-Caveat Lector-
Reuters · UPI
Military officers on EgyptAir flight - Egypt media
Updated 5:10 AM ET November 2, 1999
By Esmat Salaheddin
CAIRO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities on Tuesday lifted a
news blackout, permitting Egyptian media to confirm foreign
reports that senior military officers were on board the Egyptair
flight that plunged into the Atlantic on SUnday, killing all 217
people on board.
"Egyptian sources said that a number of officers of different
ranks and from various branches of the armed forces were among
the victims of the plane that crashed off the U.S. eastern
coast," the official daily al-Gomhuria said.
It was the first time that local media had reported the military
presence on the plane, after aviation and security sources told
Reuters on Monday that more than 30 officers -- most of them
high-ranking -- were on the plane that crashed killing all 217
people on board.
Local media had earlier been censored from reporting that the
officers were on board the flight, Egyptian reporters said.
U.S. defence officials also confirmed the report, but said most
of the group, in the United States for training, had not been
senior-level officers,
"Defence Secretary (William) Cohen spoke with Marshal Tantawi
(Egyptian Defence Minister Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi)
on the telephone this morning and expressed his deep
condolences," one senior Pentagon official told Reuters.
The official said some of the Egyptians were army pilots who had
been undergoing training in flying AH-64 "Apache" attack
helicopters.
MANY EGYPTIAN OFFICERS TRAIN IN U.S.
Egypt is one of Washington's biggest military and political
allies in the Middle East, and the two countries exchange dozens
of officers annually in training programmes as well as taking
part in joint military exercises. Egypt has billions of dollars
in U.S. military equipment in its defence arsenal.
The Egyptian Defence Ministry and other government officials
would not comment on the report.
One security source in Cairo said the group included four Air
Force officers, two brigadiers-general, a colonel and a major.
There were also at least two army majors-general, one brigadier,
four colonels and two lieutenant-colonels.
"Three of the officers went on board the plane without being
checked in," one of the aviation sources said, without explaining
why.
The cause of the crash has not been established. U.S. aviation
authorities did not receive any distress call.
The U.S. Coast Guard abandoned its search for survivors on Monday
and shifted efforts to recovering bodies and debris before bad
weather set in.
CLINTON, MUBARAK PLAY DOWN POSSIBILITY OF SABOTAGE
Coast Guard ships received a "ping signal" indicating the
location of one of the plane's two flight data recorders, U.S.
Coast Guard Rear Admiral Richard Larrabee said, but pinpointing
the exact site would be difficult in the 250-foot (76 metre) deep
water.
U.S. President Bill Clinton said in Oslo that he was not aware of
any threats against airlines flying out of the United States. He
said until more of the plane was recovered, the cause of the
crash could not be determined.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak also played down suggestions of
sabotage.
"Sabotage? I don't think that. Or a terrorist act? I don't think
that, but I cannot foretell. We are waiting until the
investigation comes to an end," he told CNN television.
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