1940 - 1999
Summary
Name:
Gameel Al-BatoutiYears Active:
1999Birth:
October 18, 1940Status:
DeceasedClass:
Mass MurdererVictims:
216Method:
Aircraft sabotageDeath:
October 31, 1999Nationality:
Egypt1940 - 1999
Summary: Mass Murderer
Name:
Gameel Al-BatoutiStatus:
DeceasedVictims:
216Method:
Aircraft sabotageNationality:
EgyptBirth:
October 18, 1940Death:
October 31, 1999Years Active:
1999“I rely on God”
— Gameel Al-Batouti
Gameel Al-Batouti was born on 18 October 1940 in the farming community of Kafr al-Dabusi, a village of Sherbin in Dakahlia Governorate. His father served as a mayor and owned land. His family members were well educated and relatively affluent.
Gameel Al-Batouti was the relief first officer on EgyptAir Flight 990 on 31 October 1999. The Boeing 767 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 60 miles southeast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. All 217 people on board were killed.
The NTSB concluded that the crash was caused by a series of deliberate flight control inputs to the aircraft made by Al-Batouti while he was alone in the cockpit. Investigators learned that he had been momentarily alone when the aircraft suddenly went into a rapid nose-first dive. This caused weightlessness in the cabin.
Captain Ahmed El-Habashi re-entered the cockpit and tried to regain control. He pulled back on the control column and applied full power, but the engines had been shut down and those actions had little effect. The captain then deployed the speedbrakes, which slowed the dive and briefly caused a steep climb. Both engines then stopped, the aircraft lost electrical power, and both flight recorders stopped. The jet broke apart in midair and debris fell into the ocean at about 1:52 a.m. EST.
Some of Al-Batouti’s final words on the cockpit voice recorder were "Tawkalt ala Allah" spoken eleven times. The phrase can be translated as "I rely on God" or "I put my trust in God."
Investigators reported that an EgyptAir official, Hatem Roushdy, had recently reprimanded Al-Batouti for repeated inappropriate behavior with female guests at the Hotel Pennsylvania. Roushdy was a passenger on Flight 990 and had revoked Al-Batouti’s privilege of flying to the United States, telling him that Flight 990 would be his last on the route.
The Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority disputed the NTSB conclusion. The Egyptian authority blamed mechanical problems rather than actions by Al-Batouti. Western media also raised speculation about motives, while Al-Batouti’s family and friends said he did not have strong political beliefs.
