EgyptAir Flight 990 Crash

EgyptAir Flight 990 Summary
Date : October 31, 1999
Cause : Disputed
Site : Atlantic Ocean, 100 km (60 miles) S of Nantucket
Origin : Los Angeles International Airport
Last stopover : John F. Kennedy International Airport
Destination : Cairo International Airport
Passengers : 203
Crew : 14
Fatalities : 217
Survivors : 0
Aircraft
Aircraft type : Boeing 767-366ER
Operator : EgyptAir
Tail number : SU-GAP
Ship name : Tuthmosis III

Flight 990 was being flown in a Boeing 767-366ER aircraft (registration SU-GAP). The flight was carrying 14 crew members and 203 passengers from seven countries (Canada, Egypt, Germany, Sudan, Syria, United States, and Zimbabwe).[1][2] Included in the passenger manifest were over 30 Egyptian military officers, among them were two brigadier-generals, a colonel, major and four air force officers. Newspapers in Cairo were prevented by censors from reporting the officers' presence on the flight.[3]

Flight 990 was crewed by 14 people, 10 flight attendants and four flight crewmembers. Because of the scheduled flight time, the flight required two complete flight crews (each consisting of one captain and one first officer). EgyptAir designated one crew as the "active crew" and the other as the "cruise crew" (sometimes also referred to as the "relief crew"). It was customary for the active crew to make the takeoff and fly the first four to five hours of the flight. The cruise crew then assumed control of the aircraft until about one to two hours prior to landing, at which point the active crew returned to the cockpit and assumed control of the airplane. EgyptAir designated the captain of the active crew as the Pilot-in-Command or the Commander of the flight. The active crew consisted of Captain El Habashy and First Officer Anwar, and the cruise crew were Captain El Sayed and First Officer Gameel Al-Batouti (the NTSB reports use the spelling "El Batouty").[


U.S. Air Traffic Controllers provide trans-Atlantic flight control operations as a part of the "New York Center" (referred to in radio conversations simply as "Center" and abbreviated in the reports as "ZNY"). The airspace is divided into "areas", and "Area F" was the section that oversaw the airspace through which Flight 990 was flying. Trans-Atlantic commercial air traffic travels via a system of routes called North Atlantic Tracks, and Flight 990 was the only aircraft at the time assigned to fly North Atlantic Track Zulu. There are also a number of military operations areas over the Atlantic, called "Warning Areas", which are also monitored by New York Center, but records show that these were inactive the night of the accident.[5]

Interaction between ZNY and Flight 990 was completely routine. After takeoff, Flight 990 was handled by three different controllers as it climbed up in stages to its assigned cruising altitude.[5] The aircraft, like all commercial airliners, was equipped with a Mode C transponder, which automatically reported the plane's altitude when queried by the ATC radar. At 1:44, the transponder indicated that Flight 990 had leveled off at FL330. Three minutes later, the controller requested that Flight 990 switch communications radio frequencies for better reception. A pilot on Flight 990 acknowledged on the new frequency. This was the last transmission received from Flight 990.

The records of the radar returns then indicate a sharp descent:[5]

0649:53Z - FL329
0650:05Z - FL315
0650:17Z - FL254
0650:29Z - FL183 (this was the last altitude report received by ATC)
In a span of 36 seconds, the plane dropped 14,600 feet (nearly three miles). Several subsequent "primary" returns (simple radar reflections without the encoded Mode C altitude information) were received by ATC, the last being at 0652:05. At 0654, the ATC controller tried notifying Flight 990 that radar contact had been lost, but received no reply.[5]

Two minutes later, the controller contacted ARINC to determine if Flight 990 had switched to an oceanic frequency too early. ARINC attempted to contact Flight 990 on SELCAL, also with no response. The controller then contacted a nearby aircraft, Lufthansa Flight 499, asking them to see if they could raise Flight 990. They responded that they had no radio contact, and were not receiving any ELT signals. Air France Flight 439 was asked to overfly the last known position of Flight 990, but reported nothing out of the ordinary. Center also provided coordinates of Flight 990's last-known position to Coast Guard rescue aircraft

Flight data showed that the flight controls were used to move the elevators in order to initiate and sustain the steep dive. The flight deviated from its assigned altitude of 33,000 feet (FL330) and dove to 16,000 feet over 44 seconds, then climbed to 24,000 and began a final dive, hitting the Atlantic Ocean about two and a half minutes after leaving FL330.[6] Radar and radio contact was lost 30 minutes after the aircraft departed JFK Airport in New York on its flight to Cairo. Forces on the captain's and first officer's control columns were recorded and were completely consistent with the recorded elevator deflections and a struggle for control of the aircraft. There were no other aircraft in the area. There was no indication that an explosion occurred on board. The engines operated normally for the entire flight until they shut down and the left engine was torn from the wing from the stress of the maneuvers

Quote: EgyptAir Flight 990 Summary Date : October 31, 1999

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