2A - The Michigan Daly - Thursday, November 18, 1999 N ATIO N/ WORLD
EgytAir investigators focus on co-pilot

WAS!INGTON (AP) A relief co-pilot alone in
the EgyptAir cockpi aid I made my decision now;
I put my faith in ( hands" just before the jetlin-
er began its fal plungc. o iis close to the inves-
tigation said yesterd. Mornts after the plane
began to dive. the pi returned to struggle - futile-
Iy -- to pull out
As Egyptian offials won time to send their own
experts to revew the cokpit voice recorder tape, a
federal law en;orcement official and other sources
close to the investiga (ton described the evidence yes-
terday that led ihe United States to the verge of
putting the FBI in charge of the inquiry as a poten-
tial criminal mater
The current th corv of the fate of EgyptAir 990,
the Boeing 767 1hai plunged into the Atlantic
Ocean off Massachusetts killing 217 people, is
both tentative and incomplete, the law enforce-
ment officia stressed. Further electronic
enhancement of the tape recording and input from
the Egyptian experts could alter the sketchy
understanding of what went on.
With no sign of any mechanical malfunction or
explosion, investigators have been drawn to actions of
the crew as captured on the cockpit voice recorder and
synchronized with the plane's movements preserved
in the flight data recorder.

The law enforcement official, commenting only on
condition of anonymity, and other sources close to the
case gave this account what those recorders show:
Relief co-pilot Capt. Gameel el-Batouty, scheduled
to take over much later in the 11-hour New York-to-
Cairo flight, enters the cockpit and asks to fly. His
request is accepted.
The cockpit door is opened later, after which there
is no conversation, leading investigators to conclude
el-Batouty is alone.
He says in Arabic: "I made my decision now. I put
my faith in God's hands."
Shortly thereafter, the autopilot is turned off and the
jet begins to descend steeply from 33,000 feet.
The cockpit door opens again. Investigators
believe the pilot, Capt. Ahmed Mahmoud el-
Habashy, has returned because he is heard to ask
what's going on. They believe he tries to regain con-
trol because he is heard to say, "Pull with me. Help
me. Pull with me." There is no sound of struggle, but
some investigators believe that phrase is said in an
argumentative tone.
At about this time, there is an unusual split in the
plane's elevators: One moves up and the other down.
These flaps on either side of the tail usually move up
or down in unison to lower or raise the plane's nose.
Boeing has told investigators crew members must

apply 50 pounds of pressure in opposite directions on
the pilot's and co-pilot's control yokes to achieve this
split outcome. Investigators surmise this may be evi-
dence of a struggle between two crew members over
how to respond to the steep dive.
Also 35 seconds after the autopilot was turned
off, the jet's two engines were turned off, the
NTSB said Wednesday. And, in the last few sec-
onds of flight data, the aircraft's speed brake was
deployed. The plane then regains some altitude,
stalls and drops into the sea 50 seconds after the
autopilot was turned off.
Shortly thereafter the jet's two engines are shut off.
The plane regains some altitude, stalls and drops into
the sea.
In Egypt, relatives angrily rejected any notion el-
Batouty planned to commit suicide, described him
as a loving father of five and denied the family had
financial problems. Family members said el-
Batouty had just bought two automobile tires in the
United States for his son's car and they believed the
tires were on Flight 990.
Married for 27 years, el-Batouty joined EgyptAir
in 1987 after training pilots at Egypt's Civil Aviation
Authority and the air force. The 59-year-old aviator
had more than 5,000 flight hours in a Boeing 767 and
was to have retired in March.

AROUND THE NATION
Lenny wreaks havoc in Virgin Islands
CHRISTIANSTED, U.S. Virgin Islands - Hurricane Lenny's winds climbed to
150 mph yesterday as it battered St. Croix, damaging homes and hurling boats on to
the shore. The monster storm then roared toward a string of Dutch and British islands.
Just 5 mph shy of a Category 5, the highest hurricane rating, the storm's powerful
winds killed at least four people from South America to the northeastern Caribbean.
St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands bore the brunt of its fury as the eye passed
just 20 miles south yesterday afternoon.
"My yard is completely flooded out, the telephone lines are whistling and te
rain is beating against the house," said Anthony Lewis of Frederiksted, St. Croix's
second-largest town. He said he spent the morning bailing water out of his house.
Feeding off the warm Caribbean waters, Lenny's winds strengthened to 150 mph
yesterday, making it a Category 4 hurricane capable of extreme damage.
The storm loomed about 70 miles southeast of St. Maarten last night, drifting
east-northeast the several hours but was expected to head to the northeast, and the
open Atlantic, later in the night. Hurricane winds extended 70 miles from its cen-
ter and tropical storm-force winds another 205 miles.
Lenny's lateness in the season and easterly path left even experienced observers
agape. "It's unheard of," said veteran meteorologist John Toohey on San Juan's
WOSO-AM radio. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime event."


