DATE=11/2/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=EGYPT AIR CRASH UPDATE (L)
NUMBER=2-255759
BYLINE=NICK SIMEONE
DATELINE=NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:


INTRO:  The US Navy has detected more signals from 
what could be the voice and data recorders from Egypt 
Air flight 990 which crashed off the coast of 
Massachusetts Sunday shortly after taking off from New 
York for Cairo, killing all 217 people on board.   But 
bad weather is forcing ships searching for wreckage to 
head back into port and conditions are expected to 
deteriorate over the next several days. Correspondent 
Nick Simeone reports on what investigators expect will 
be a very difficult and slow search for answers to 
what caused the crash.


TEXT:  Much of the investigation into the crash of 
flight 990 will be suspended, perhaps until Saturday, 
if the forecast for gale force winds and heavy seas 
proves true.   The wind here in Newport is already 
blowing so strong that the Naval vessel, the "USS 
Grapple" can not be fitted with the undersea equipment 
it needs to recover the jet's voice and data recorders 
from the bottom of the ocean.   

Navy Captain Jeff Graham.

            /// GRAHAM ACT ///

      The weather has deteriorated worse than we had 
      anticipated.  In fact, the high winds at the 
      pier here in Newport, Rhode Island have 
      precluded the continuation of the installation 
      of `deep-drone' on `Grapple'.  That is a delay 
      that we hoped not to have occurred. 

            /// END ACT ///

That means investigators may not be able to retrieve 
the plane's so-called black boxes before Saturday.  
The devices record the voice of the pilots and other 
flight data and are considered key to determining what 
caused the jet to plunge into the Atlantic Ocean just 
minutes after take off.

But other parts of the investigation are moving 
forward.  The FBI has interviewed more than 100 people 
around the country -- including two on the 
Massachusetts island of Nantucket who say they saw 
something unusual in the sky around the time of the 
crash.  FBI regional director Barry Mawn wants to hear 
from anyone who may have leads in the case and the 
agency is establishing a toll free telephone number 
for anyone who may have relevant information.

            /// MAWN ACT ///

      We have established this 1-800 number primarily 
      to provide a vehicle for the general public to 
      reach out and report to us any unusual or 
      suspicious activity that they may have seen.  It 
      is important to us in any investigation that 
      usually, a lot of information usually does come 
      from the general public.
      
            /// END ACT ///

The National Transportation Safety Board has disclosed 
that while the Egypt Airliner was in the United 
States, two of the plane's tires were replaced.  One 
engine thrust reverser  -- used to slow planes upon 
landing -- was reported to be inoperable.  Both are 
under investigation.  But under US regulations, one 
malfunctioning thrust reverser would not by itself be 
cause for grounding the flight.  But the problem with 
the thrust reverser is blamed for the cause of a plane 
crashed in Thailand in 1991.(SIGNED)


NEB/NJS/TVM/PT



02-Nov-1999 22:12 PM EDT (03-Nov-1999 0312 UTC)
NNNN

Source: Voice of America
.