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DATE=8/11/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=EGYPT AIR INVESTIGATION (L) NUMBER=2-265371 BYLINE=NICK SIMEONE DATELINE=WASHINGTON CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Nearly a year after the crash of an Egyptian airliner off the coast of Massachusetts, U-S air safety investigators say they still have not determined what caused the jet to plunge into the Atlantic, killing all 217 people on board. But Correspondent Nick Simeone reports some 16-hundred pages of documents about the investigation released Friday show no evidence of mechanical failure. TEXT: The National Transportation Safety Board is still not ready to conclude what brought down EgyptAir flight nine-90 last October 31st. But the release of much of the investigation's findings does not seem to contradict early suggestions that a member of Egyptian cockpit crew may have deliberately caused the crash. Alone in the cockpit, a relief co-pilot can be heard on the plane's voice recorder repeating in Arabic, "I rely on God", "I rely on God." A second pilot then returns to find the plane in a nosedive. He is heard on the tape saying, "What's happening? What's happening?" Then, the tape records both pilots seemingly struggling to right the plane, with the second pilot asking the first, "Did you shut the engines?" and "Pull with me", an apparent and ultimately futile attempt to pull the plane out of its steep dive into the cold waters of the Atlantic. On Friday, N-T-S-B Chairman Jim Hall told reporters U- S air safety investigators have come up with nothing to support Egypt's claim that the plane must have had a mechanical problem. /// HALL ACT /// the Egyptian authorities have reviewed all the material contained in the docket. Where they have disagreements, they have been given the opportunity to submit those disagreements in writing. /// END ACT /// Chairman Hall says he stands by statements he made in the days following the crash, that the plane may have been taken down by the deliberate action of a crewmember. But the leader of the Egyptian investigating team, Mohsen El Missiry, rejects any suggestion that an Egyptair pilot may be responsible, saying more investigation needs to be done into possible mechanical failure. /// EL MISSIRY ACT /// This is painful for the families and harmful to the integrity of the investigation, which has not reached any conclusion. Egypt will continue to pursue the truth behind this tragedy. /// END ACT /// The investigation has strained U-S - Egyptian relations and has already cost an estimated 17-million dollars. A final conclusion into what brought the plane down could still be months away. (SIGNED) NEB/NJS/JP 11-Aug-2000 16:51 PM LOC (11-Aug-2000 2051 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .