Egypt pilots demand third party handle crash probe

CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) -- Egyptian pilots said Monday the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) should turn its inquiry into the 1999 EgyptAir plane crash over to a third party unless it releases key evidence.

Walid Murad, head of the Egyptian Pilots' Federation, said it wanted the release of radar images and to question an air traffic controller on duty at the time of the Oct. 31 crash.

Murad accused U.S. investigators Sunday of denying access to the radar images on the pretext that they contained military secrets.

The federation also asked to question three pilots from Germany, Jordan and Britain who were said to have seen missiles while flying in the same area where the Flight 990 went down.

"Furthermore, Egypt should receive the plane's wreck and the two black boxes to re-examine them," Murad told reporters.

"If U.S. authorities reject the Egyptian demands, it is necessary that the investigation dossier be withdrawn (from the NTSB) and given to a neutral party to reopen the inquiry."

The NTSB said last week it had been unable to conclude what caused of the crash and had ended its inquiry for now. No public hearing was planned because no unresolved safety issues remained, NTSB chairman Jim Hall said.

EgyptAir Flight 990 was heading for Cairo from New York on Oct. 31 when it suddenly plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 217 people on board.

The NTSB's 1,665-page assessment appeared to dismiss Egyptian theories of technical problems but did mention alleged lewd behavior by the co-pilot, who has previously been linked in leaks from the investigation to a U.S. theory that a crew member deliberately crashed the plane.

An EgyptAir official said the Egyptian investigator had attached to the investigation dossier a report by a U.S psychiatrist on co-pilot Gamil al-Batouti's state of mind.

Some U.S investigators initially asserted that Batouti deliberately caused the crash to commit suicide. However, Egyptian officials rejected such allegations, which stirred angry reactions from Egyptians and the co-pilot's family.

The psychiatrist built his analysis on what Batouti said during the plane's plunge, the official said. The psychiatrist's report confirmed that Batouti's tone, language and behavior would not have been made by a person on the verge of suicide.

The investigation has been handled delicately to avoid offending Egypt, a key U.S. ally in Middle East peace efforts.

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