gone into zero-G and into negative-G, 166 00:10:34,357 --> 00:10:36,497 and was at an extreme angle, 167 00:10:36,601 --> 00:10:39,604 the captain somehow made his way back into the cockpit. 168 00:10:39,708 --> 00:10:43,435 How he did that, physically, I will never know. 169 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,682 Warning signals indicate the dive is exceeding the maximum speed allowed 170 00:10:48,786 --> 00:10:52,686 for the plane, taking them to 99% of the speed of sound. 171 00:10:57,726 --> 00:11:00,211 This far past the plane's design limits, 172 00:11:00,452 --> 00:11:03,559 the stresses on the airframe are pulling it apart. 173 00:11:05,699 --> 00:11:09,116 - What's happening?! - I rely on God. I rely on God. 174 00:11:10,048 --> 00:11:13,742 Captain el-Habashi pulls back hard on his control column. 175 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:25,339 Then he tries to use the engines to power their way out of the dive 176 00:11:25,443 --> 00:11:27,756 by pushing forward on the throttles, 177 00:11:27,859 --> 00:11:29,827 but he gets nothing. 178 00:11:29,930 --> 00:11:33,589 - What? You shut off the engines?! - I rely on God. 179 00:11:34,763 --> 00:11:36,592 Desperate, the captain deploys the speed brakes, 180 00:11:36,696 --> 00:11:40,596 panels standing up from the wings, in an effort to slow the dive. 181 00:11:51,641 --> 00:11:55,266 The dive is slowing, back from the brink of the sound barrier. 182 00:11:55,369 --> 00:11:58,200 The dive goes on, but the nose is coming up. 183 00:11:58,303 --> 00:12:01,617 In just seconds, they go from zero-G to double the force of gravity. 184 00:12:02,618 --> 00:12:04,724 Captain el-Habashi struggles to level the plane 185 00:12:04,827 --> 00:12:07,347 and pulls back hard on the control column. 186 00:12:07,450 --> 00:12:10,868 The 767's dive begins to slow. 187 00:12:14,837 --> 00:12:16,494 - Pull with me! - I rely on God. 188 00:12:16,597 --> 00:12:19,635 You shut off the engine! Pull...! 189 00:12:21,499 --> 00:12:24,536 In seconds the engines stop and the power goes off, 190 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:27,298 plunging the aircraft into darkness. 191 00:12:27,401 --> 00:12:30,508 Here the cockpit voice recorder and the flight-data recorder stop. 192 00:12:30,611 --> 00:12:33,753 No one knows what happened in the plane during the next two minutes. 193 00:12:33,856 --> 00:12:35,858 - Pull! - But radar tracks its path. 194 00:12:36,928 --> 00:12:39,759 The plane is climbing again... 195 00:12:39,862 --> 00:12:44,453 ...up from about 5,000 metres to over 7,500 metres, 196 00:12:44,556 --> 00:12:49,320 as the aircraft structure is weakened by the stresses of abnormal speeds and manoeuvres. 197 00:12:50,217 --> 00:12:54,601 - Pull! - Then the aircraft falls into another terrifying dive. 198 00:12:58,674 --> 00:13:01,711 Stressed beyond endurance, the left engine is ripped from the plane. 199 00:13:09,858 --> 00:13:12,515 EgyptAir 990, New York Center. 200 00:13:13,413 --> 00:13:16,347 EgyptAir 990, if you copy... At 1:52 a.m., 201 00:13:16,450 --> 00:13:18,694 Flight 990 disappears from radar screens, 202 00:13:18,798 --> 00:13:22,318 crashing into the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, 203 00:13:22,422 --> 00:13:24,700 some 100 kilometres off the American coast. 204 00:13:26,702 --> 00:13:30,395 Coast Guard Search and Rescue get a call at 2:15 a.m. 205 00:13:30,499 --> 00:13:34,641 A plane has disappeared, and Coast Guard vessels are called to the scene. 206 00:13:34,744 --> 00:13:39,611 The U.S. Merchant Marine training vessel, Kings Pointer, is first to arrive. 207 00:13:39,715 --> 00:13:41,751 Just as the day was dawning, 208 00:13:41,855 --> 00:13:45,031 we noticed oil in the water, and that was the first indication, 209 00:13:45,272 --> 00:13:47,550 so we turned the ship around back into the oil, 210 00:13:47,654 --> 00:13:51,554 and as soon as we turned around, we started seeing debris rise up to the surface. 211 00:13:51,658 --> 00:13:54,281 In Heliopolis, a Cairo suburb, 212 00:13:54,385 --> 00:13:57,733 Captain el-Habashi's daughter can only guess what her father went through. 213 00:13:58,768 --> 00:14:01,495 Can you imagine if you have a beloved one, 214 00:14:01,599 --> 00:14:04,567 a father, a daughter, or a brother... 215 00:14:05,568 --> 00:14:07,916 ...facing all the horrors... 216 00:14:08,744 --> 00:14:11,436 ...of finding himself falling 217 00:14:11,540 --> 00:14:16,648 from 36,000 feets, suddenly, 218 00:14:16,752 --> 00:14:19,030 trying to, uh... 219 00:14:19,824 --> 00:14:23,207 ...save his life, his colleagues' lives, 220 00:14:23,310 --> 00:14:25,761 the people, the passengers? 221 00:14:26,693 --> 00:14:30,731 In a home in Maryland, a sleepy Sunday morning takes a tragic turn. 222 00:14:31,629 --> 00:14:34,045 I had woken up for some reason at 5:30 in the morning, 223 00:14:34,287 --> 00:14:36,634 and we were flipping on the TV to check the weather. 224 00:14:36,737 --> 00:14:40,431 And we were deciding what Mass we're gonna be going to. It was Sunday. Um... 225 00:14:40,534 --> 00:14:43,054 And, immediately, on CNN, 226 00:14:43,296 --> 00:14:47,472 they had flight 990 missing, and I... was in total shock. 227 00:14:47,576 --> 00:14:50,820 I ran down to my refrigerator, where I had my parents' itinerary, 228 00:14:50,924 --> 00:14:53,340 and I ripped it off and just... 229 00:14:53,444 --> 00:14:57,275 started sobbing uncontrollably, I was screaming, I didn't know what to do. 230 00:14:57,379 --> 00:15:00,727 We located a significant debris field, 231 00:15:00,830 --> 00:15:04,593 and we have concentrated our search efforts since then 232 00:15:04,696 --> 00:15:07,872 on about a 36 square mile of area, 233 00:15:07,976 --> 00:15:10,357 about 50 miles south of Nantucket. 234 00:15:12,428 --> 00:15:16,812 At the end of October, the waters of the North Atlantic are so cold 235 00:15:16,916 --> 00:15:19,470 that normal life expectancy is about five to six hours. 236 00:15:23,784 --> 00:15:26,477 In Cairo, Relief Captain Raouf Noureldin's daughter, 237 00:15:26,580 --> 00:15:29,066 Mai, clung to hope for her father. 238 00:15:29,998 --> 00:15:34,692 I was talking to myself, trying to convince myself that my father was not on this plane, 239 00:15:34,795 --> 00:15:37,626 and if, uh, he's on this plane, 240 00:15:37,729 --> 00:15:40,146 he will be safe, 'cause, uh, 241 00:15:40,387 --> 00:15:43,701 my father was, um... an Air Force pilot. 242 00:15:43,804 --> 00:15:45,910 He had a very good experience. 243 00:15:46,014 --> 00:15:49,431 And, uh, I thought maybe if the plane crashed, 244 00:15:49,534 --> 00:15:53,573 he would be able to, you know, to be... to be in a safe place, 245 00:15:53,676 --> 00:15:58,095 and to swim and to go to any, uh... land. 246 00:15:59,372 --> 00:16:02,513 At the crash site, all that's left is pieces. 247 00:16:03,065 --> 00:16:06,103 Within hours, authorities know there's little hope for survivors. 248 00:16:09,140 --> 00:16:11,729 We believe at this point that it is in... 249 00:16:11,832 --> 00:16:14,456 everyone's best interests 250 00:16:14,559 --> 00:16:18,115 to no longer expect that we will find survivors in this case. 251 00:16:19,012 --> 00:16:22,982 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak reaches out to a stricken nation. 252 00:16:23,085 --> 00:16:25,915 This is the worst air crash in Egypt's history. 253 00:16:27,469 --> 00:16:30,506 Really, I was shocked. It's a big tragedy for us. 254 00:16:30,610 --> 00:16:35,856 And I give my condolences, all the passengers, to the families, 255 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:38,859 to the families of the crews who have been lost in this tragedy. 256 00:16:38,963 --> 00:16:41,931 And I've contact with President Clinton and other agencies, 257 00:16:42,035 --> 00:16:45,383 and he's giving good support for, uh... 258 00:16:45,487 --> 00:16:49,387 trying to find, investigate, see, what was the reason. 259 00:16:50,630 --> 00:16:53,598 The American President would answer his ally with a commitment. 260 00:16:54,875 --> 00:16:57,913 I spoke earlier with President Mubarak of Egypt today 261 00:16:58,017 --> 00:16:59,984 to express my condolences 262 00:17:00,088 --> 00:17:04,782 and assure him that we would be working together closely until this matter is resolved. 263 00:17:05,714 --> 00:17:08,441 We do not know what caused this tragedy. 264 00:17:09,959 --> 00:17:11,720 In northern Indiana, 265 00:17:11,823 --> 00:17:16,138 music historian Jim Brokaw learned what happened to his father and stepmother. 266 00:17:17,967 --> 00:17:21,661 One of the many things that I felt on that first horrible morning 267 00:17:21,764 --> 00:17:24,491 was the sense that people 268 00:17:24,595 --> 00:17:26,666 all over the world were confronting 269 00:17:26,769 --> 00:17:29,531 the same horrible circumstances that I was, 270 00:17:29,634 --> 00:17:33,707 and had the same sense of helplessness and disorientation that I did. 271 00:17:34,915 --> 00:17:38,574 Shocked and grieving, relatives arrive at Newport, Rhode Island. 272 00:17:38,678 --> 00:17:41,922 They will seek answers and share comfort. 273 00:17:42,026 --> 00:17:43,752 There were 100 Americans, 274 00:17:43,855 --> 00:17:46,824 89 Egyptians, 21 Canadians, 275 00:17:46,927 --> 00:17:49,413 and seven victims of other nationalities onboard. 276 00:17:58,905 --> 00:18:02,495 They're all asking: "What caused this tragedy?" 277 00:18:04,704 --> 00:18:08,604 Teams of investigators will pursue that question for years to come. 278 00:18:09,295 --> 00:18:12,505 We are beginning what may be a long investigation, 279 00:18:12,608 --> 00:18:14,472 and we are prepared to do 280 00:18:14,576 --> 00:18:17,475 what it takes to find the answers 281 00:18:17,579 --> 00:18:19,063 to the questions we are seeking. 282 00:18:21,307 --> 00:18:25,034 In Washington, Greg Phillips, from the National Transportation Safety Board, 283 00:18:25,138 --> 00:18:27,451 leads the investigation into this crash. 284 00:18:29,211 --> 00:18:32,214 From the very beginning, we realized it was a very difficult case. 285 00:18:32,318 --> 00:18:35,769 The airplane was in cruise, nighttime, out over the ocean. 286 00:18:35,873 --> 00:18:39,773 And when it went into the ocean, there was just a little bit of floating debris, 287 00:18:39,877 --> 00:18:42,466 but we had to recover the airplane from the bottom of the ocean 288 00:18:42,569 --> 00:18:44,295 to begin the investigation. 289 00:18:45,296 --> 00:18:48,403 The job of finding the black boxes would be difficult. 290 00:18:48,506 --> 00:18:50,681 The water is about 70 metres deep, 291 00:18:50,784 --> 00:18:52,821 and the tremendous force of the crash 292 00:18:52,924 --> 00:18:55,824 has smashed the locator beacons off the boxes. 293 00:18:56,928 --> 00:19:00,380 In this case, both the underwater locators, 294 00:19:00,484 --> 00:19:01,795 which are called pingers, 295 00:19:01,899 --> 00:19:05,454 which help us locate the boxes underwater, were detached. 296 00:19:05,558 --> 00:19:09,251 So we had an extra-difficult job in trying to find the actual boxes 297 00:19:09,355 --> 00:19:12,254 where the recording material was contained. 298 00:19:13,428 --> 00:19:17,673 Nine days after the crash, the U.S. Navy's unmanned submarine, Deep Drone, 299 00:19:17,777 --> 00:19:21,643 recovers the first of the two black boxes: the flight data recorder, 300 00:19:21,746 --> 00:19:25,509 which stores information about what the aircraft and its systems were doing. 301 00:19:26,682 --> 00:19:30,030 Four days later, the second black box, the cockpit voice recorder, 302 00:19:30,272 --> 00:19:34,966 lands on the deck and is carefully transported to the NTSB laboratories. 303 00:19:35,829 --> 00:19:38,418 The cockpit voice recorder captures all sounds in the cockpit 304 00:19:38,522 --> 00:19:40,869 for the last 30 minutes of the flight. 305 00:19:46,771 --> 00:19:49,567 The black boxes are protected to withstand impacts 306 00:19:49,671 --> 00:19:52,639 of 3,400 times the force of gravity. 307 00:19:55,055 --> 00:19:57,437 The recovery of the cockpit voice recorder 308 00:19:57,541 --> 00:20:01,752 provided a gripping and bewildering picture of the last minutes of a disaster. 309 00:20:05,618 --> 00:20:10,312 Here, investigators hope, is the key to unlock the mystery of Flight 990. 310 00:20:13,004 --> 00:20:15,490 Translating the Arabic spoken in the cockpit 311 00:20:15,593 --> 00:20:18,078 is a top priority at NTSB headquarters. 312 00:20:18,872 --> 00:20:21,289 The cockpit voice recorder was good quality, 313 00:20:21,392 --> 00:20:25,638 uh, it was easily useable and translatable by the investigation team. 314 00:20:25,741 --> 00:20:29,193 The cockpit voice recorder is always just a piece of the investigation 315 00:20:29,297 --> 00:20:30,919 that fits many other pieces of the puzzle. 316 00:20:31,022 --> 00:20:33,956 It goes along with the flight-data-recorder data, 317 00:20:34,060 --> 00:20:38,478 examination of the wreckage and all the other aspects of an investigation. 