Egypt the Key in Crash Inquiry

Early Tuesday, it was expected that the National Transportation Safety Board would turn over to the FBI its investigation into last month’s crash of EgyptAir Flight 990. It didn’t, apparently because Egypt wanted a delay. We hope that this indicates Egypt is deeply committed to learning the truth of this case.

The Egypt-bound Boeing 767-300ER crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff from Kennedy International Airport in New York. The safety board’s civilian investigators have found no sign of a mechanical failure. Because of this and the chain of events indicated by the flight’s cockpit voice recorder and the data recorder, officials believed it was time to consider the possibility that the crash was caused by a deliberate act of a flight crew member. But it became clear Tuesday that Egypt wanted its own experts and translators to review the evidence.

EgyptAir, which is owned by the Egyptian government and faces serious liability concerns, owes it to the families of the victims of Flight 990 to divulge any and all information it has on the flight crew and any other fact that is possibly relevant to the investigation.

Concerns focused on the translation of the Arabic spoken by the flight crew. U.S. translators described prayerful words of a member of the flight crew as what could be interpreted as a prelude to deliberately crashing the plane, just before the airliner’s plunge began. But other linguists disagreed, saying the words might have been said in frustration at the plane’s dire problems.

Obviously, reaching the truth should exceed all other considerations. The greater involvement of Egyptian officials--and that ought to mean full cooperation with investigative authorities--should provide some answers to the mysteries of EgyptAir Flight 990.