I 1

enior
~J'or~raN/

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Michiganensian yearbook is November 19. To schedule
a sitting, call 1.800.585.7681. The pictures will be taken
in the Tappan Room of the Michigan Union from 11
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4,
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INFORMATIONAL MEETING & SLIDE SHOW
Thursday, Nov. 18 at 8:15 PM
Aud. B Angell Hall
For info contact Jackie Livesay at 764-9505 or jlivesay@umich.edu

Republicans nearing
spending agreement
WASHINGTON - After a day of
stops and starts, congressional
Republicans expressed renewed opti-
mism last night that agreement was
near with the White House on a $390
billion spending bill, including small,
across-the-board cuts.
GOP leaders announced plans to
seek a vote on the measure today in the
House - whether or not they had
White House acquiescence.
But before proceeding, they contacted
administration officials in hopes of
resolving the sticky issue surrounding
implementation of the proposed 0.38 per-
cent cut for dozens of federal programs.
Several Republicans said Sen. Pete V
Domenici (R-N.M.), chair of the
Senate Budget Committee, had been
discussing a compromise with
President Clinton's budget director.
Clinton bowed to GOP demands to
include an across-the-board reduction,
pending discussions with congressional
Democrats. By yesterday evening,

Democrats were insisting they would
support the cuts only if Clinton were
given more leeway in imposing them.
Though minuscule by federal budget
standards - the cut would save no more
than $1.3 billion - it assures votes from
some conservatives eager to paint the
GOP as trimming government waste
Bishops ap rove new
theologic controls
WASHINGTON - After a nine-
year struggle, America's Roman
Catholic hierarchy gave lopsided
approval yesterday to new rules, shapedi
to Vatican specifications, that are
aimed at controlling theologians and
what they teach at the nation's 23
church-related colleges.
Despite public and private alarms
from academic circles, a bishops' meet-
ing took the historic step by a vote of
223 to 31. The action is highly signifi-
cant because many theologians have
criticized official policies since col-
leges became more independent of the
church beginning in the 1960s.

AROUND THE WORLD


Oil pipeline deal to
be announced today
ISTANBUL, Turkey - The United
States, Turkey and two Caspian Basin
nations are expected to announce an
agreement today on a plan to build a
1,240-mile pipeline that would tap rich
oil fields in Central Asia while further
weakening Russia's grip on a region
once firmly in the Soviet orbit.
The $2.4 billion project would carry
as many as 1 million barrels of oil a day
from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan,
through Georgia before finally reach-
ing Ceyhan, a Turkish port on the
Mediterranean Sea, where it would be
pumped aboard tankers.
The agreement, while coming as no
surprise to Moscow, is sure to cause
friction in what was already expected
to be a difficult meeting today between
President Clinton and Russian
President Boris Yeltsin on the fringes of
a European summit here.
U.S. officials, uncertain how Yeltsin
will respond to increasing Western

:,
.
I;"
x,
V.

pressure to restrain the Russian war in
the separatist republic of Chechnya, are
approaching the meeting with the
Russian leader with some trepidation
"It is possible they will go on the offen-
sive to avoid being put on the defensive,"
a senior Clinton administration offic
said, adding, "There is no such thing as
predictable meeting with Yeltsin2
Pakistan attempts to
get rid of corruption
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The.mil-
itary government rounded up hundreds
of Pakistan's most powerful and wealthy
people yesterday, making good on i
promise to try and rid the countrys
political ranks of rampant corruption,.
The raids - which brought in
landowners, industrialists, athletes
and politicians from all parties.-
began hours after a deadline expired
for debtors to repay loans or face
criminal charges.
- Compiled from Daily wire reports.

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