318 00:20:39,962 --> 00:20:43,345 On major investigations like the crash of EgyptAir 990, 319 00:20:43,449 --> 00:20:46,624 the NTSB works routinely with the FBI. 320 00:20:46,969 --> 00:20:50,559 The physical evidence has to be managed in case it's needed in court. 321 00:20:52,872 --> 00:20:56,910 Former FBI Assistant Director Lew Schiliro is a veteran investigator 322 00:20:57,014 --> 00:20:59,568 and no stranger to air crashes. 323 00:20:59,672 --> 00:21:01,329 By the time EgyptAir occurred, 324 00:21:01,432 --> 00:21:04,953 we were fairly adept at looking at airline disasters, 325 00:21:05,056 --> 00:21:09,129 particularly with the view of developing whether or not a terrorist incident 326 00:21:09,337 --> 00:21:11,131 or a criminal act had occurred. 327 00:21:12,132 --> 00:21:14,549 The FBI checked for evidence of bombs, 328 00:21:14,652 --> 00:21:17,517 terrorists or terrorist targets on the flight. 329 00:21:17,621 --> 00:21:20,658 Trying to determine luggage, uh, against the passenger list, 330 00:21:20,762 --> 00:21:23,799 and whether or not there was anything unusual in the manifest, 331 00:21:23,903 --> 00:21:27,286 whether or not the people that loaded the plane could recall anything 332 00:21:27,389 --> 00:21:29,080 that would've caused them concern. 333 00:21:29,805 --> 00:21:32,291 We reviewed surveillance tapes to indicate 334 00:21:32,394 --> 00:21:35,604 whether or not anything unusual was loaded on that plane. 335 00:21:35,708 --> 00:21:40,851 We had no evidence at all of any explosive device onboard EgyptAir that night. 336 00:21:41,921 --> 00:21:45,959 At the NTSB, American investigators found no fault in the aircraft 337 00:21:46,063 --> 00:21:48,410 from studying the flight-data recorder. 338 00:21:49,100 --> 00:21:51,275 But Egypt's members of the investigation team 339 00:21:51,379 --> 00:21:53,726 insisted that not all the evidence was in. 340 00:21:56,004 --> 00:21:58,938 Much of the wreckage was still in storage on Rhode Island. 341 00:22:00,042 --> 00:22:03,356 They hope the cause of the crash can be found here. 342 00:22:03,460 --> 00:22:07,671 Egypt's representatives search for any possible mechanical cause for the crash. 343 00:22:08,672 --> 00:22:10,812 While they search, other theories are pursued. 344 00:22:12,227 --> 00:22:16,852 A study into the causes of airline crashes, published in January 2001, 345 00:22:16,956 --> 00:22:20,684 points to pilot error as the cause of one-third of these accidents. 346 00:22:21,754 --> 00:22:26,068 It also finds a strong connection between bad weather and pilot error. 347 00:22:27,173 --> 00:22:31,350 But the crash of EgyptAir 990 occurred in clear weather with veteran pilots. 348 00:22:31,453 --> 00:22:35,733 - Pull with me! - What happened in the cockpit would divide the investigation 349 00:22:35,837 --> 00:22:37,839 and fuel an international controversy. 350 00:22:37,942 --> 00:22:40,393 I rely on God. I rely... 351 00:22:41,981 --> 00:22:46,434 October 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, 352 00:22:46,537 --> 00:22:49,540 killing all 217 people onboard. 353 00:22:52,129 --> 00:22:54,476 The investigation develops in two directions: 354 00:22:54,580 --> 00:22:57,030 fault in the airplane and pilot action. 355 00:22:57,824 --> 00:23:01,587 Rumours swirl about what or who may have caused this terrible crash. 356 00:23:03,416 --> 00:23:05,004 One of the key questions: 357 00:23:05,107 --> 00:23:09,767 Why was the relief first officer in the cockpit hours earlier than expected? 358 00:23:09,871 --> 00:23:13,426 He was supposed to replace Adel Anwar much later in the flight. 359 00:23:14,945 --> 00:23:18,500 But in Cairo, Adel Anwar's older brother, Tarek, 360 00:23:18,604 --> 00:23:21,641 has no problem with Adel being replaced in the cockpit. 361 00:23:22,677 --> 00:23:25,645 Suppose I am with one of my friends and we are travelling in a car 362 00:23:25,749 --> 00:23:28,441 and he asks me if he can drive instead of me. 363 00:23:28,545 --> 00:23:31,271 Is this going to be a problem? For example, 364 00:23:31,513 --> 00:23:34,930 if Adel didn't get enough sleep and Captain Gamil told him, 365 00:23:35,034 --> 00:23:39,521 "Let me fly the plane instead of you and you go rest," there is no problem with that. 366 00:23:41,523 --> 00:23:45,424 When the actions in the cockpit are put together with the voices recorded, 367 00:23:45,527 --> 00:23:49,773 a timeline emerges that indicates a series of initially bewildering decisions. 368 00:23:53,086 --> 00:23:55,019 I'll be back to you. 369 00:23:55,123 --> 00:23:58,091 The timeline reveals that after Captain el-Habashi leaves the cockpit, 370 00:23:58,195 --> 00:24:02,371 there's a series of sounds whose meaning can only be guessed at. 371 00:24:04,477 --> 00:24:06,030 Control it. 372 00:24:07,963 --> 00:24:12,658 And then the relief first officer disconnects the autopilot. 373 00:24:15,902 --> 00:24:17,525 I rely on God. 374 00:24:17,628 --> 00:24:20,148 Released from the autopilot's control, 375 00:24:20,251 --> 00:24:23,462 the plane starts to descend, rolling to the left. 376 00:24:25,049 --> 00:24:30,123 Egypt's experts described el-Batouty's decision to shut off the autopilot 377 00:24:30,227 --> 00:24:33,333 as a possible reaction to an unusual movement of the aircraft, 378 00:24:33,437 --> 00:24:35,715 prompting him to take manual control. 379 00:24:38,373 --> 00:24:42,446 However, the leader of the NTSB investigation disagrees. 380 00:24:42,964 --> 00:24:46,139 We found no reason for the autopilot to be disconnected 381 00:24:46,243 --> 00:24:48,210 by fault or failure in the airplane. 382 00:24:49,315 --> 00:24:52,663 Normally all aircraft movements are meant to keep passengers comfortable 383 00:24:52,767 --> 00:24:55,217 as though they were on the ground. 384 00:24:56,425 --> 00:24:58,531 After switching off the autopilot, 385 00:24:58,635 --> 00:25:03,536 el-Batouty pushes his control column forward, lowering the elevator panels, 386 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:06,712 so the flight-data recorder indicates to the NTSB. 387 00:25:07,747 --> 00:25:09,784 Then he pulls the throttles back, 388 00:25:09,887 --> 00:25:11,786 reducing engine power. 389 00:25:11,889 --> 00:25:14,029 This causes the plane to dive. 390 00:25:15,410 --> 00:25:19,587 Egypt's investigators say el-Batouty was not trying to crash the plane, 391 00:25:19,690 --> 00:25:23,625 and there may have been an elevator failure which he could not overcome. 392 00:25:25,662 --> 00:25:29,010 Strangely there is no discussion of a problem on the cockpit tape. 393 00:25:29,907 --> 00:25:33,359 - I rely on God. - When the Captain made his way back to the cockpit, 394 00:25:33,462 --> 00:25:37,570 he asked the first officer what was going on and never received a response. 395 00:25:40,055 --> 00:25:42,506 As former Director of Aviation Safety, 396 00:25:42,610 --> 00:25:46,648 Bernard Loeb oversaw all air-crash investigations at the NTSB. 397 00:25:47,442 --> 00:25:51,653 It is well understood that in a... in a cockpit, 398 00:25:51,757 --> 00:25:56,555 a transport cockpit of virtually any airline in the world, 399 00:25:56,658 --> 00:26:00,869 when a captain comes in and asks a question, the first officer will respond. 400 00:26:01,939 --> 00:26:04,252 When the captain asked his questions, 401 00:26:04,355 --> 00:26:06,495 Batouty did not respond. 402 00:26:07,876 --> 00:26:10,534 Fighting the dive, pulling his column back all the way, 403 00:26:10,638 --> 00:26:13,675 the captain cannot gain complete control of the elevator, 404 00:26:13,779 --> 00:26:16,505 so he tries the throttles to power out of the dive. 405 00:26:16,609 --> 00:26:18,473 What? You shut off the engines?! 406 00:26:18,577 --> 00:26:20,337 He was unaware that seconds earlier, 407 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:23,029 the first officer had shut off the fuel to the engines. 408 00:26:25,653 --> 00:26:30,071 Egypt's experts say that el-Batouty may have been acting out of caution. 409 00:26:30,968 --> 00:26:34,351 The flight data show that a low-oil-pressure warning appeared. 410 00:26:34,834 --> 00:26:37,457 That can mean the engines have flamed out. 411 00:26:37,561 --> 00:26:40,599 The captain may have then ordered the fuel to the engines shut off, 412 00:26:40,702 --> 00:26:43,429 as part of the procedure for restarting the engines. 413 00:26:46,121 --> 00:26:47,916 - Shut the engines! - It's shut! 414 00:26:49,435 --> 00:26:52,956 The NTSB consider this possible scenario, as well. 415 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:56,856 The engines shut off on a two-engine airplane, 416 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,272 at night, over the water. 417 00:26:59,376 --> 00:27:03,552 We couldn't understand any reason why any emergency 418 00:27:03,656 --> 00:27:06,832 could cause you to shut all of the power off available to the airplane 419 00:27:06,935 --> 00:27:09,144 when you're heading away from the nearest airport. 420 00:27:09,904 --> 00:27:14,563 Foremost among the Egyptian investigators' scenarios was a tragic elevator failure. 421 00:27:18,567 --> 00:27:21,985 In Washington, at the National Transportation Safety Board, 422 00:27:22,088 --> 00:27:24,021 analysis of the flight-data recorder indicates 423 00:27:24,125 --> 00:27:28,543 that Captain el-Habashi was pulling back on his column to make the plane climb, 424 00:27:28,647 --> 00:27:33,030 while First Officer el-Batouty appears to be pushing forward on his column, 425 00:27:33,134 --> 00:27:34,825 making the plane go down. 426 00:27:40,417 --> 00:27:42,557 Elevators work simply. 427 00:27:42,661 --> 00:27:46,216 Pull back on the column and the elevators go up, lifting the plane. 428 00:27:47,217 --> 00:27:51,531 Push forward and the elevator panels move down to make the plane descend. 429 00:27:52,636 --> 00:27:54,603 They work together, but in this case, 430 00:27:54,707 --> 00:27:57,054 they're going in opposite directions. 431 00:27:58,746 --> 00:28:01,541 Egypt's experts argued that this crash could've been caused 432 00:28:01,645 --> 00:28:05,718 by a failure in the elevator assembly, producing an elevator hardover, 433 00:28:05,822 --> 00:28:09,584 a jam in the elevator controls which lock them in the down position, 434 00:28:09,688 --> 00:28:12,760 plunging the aircraft into an uncontrollable dive. 435 00:28:18,420 --> 00:28:22,045 They stated that First Officer el-Batouty was working to regain control 436 00:28:22,148 --> 00:28:23,667 of the elevators, 437 00:28:23,771 --> 00:28:27,602 and added that he and Captain el-Habashi were working together. 438 00:28:28,637 --> 00:28:30,778 If there had been an elevator failure, 439 00:28:30,881 --> 00:28:34,505 it could explain the first officer's unusual performance in the cockpit. 440 00:28:34,609 --> 00:28:35,955 Pull! 441 00:28:38,924 --> 00:28:42,755 Supporting evidence is found when analyzing fragments of the wreckage 442 00:28:42,859 --> 00:28:44,515 in the hangar at Rhode Island. 443 00:28:44,619 --> 00:28:47,760 Here investigators made a remarkable discovery: 444 00:28:47,864 --> 00:28:50,211 three unusually sheared rivets. 445 00:28:51,833 --> 00:28:54,456 These tiny parts play an important role 446 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:57,149 in the Boeing 767 elevator assembly. 447 00:28:58,046 --> 00:29:00,704 Egypt's consulting experts determined that the scratches 448 00:29:00,808 --> 00:29:04,018 in the metal surfaces of these rivets showed that they were sheared off 449 00:29:04,121 --> 00:29:05,778 in two different directions. 450 00:29:09,126 --> 00:29:11,853 One direction could be attributed to the crash. 451 00:29:14,822 --> 00:29:18,791 The second could indicate that the break occurred before the crash, 452 00:29:18,895 --> 00:29:22,036 and so may have indicated a jam in the elevators. 453 00:29:26,281 --> 00:29:30,285 Egypt's experts drew this to the attention of the Federal Aviation Administration, 454 00:29:30,527 --> 00:29:32,874 America's civil aviation regulator. 455 00:29:35,014 --> 00:29:37,154 Alarmed by the potential risks, 456 00:29:37,258 --> 00:29:40,502 the FAA ordered all bellcrank rivets to be inspected 457 00:29:40,606 --> 00:29:43,989 on every Boeing 767 in operation around the world. 458 00:29:47,268 --> 00:29:50,754 The inspections uncovered 136 sheared rivets, 459 00:29:50,858 --> 00:29:54,620 and 34 aircraft were grounded until the fault was fixed. 460 00:29:54,723 --> 00:29:56,933 The FAA said the problem could result 461 00:29:57,036 --> 00:29:59,487 in loss of controllability of the airplane. 462 00:30:02,248 --> 00:30:05,873 Egypt's investigators had uncovered a credible-sounding scenario: 463 00:30:05,976 --> 00:30:09,808 that the sheared rivets in the elevator assembly of the Boeing 767 464 00:30:09,911 --> 00:30:13,259 indicated a jam that could've caused an elevator hardover 465 00:30:13,363 --> 00:30:15,468 that the pilots could not overcome. 466 00:30:15,572 --> 00:30:18,713 NTSB investigator Greg Phillips disagreed. 467 00:30:18,817 --> 00:30:22,027 Those are by design for the Boeing 767. 