EgyptAir crash tape released

Voice and data recorders are also inconclusive

By Paul Reynolds in Washington

The air traffic control tapes of the last contact with EgyptAir flight 990 have been released in Washington.

The tapes shed no light on the cause of the crash but they do show that shortly after take-off the crew responded normally to a call from the New York air traffic controller.

The plane crashed into the sea off Massachusetts last October.

An inquiry is still under way into whether co-pilot Gameel el-Batouty intentionally crashed it or whether there was some technical or other reason.

The last seconds

At first the exchange between air traffic control and the plane were absolutely normal.

• Control: EgyptAir 990 change to my frequency, one-two- five-point-niner-two.
• EgyptAir 990: Thank you. Five-nine-two. Good day. Nine-nine-zero heavy good morning.

From then on nothing more was heard from the aircraft.

There then followed an increasingly urgent effort by the controller to find the missing plane.

She called out to it several times.

• Control: EgyptAir niner-niner-zero, this is New York Centre on guard. Contact New York Centre on frequency one-two-five-point-niner-two.

She questioned controllers in other sectors, asked a Lufthansa pilot in the area to call the plane and diverted an Air France flight to look and to listen for an emergency beacon. There was nothing.

The cockpit voice recorder tape has been recovered but is inconclusive and for legal reasons will not be released.

But American and Egyptian investigators cannot agree on whether the co-pilot deliberately brought the plane down and the inquiry continues.