Washington - The relief pilot of EgyptAir Flight 990 pulled rank on a co-pilot and sat alone at the controls of the plane five minutes before the fatal plunge into the Atlantic, the New York Times said yesterday. The abrupt and unusual switch inside the cockpit and Mr Gamil al-Batouti's attitude toward the co-pilot were cited by unidentified US officials as one more indication that the crash may have been intentional.
The Cairo-bound EgyptAir Boeing 767 crashed on October 31st off the coast of Massachusetts, killing all 217 people on board. Leaks from the ongoing analysis of the plane's cockpit voice recorder by US investigators tentatively pin the blame on Mr Batouti, who repeatedly uttered a Muslim prayer before and after the plane began its descent.