468 00:30:22,268 --> 00:30:25,513 The controls can be split. They're designed that way, 469 00:30:25,616 --> 00:30:28,550 in case one of the surfaces, the control surfaces, fails, 470 00:30:28,654 --> 00:30:31,450 so that whoever is still in control of the airplane, 471 00:30:31,553 --> 00:30:34,453 or can control the airplane, with a failed elevator. 472 00:30:41,598 --> 00:30:44,187 Before he became an investigative writer, 473 00:30:44,290 --> 00:30:47,259 William Langewiesche was a commercial airline pilot. 474 00:30:47,776 --> 00:30:51,332 Flight 990's manoeuvres are programmed into a flight simulator 475 00:30:51,435 --> 00:30:54,473 in order for Langewiesche to test a pilot's reactions. 476 00:30:56,509 --> 00:30:59,892 To see an airplane going so wildly into a dive... 477 00:31:00,824 --> 00:31:04,069 ...to see the altimeters unwinding at that speed... 478 00:31:05,104 --> 00:31:09,729 ...to hear the horns and warning signals going off... is frightening. 479 00:31:09,833 --> 00:31:12,663 Whatever the cause of the dive, 480 00:31:12,767 --> 00:31:16,012 Langewiesche tries a variety of responses to recover from it. 481 00:31:16,702 --> 00:31:19,912 Finally, they asked me to wait at the extreme 15 seconds. 482 00:31:20,740 --> 00:31:25,642 To sit in a 767 or any airplane going out of control 483 00:31:25,745 --> 00:31:28,265 and do nothing for 15 seconds. 484 00:31:28,369 --> 00:31:30,198 Fifteen seconds is a long time. 485 00:31:30,302 --> 00:31:31,993 Uh, it's inconceivable. 486 00:31:32,925 --> 00:31:34,444 But I did it. 487 00:31:34,547 --> 00:31:36,515 And even at 15 seconds, 488 00:31:36,618 --> 00:31:38,379 even waiting 15 seconds, 489 00:31:38,482 --> 00:31:40,657 I was able, through no particular skill, 490 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:44,937 really reacting almost as any student pilot would, 491 00:31:45,041 --> 00:31:48,492 to recover the airplane, recover from the dive, 492 00:31:48,596 --> 00:31:51,875 uh, before the airplane exceeded its limits. 493 00:31:52,738 --> 00:31:57,329 No Boeing 767 has suffered from an elevator hardover and dive 494 00:31:57,432 --> 00:31:59,434 before or since the crash. 495 00:32:02,782 --> 00:32:07,649 The aviation experts hired by Egypt developed a wide range of scenarios, 496 00:32:07,753 --> 00:32:11,722 citing a fault in the elevator assembly as a possible cause of the crash. 497 00:32:13,034 --> 00:32:14,553 Based on the data, 498 00:32:14,656 --> 00:32:18,867 the information we have from the testing that was done as a group effort, 499 00:32:18,971 --> 00:32:21,732 with all the best thinking everybody had at the time, 500 00:32:21,836 --> 00:32:24,597 we could not make this airplane do what it did 501 00:32:24,701 --> 00:32:27,428 with any of the failure scenarios that were presented to us. 502 00:32:28,187 --> 00:32:32,640 While mechanical failure scenarios were exhausted and terrorism was excluded, 503 00:32:32,743 --> 00:32:37,956 the FBI continued to dig into the life of First Officer Gamil el-Batouty. 504 00:32:41,028 --> 00:32:43,202 Less than three weeks after the disaster, 505 00:32:43,409 --> 00:32:46,412 news media report that in the final moments before the crash, 506 00:32:46,516 --> 00:32:49,346 el-Batouty said, "I have made my decision. 507 00:32:49,450 --> 00:32:51,624 I put my faith in God," 508 00:32:51,728 --> 00:32:56,146 causing many to believe he might be an Islamic militant bent on destruction. 509 00:32:56,388 --> 00:32:58,355 But the translation was incorrect. 510 00:33:00,116 --> 00:33:02,635 From our initial review of Batouty's background, 511 00:33:02,739 --> 00:33:04,361 he was a fairly religious person. 512 00:33:04,465 --> 00:33:06,881 But I don't think we had anything to determine 513 00:33:06,985 --> 00:33:10,609 that his religious beliefs were radical or beyond what, 514 00:33:10,712 --> 00:33:13,198 uh, would've been a normal religious person. 515 00:33:14,061 --> 00:33:17,374 What had Batouty said? And what does it mean? 516 00:33:17,478 --> 00:33:19,204 Tawakkaltu Alallah. 517 00:33:20,205 --> 00:33:22,586 Egyptian professor Amin Bonnah teaches Arabic 518 00:33:22,690 --> 00:33:25,072 at Georgetown University in Washington. 519 00:33:26,866 --> 00:33:30,629 Tawakkaltu means "I depend." 520 00:33:32,424 --> 00:33:34,840 "I rely, I trust." 521 00:33:35,772 --> 00:33:38,499 And "ala" is "on," 522 00:33:38,602 --> 00:33:40,466 and "Allah" is "God." 523 00:33:40,570 --> 00:33:42,813 "Tawakkaltu Alallah," 524 00:33:42,917 --> 00:33:45,540 "On God I rely." 525 00:33:45,644 --> 00:33:50,614 I depend in whatever I'm going to be embarking on. 526 00:33:50,718 --> 00:33:53,479 People use it when they start a trip, 527 00:33:53,583 --> 00:33:55,964 when they start driving, going back home, 528 00:33:56,068 --> 00:33:58,381 we say, "Tawakkaltu Alallah." 529 00:33:58,484 --> 00:33:59,830 When you have an exam, 530 00:33:59,934 --> 00:34:02,523 you begin by saying "Tawakkaltu Alallah." 531 00:34:02,626 --> 00:34:04,628 It's a very positive phrase. 532 00:34:04,732 --> 00:34:08,805 So it's not the kind of phrase that anyone would be using 533 00:34:08,908 --> 00:34:11,428 before they commit a crime, 534 00:34:11,532 --> 00:34:14,569 or before they commit suicide. 535 00:34:14,673 --> 00:34:16,226 Tawakkaltu Alallah. 536 00:34:16,468 --> 00:34:19,402 To say this common phrase once was normal, 537 00:34:19,505 --> 00:34:21,921 but el-Batouty repeated it 11 times. 538 00:34:22,025 --> 00:34:23,544 Alallah. 539 00:34:23,647 --> 00:34:25,615 - What's happening?! - Tawakkaltu Alallah! 540 00:34:25,718 --> 00:34:29,032 I expect that... Captain Batouty would say, 541 00:34:29,136 --> 00:34:32,242 uh... "There is a fire in the engines, 542 00:34:32,484 --> 00:34:34,831 uh, the... 543 00:34:34,934 --> 00:34:36,522 something stopped, uh, 544 00:34:36,626 --> 00:34:39,042 I can see something's hitting the plane," 545 00:34:39,146 --> 00:34:40,733 anything like that. 546 00:34:40,837 --> 00:34:46,153 But he go on endlessly saying Tawakkaltu Alallah. This is not logic. 547 00:34:47,982 --> 00:34:49,673 For the el-Batouty family, 548 00:34:49,777 --> 00:34:53,505 their grief would be compounded by the need to defend their father's honour. 549 00:34:54,230 --> 00:34:55,714 When he died, 550 00:34:55,817 --> 00:34:57,957 the one thing we had to reassure us 551 00:34:58,061 --> 00:35:00,270 was that he had died honourably. 552 00:35:00,512 --> 00:35:03,273 And now they're trying to take that away from us. 553 00:35:03,515 --> 00:35:05,620 There is a lot of mechanical failures. 