US rules out public hearing of Egypt Air crash

But the recommendation against a hearing appeared to dismiss Egyptian theories of problems with the Boeing 767 and tended to support assertions by some US investigators that relief co-pilot Gamil al-Batouti deliberately caused the crash.

At a news conference on Friday, safety board chairman Jim Hall was asked why his agency was not holding a public hearing to discuss the material. Such hearings often are held in the United States during the investigation of major air accidents.

"Staff recommended to the board that a hearing not be held on this crash because they believe there are no unresolved safety issues that require such a forum," Hall said. Hall stressed that no determination on the cause of the crash had been made but added that investigative work had ended for now.

Chief Egyptian investigator Capt Mohser El-Missiry, told the same news conference that more needed to be done, "particularly in assessing the design of the Boeing 767 elevator control system and gaining additional radar information".

Included in the material released on Friday was a transcript of conversations in the cockpit during the final 30 minutes of the flight.

"What’s happening, what’s happening," Capt Ahmedal-Habashy asked as he returned from a trip to the toilet. "I rely on God," was Batouti’s response, according to the transcript.

Egypt Air Flight 990 was at 33,000 feet (10,000 metres) when its autopilot shut off, its throttles cut back and the elevators on the tail initiated a steep descent.

During the dive, someone cut off the engines, and theelevators moved in opposite directions. The plane recovered from the plunge at about 16,000 feet (4,800 metres), climbed back to 24,000 feet (7,200 metres) and then fell again.

The voice transcript suggested that Batouti was alone inthe cockpit for less than two minutes during the time when the dive began, but Egyptian officials said there were sounds that indicated others were present.

Batouti uttered the phrase "I rely on God" nine Timesbefore Habashy appeared on the tape to ask what was wrong. There was then little communication between them that indicated the nature of the problem beyond Habashy asking Batouti to shut the engines and urging him several Times to "pull with me."

COMMON MOSLEM PRAYER

Some U.S. Investigators have attached importance toBatouti’s "I rely on God" phrase as indicative of Batouti’s state of mind. But others condemned such analysis as cultural ignorance.

"It is a common Moslem prayer. … I say it many Times eachday," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Egyptian officials have continued to work on a theory thatthe plane’s elevators — panels on the tail controlling the up and down attitude of the plane — may have jammed.

Colleagues and family members have described Batouti as anexpert Pilot and loving family man who had no cause to take his own life along with hundreds of others.

The NTSB material released on Friday included FBI reportsrevealing that Batouti had been investigated by a New York hotel in relation to complaints that he had exposed himself and made unwanted sexual advances to hotel staff and guests.

The safety board considered handing over leadership of theprobe to the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a criminal matter shortly after the crash occurred, but top Egyptian officials protested.

The investigation has since been handled carefully to avoidoffending Egypt, a key U.S. Ally in Middle East peace efforts. Egyptian efforts to show various scenarios for losing control of the plane were painstakingly reviewed in Boeing simulators.

Relatives of crew members killed in the incident have suedBoeing Co. and other companies, alleging flaws in the aircraft, rather than a suicidal Pilot, brought down the plane.

At the news conference, Hall and Missiry condemned leaksfrom unidentified officials in the investigation. Hall said the FBI and safety board jointly would investigate who was responsible for them.

"This is painful to the families and harmful to theintegrity of the investigation, which has not reached any conclusions," Missiry said.