554 00:35:05,724 --> 00:35:09,486 Why you have... only to say that it's a deliberate act, 555 00:35:09,590 --> 00:35:12,765 a deliberate act, no mechanical, no weather, no mechanical, no weather. 556 00:35:12,869 --> 00:35:14,698 So why? 'Cause he's an Egyptian pilot. 557 00:35:14,802 --> 00:35:19,186 Chairman Jim Hall allowed that it could've been a criminal act rather than an accident. 558 00:35:19,289 --> 00:35:23,086 The investigation could end up in the hands of the FBI alone. 559 00:35:23,190 --> 00:35:27,884 It is only prudent for the National Transportation Safety Board 560 00:35:27,987 --> 00:35:31,646 to consult with these experts and officials, 561 00:35:31,750 --> 00:35:34,856 to fully evaluate this information, 562 00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:37,549 prior to any final decision 563 00:35:37,652 --> 00:35:41,898 on whether the responsibility for this investigation 564 00:35:42,001 --> 00:35:45,902 should transfer to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 565 00:35:46,661 --> 00:35:48,491 Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, 566 00:35:48,594 --> 00:35:50,872 formerly commander of the Egyptian Air Force, 567 00:35:50,976 --> 00:35:55,049 had known Gamil el-Batouty, according to his nephew Walib. 568 00:35:55,153 --> 00:35:58,328 Mubarak asked President Bill Clinton to intercede 569 00:35:58,570 --> 00:36:00,848 to keep the crash from becoming an FBI matter. 570 00:36:01,952 --> 00:36:05,232 Since the crash, Walid el-Batouty, nephew of Gamil, 571 00:36:05,335 --> 00:36:07,993 has become the el-Batouty family spokesman. 572 00:36:08,096 --> 00:36:12,860 You have to understand that the highest-ranking in this country, 573 00:36:12,963 --> 00:36:15,656 which is the Egyptian president, was an Air Force pilot. 574 00:36:15,759 --> 00:36:19,142 And he was asked and he says, "According to my experience, 575 00:36:19,246 --> 00:36:21,662 it's in the tail unit; something happened there. 576 00:36:21,765 --> 00:36:26,114 It's not suicide. It could be either a... mechanical failure, 577 00:36:26,218 --> 00:36:28,876 a... a manufacturing fail, something." 578 00:36:29,566 --> 00:36:34,330 In America, the FBI focuses on Gamil el-Batouty and the question of motive. 579 00:36:36,746 --> 00:36:40,853 The FBI would learn about the man in control of EgyptAir 990, 580 00:36:40,957 --> 00:36:42,614 interviewing colleagues and friends, 581 00:36:42,717 --> 00:36:46,411 discovering a dark side to Gamil el-Batouty. 582 00:36:51,278 --> 00:36:54,384 Investigating the cause of the crash of EgyptAir 990, 583 00:36:54,488 --> 00:36:56,869 the spotlight falls on the character and history 584 00:36:56,973 --> 00:36:59,838 of Relief First Officer Gamil el-Batouty. 585 00:36:59,941 --> 00:37:01,909 He was 59 years old, approaching 60, 586 00:37:02,012 --> 00:37:04,567 had never risen above the rank of first officer. 587 00:37:04,670 --> 00:37:08,260 That may have caused him some animosity towards EgyptAir. 588 00:37:08,364 --> 00:37:10,883 Had some personal issues in his own life, 589 00:37:10,987 --> 00:37:13,334 in terms of financial, uh... 590 00:37:13,438 --> 00:37:16,924 some issues in terms of his family members being, uh, 591 00:37:17,027 --> 00:37:19,375 uh, sick, needing medical attention. 592 00:37:19,478 --> 00:37:24,103 They've used the daughter in the accusation. As they said, she was sick and, uh, 593 00:37:24,345 --> 00:37:26,934 and that's why maybe he committed suicide. 594 00:37:27,037 --> 00:37:31,249 Uh, can I... before we go to this, I will give you the reason. 595 00:37:31,352 --> 00:37:35,701 First, the doctors have already, on that particular flight, have already told him that, 596 00:37:35,805 --> 00:37:40,844 "Your daughter is going positive with the medication, and everything is going fine." 597 00:37:40,948 --> 00:37:43,951 And he was extremely happy. He was so excited to come back. 598 00:37:44,641 --> 00:37:48,335 Gamil el-Batouty was bringing her medical records back that night, 599 00:37:48,438 --> 00:37:49,991 among other things. 600 00:37:50,716 --> 00:37:54,168 Okay, he bought tires for his son, 601 00:37:54,410 --> 00:37:57,447 and an argument went on, on the phone, between him and his son. 602 00:37:57,551 --> 00:38:01,762 My father called me to come to the airport, 603 00:38:01,865 --> 00:38:04,937 because he could not carry all four tires himself. 604 00:38:05,938 --> 00:38:08,734 He says, "Listen, I carry your tires all the way from the States. 605 00:38:08,838 --> 00:38:11,944 You don't want to come and carry it from the airport?" It's a very natural thing. 606 00:38:12,048 --> 00:38:15,154 A man is gonna commit suicide, why would he do this? 607 00:38:16,604 --> 00:38:20,884 In New York, the FBI continued their investigation at the Hotel Pennsylvania, 608 00:38:20,988 --> 00:38:25,061 where EgyptAir had a block booking of about 50 rooms for their crews. 609 00:38:26,096 --> 00:38:30,308 The investigation that the FBI was able to do, as far as Batouty's background, 610 00:38:30,411 --> 00:38:33,552 probably spanned a period of about a year or so, 611 00:38:33,656 --> 00:38:37,970 at least from the records that we were able to obtain, 612 00:38:38,074 --> 00:38:42,009 and from the interviews we did at the various places he stayed. 613 00:38:42,112 --> 00:38:45,530 So he did have, I think, a propensity to engage in... 614 00:38:45,633 --> 00:38:49,568 behaviour with some of the hotel people, in terms of sexual misconduct. 615 00:38:50,466 --> 00:38:52,675 Hey, pretty lady, where did you get to? 616 00:38:52,778 --> 00:38:57,024 Which, you know, at the time, really appeared to be totally out of the realm 617 00:38:57,127 --> 00:39:00,579 of what was normal for a person of that status to do. 618 00:39:00,683 --> 00:39:02,892 A husband and father of five, 619 00:39:02,995 --> 00:39:08,622 Gamil el-Batouty was notorious for leering at and bothering female guests and hotel staff. 620 00:39:09,795 --> 00:39:11,866 The FBI learned that two years before the crash, 621 00:39:11,970 --> 00:39:16,526 two young women reported that he called them on their hotel-room phone, 622 00:39:16,630 --> 00:39:19,046 telling them to look out the window across the courtyard. 623 00:39:19,149 --> 00:39:22,221 - You have a good time too. - When they did, 624 00:39:22,463 --> 00:39:24,638 they saw el-Batouty exposing himself 625 00:39:24,741 --> 00:39:27,088 and reported the incident to hotel security. 626 00:39:28,158 --> 00:39:30,471 His provocative behaviour would continue. 627 00:39:31,990 --> 00:39:36,926 A hotel maid told the FBI that the night before the crash of EgyptAir 990, 628 00:39:37,029 --> 00:39:39,998 el-Batouty had sexually harassed her again. 629 00:39:40,757 --> 00:39:44,520 No, I want to talk to you. I'll give you $100 if you just come to my room. 630 00:39:44,623 --> 00:39:46,073 - I'm not here for that. - Oh, sure. 631 00:39:46,176 --> 00:39:49,041 - I'm here to work! Just leave me alone! - Don't be like that. 632 00:39:49,145 --> 00:39:51,043 When the maid reported the approach, 633 00:39:51,147 --> 00:39:53,529 another addition was made to the hotel's record 634 00:39:53,632 --> 00:39:56,911 of sexual harassment of guests and staff by el-Batouty. 635 00:39:57,602 --> 00:40:01,260 The allegation of the hotel, as far as they said, 636 00:40:01,502 --> 00:40:04,643 it happened way before, not one day before the flight, 637 00:40:04,747 --> 00:40:07,819 not one day before the flight as has been mentioned. 638 00:40:09,959 --> 00:40:15,033 The hotel maid told the FBI the incident took place on the October 29, 1999, 639 00:40:15,136 --> 00:40:16,931 the day before the flight. 640 00:40:19,140 --> 00:40:22,627 Three months after the FBI began investigating el-Batouty, 641 00:40:22,730 --> 00:40:24,870 an EgyptAir flight landed in London. 642 00:40:25,664 --> 00:40:29,081 The plane's captain requested political asylum in the United Kingdom. 643 00:40:31,049 --> 00:40:35,053 He claimed to have information about the cause of the crash of EgyptAir 990, 644 00:40:35,156 --> 00:40:37,227 and he feared reprisals in Egypt. 645 00:40:37,573 --> 00:40:41,162 Captain Hamdi Taha was a colleague of Gamil el-Batouty. 646 00:40:42,474 --> 00:40:46,720 And he was walking away from his wife, his family and his country. 647 00:40:47,859 --> 00:40:50,102 The FBI sent a special agent, 648 00:40:50,206 --> 00:40:53,727 and along with a British security officer, he interviewed Captain Taha. 649 00:40:54,969 --> 00:40:57,593 Were you aware of el-Batouty displaying... 650 00:40:58,386 --> 00:41:00,665 ...sexually inappropriate behaviour? 651 00:41:01,597 --> 00:41:04,462 Yes. This is very important. 652 00:41:05,393 --> 00:41:07,603 I heard it from pilots who I trust. 653 00:41:09,639 --> 00:41:15,438 Batouty got into trouble for sexual misbehaviour in New York with maids, 654 00:41:15,542 --> 00:41:17,544 and following women and so on. 655 00:41:18,752 --> 00:41:21,582 The airline tolerated this for a while, 656 00:41:21,686 --> 00:41:23,722 and they told him several times: 657 00:41:24,551 --> 00:41:27,346 "Maybe you can get away with this normally, 658 00:41:27,450 --> 00:41:29,210 but this is America. 659 00:41:29,314 --> 00:41:31,558 You represent our country. 660 00:41:31,661 --> 00:41:33,732 You cannot do these things!" 661 00:41:34,422 --> 00:41:36,563 Captain Taha's information was secondhand, 662 00:41:36,666 --> 00:41:40,221 but his description of el-Batouty meeting with the airline's chief pilot 663 00:41:40,325 --> 00:41:41,740 was intriguing. 664 00:41:41,844 --> 00:41:45,399 Hatem Rushdy went to see Batouty 665 00:41:45,503 --> 00:41:48,126 the night they took Flight 990. 666 00:41:48,229 --> 00:41:50,231 They had a meeting in the hotel. 667 00:41:50,956 --> 00:41:54,442 He told him that what he had done 668 00:41:54,546 --> 00:41:58,723 could not be covered up and something had to be done. 669 00:41:58,826 --> 00:42:03,417 The flight back to Cairo from New York would be his last flight. 670 00:42:03,521 --> 00:42:07,007 Gamil, we go back many years together... 671 00:42:08,595 --> 00:42:11,218 ...but this will be your last flight to the United States. 672 00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:16,257 He would not be flying to America anymore. 673 00:42:16,361 --> 00:42:19,433 Batouty... had just had... 674 00:42:19,537 --> 00:42:22,401 these big privileges taken away from him. 675 00:42:23,333 --> 00:42:24,887 And he was humiliated. 676 00:42:24,990 --> 00:42:26,647 So... 677 00:42:26,751 --> 00:42:29,616 I think that what happened was this. 678 00:42:30,755 --> 00:42:32,653 He must have said to himself: 679 00:42:33,551 --> 00:42:36,484 "If this is going to be my last flight, 680 00:42:36,588 --> 00:42:39,729 it will be Hatem Rushdy's last flight also!" 681 00:42:40,661 --> 00:42:42,387 Certainly, within various corporations 682 00:42:42,490 --> 00:42:46,598 where people bring weapons into the office in an attempt to take revenge 683 00:42:46,702 --> 00:42:48,876 against people that they feel have aggrieved them, 684 00:42:48,980 --> 00:42:52,915 perhaps Batouty felt that EgyptAir had been the cause of some of his issues. 685 00:42:53,018 --> 00:42:54,710 And, unfortunately, in this case, 686 00:42:54,813 --> 00:42:57,851 it was the kind of office that was flying at 33,000 feet. 687 00:43:00,025 --> 00:43:03,442 The FBI provides Taha's interviews to the NTSB. 688 00:43:04,098 --> 00:43:07,619 Egyptian officials ask for another EgyptAir pilot to be interviewed. 689 00:43:08,447 --> 00:43:11,692 Mohamed Badrawy had known el-Batouty for 40 years. 690 00:43:12,417 --> 00:43:14,177 Interviewed at the NTSB, 691 00:43:14,384 --> 00:43:18,699 he described discussing with Captain Rushdy what to do about el-Batouty's behaviour. 692 00:43:21,012 --> 00:43:25,395 Do you know if Hatem Rushdy was aware of this... this situation with Batouty? 693 00:43:25,499 --> 00:43:27,570 Well, of course, he knew. 694 00:43:27,674 --> 00:43:31,747 But he pretended not to know, I think, because Hatem Rushdy is the chief pilot. 695 00:43:31,850 --> 00:43:34,715 Badrawy confirms that Hatem Rushdy is upset 696 00:43:34,819 --> 00:43:37,787 about el-Batouty's harassment of women at the hotel. 697 00:43:38,616 --> 00:43:41,308 So Badrawy takes Rushdy's concerns to his old friend. 698 00:43:41,411 --> 00:43:44,725 And if he didn't listen to you, what did you tell him was going to happen? 699 00:43:44,829 --> 00:43:47,832 Nothing much, really. You see, he was on his way out. 700 00:43:48,660 --> 00:43:51,905 We normally don't touch people when they're approaching 60. 701 00:43:52,008 --> 00:43:55,943 I know! I know. I'm not saying you are doing something wrong. 702 00:43:56,047 --> 00:43:58,325 They are saying you're doing something wrong. 703 00:43:58,428 --> 00:44:00,430 I know you are my friend. 704 00:44:00,534 --> 00:44:04,434 We have a little patience and... then they're out. 705 00:44:05,125 --> 00:44:08,197 Badrawy would ask Rushdy to be patient with his old friend, 706 00:44:08,438 --> 00:44:12,615 considering that el-Batouty only had three months to go before retirement. 707 00:44:13,512 --> 00:44:16,067 We have been in the Air Force for 40 years. 708 00:44:17,482 --> 00:44:20,519 And all he needs is... a few more months. 709 00:44:21,451 --> 00:44:24,213 Badrawy's interview confirmed that Rushdy did believe 710 00:44:24,420 --> 00:44:26,733 el-Batouty's behaviour had to be dealt with. 711 00:44:26,836 --> 00:44:30,909 And he denied Taha's claim of a meeting between the two on the night of the crash. 712 00:44:31,669 --> 00:44:33,567 But Captain Taha was not done. 713 00:44:33,671 --> 00:44:36,397 He had another compelling story to add. 714 00:44:41,851 --> 00:44:45,372 In London, an Egyptian pilot has requested political asylum, 715 00:44:45,475 --> 00:44:47,236 and is offering an insider's view 716 00:44:47,477 --> 00:44:50,515 of the most controversial tragedy in the history of EgyptAir. 717 00:44:52,828 --> 00:44:57,591 Captain Taha revealed to the FBI how EgyptAir briefed its pilots about the crash. 718 00:44:58,799 --> 00:45:02,492 When they had done the transcripts of the cockpit voice recorder, 719 00:45:02,596 --> 00:45:06,669 the EgyptAir chief of operations called all flight crew 720 00:45:06,773 --> 00:45:10,638 to a special meeting in Cairo and told us the facts. 721 00:45:11,743 --> 00:45:13,607 Just the facts. 722 00:45:13,711 --> 00:45:15,402 No commentary, 723 00:45:15,505 --> 00:45:18,888 no explanation of any technical problem. 724 00:45:21,235 --> 00:45:23,272 He did not say anything, 725 00:45:23,513 --> 00:45:27,034 but all we pilots realized that this was not an accident. 726 00:45:29,140 --> 00:45:32,522 And then he told us not to talk to anyone about it. 727 00:45:32,626 --> 00:45:35,249 "Don't talk to your family, don't talk on the phone, 728 00:45:35,491 --> 00:45:37,113 don't talk to each other," he told us. 729 00:45:38,943 --> 00:45:40,392 All of us realized... 730 00:45:40,496 --> 00:45:42,670 that Batouty... 731 00:45:42,774 --> 00:45:45,535 had done this on purpose. 732 00:45:47,675 --> 00:45:49,850 For the American families involved, 733 00:45:49,954 --> 00:45:53,992 this was a case of 216 murders and one suicide. 734 00:45:55,062 --> 00:45:59,722 In Egypt, big, close, extended families combine with a strong religious faith 735 00:45:59,826 --> 00:46:02,242 to deny that Egyptians commit suicide. 736 00:46:06,108 --> 00:46:09,663 The story has many sides. It has to do with... 737 00:46:09,767 --> 00:46:11,596 with religion, 738 00:46:11,699 --> 00:46:16,049 it has to do with, uh, beliefs, it has to do with the culture. 739 00:46:16,152 --> 00:46:20,501 I think, until today, still in the Egyptian culture, 740 00:46:20,605 --> 00:46:23,608 uh, people don't believe... 741 00:46:23,711 --> 00:46:25,506 that Muslims, 742 00:46:25,610 --> 00:46:27,336 or that Egyptians, 743 00:46:27,577 --> 00:46:30,615 or that people coming from that culture, 744 00:46:30,718 --> 00:46:32,686 uh, commit suicide. 745 00:46:33,376 --> 00:46:37,173 Cultural differences were not the only impediments to this investigation. 746 00:46:37,277 --> 00:46:39,762 One of the difficulties that we did have was that, 747 00:46:39,866 --> 00:46:44,456 when we went over to Egypt and attempted to really get into his background, uh, 748 00:46:44,560 --> 00:46:47,183 it became a very sensitive issue for the Egyptian government. 749 00:46:47,287 --> 00:46:52,016 FBI efforts to learn about el-Batouty's personal life and family relations 750 00:46:52,119 --> 00:46:53,603 would be stymied. 751 00:46:53,707 --> 00:46:55,467 It became, uh, 752 00:46:55,571 --> 00:46:58,125 almost to the point where we were never really able 753 00:46:58,229 --> 00:47:01,542 to develop all the things that we needed to get at. 754 00:47:02,785 --> 00:47:05,753 Finally, on March 21, 2002, 755 00:47:05,857 --> 00:47:08,687 after a nearly $10 million investigation 756 00:47:08,791 --> 00:47:10,689 over two years and five months, 757 00:47:10,793 --> 00:47:14,314 the NTSB publishes its report and determines that: 758 00:47:30,986 --> 00:47:36,060 The Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority responded angrily and their response read in part: 759 00:47:46,829 --> 00:47:49,936 The NTSB's former Director of Aviation Safety 760 00:47:50,039 --> 00:47:52,559 takes exception to the Egyptian view. 761 00:47:52,662 --> 00:47:55,562 What was unprofessional... 762 00:47:55,665 --> 00:47:58,772 was the insistence by the Egyptians... 763 00:48:00,291 --> 00:48:03,535 ...in the face of irrefutable evidence 764 00:48:03,639 --> 00:48:08,092 to anyone who knows anything about investigating, um, airplane accidents, 765 00:48:08,195 --> 00:48:12,061 and who knows anything about aerodynamics and airplanes, 766 00:48:12,165 --> 00:48:14,961 was the fact that this airplane 767 00:48:15,064 --> 00:48:18,274 was intentionally flown into the ocean. 768 00:48:18,930 --> 00:48:23,003 No scenario that the Egyptians came up with, 769 00:48:23,107 --> 00:48:25,937 or that we came up with, um, 770 00:48:26,041 --> 00:48:31,874 in which there were some sort of mechanical failure in the elevator control system 771 00:48:31,978 --> 00:48:35,429 would either match the flight profile, 772 00:48:35,671 --> 00:48:39,675 or was a situation in which the airplane was not recoverable. 773 00:48:40,779 --> 00:48:42,609 Like many of his countrymen, 774 00:48:42,712 --> 00:48:46,302 the loyal nephew cannot believe his uncle Gamil was a mass murderer. 775 00:48:47,959 --> 00:48:52,101 This is a simple plane crash. 776 00:48:53,275 --> 00:48:58,245 It was put and made like this for... for no reason. 777 00:48:58,349 --> 00:49:00,972 It shows that it's a cover-up. 778 00:49:03,043 --> 00:49:08,773 Greg Phillips takes pride in having thoroughly investigated every lead and every scenario. 779 00:49:08,876 --> 00:49:11,120 When we sign on to be accident investigators, 780 00:49:11,224 --> 00:49:14,710 we do it with the idea that we're gonna keep the next one from happening, 781 00:49:14,813 --> 00:49:17,609 not to cover up one that did 782 00:49:17,713 --> 00:49:20,647 because of whatever reason may be given to us. 783 00:49:20,750 --> 00:49:22,683 I've never known that to happen, 784 00:49:22,787 --> 00:49:25,652 I've never even known it to come close to happening. 785 00:49:25,755 --> 00:49:31,071 There continue to be differing perspectives on the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990, 786 00:49:31,175 --> 00:49:35,524 and unanswered questions remain for broken and damaged families. 787 00:49:35,765 --> 00:49:39,183 For many of them, answers to how and why this plane crashed 788 00:49:39,286 --> 00:49:41,702 will forever be a painful mystery. 789 00:50:12,526 --> 00:50:14,494 difuze