Aircraft Accident Brief Ntsb/aab-02/01 (Pb2002-910401): Egypt Air Flight 990, Boeing 767-366er, Su-Gap - National Transportation Safety Board Page 9

ADVERTISEMENT

3
relief first officer stated, “You mean you’re not going to get up? You will get up, go and
get some rest and come back.” The command first officer then stated, “You should have
7
told me, you should have told me this, Captain [relief first officer’s surname].
You should
have said, ‘[command first officer’s first name]…I will work first.’ Just leave me a
message. Now I am going to sit beside you. I mean, now, I’ll sit by you on the seat. I am
not sleepy. Take your time sleeping and when you wake up, whenever you wake up, come
back, Captain.”
The relief first officer then stated, “I’ll come either way…come work the last few
hours, and that’s all.” The command first officer responded, “No…that’s not the point, it’s
not like that, if you want to sit here, there’s no problem.” The relief first officer stated, “I’ll
come back to you, I mean, I will eat and come back, all right?” The command first officer
responded, “Fine, look here, sir. Why don’t you come so that…you want them to bring
your dinner here, and I’ll go to sleep [in the cabin]?” The relief first officer stated, “That’s
good.” The command first officer then stated to the command captain, “With your
permission, Captain?”
At 0140:56, the CVR recorded the sound of the cockpit door operating. About
1 second later, the command first officer stated in a soft voice, “Do you see how he does
whatever he pleases?” At 0141:09, the command first officer stated, “No, he does
whatever he pleases. Some days he doesn’t work at all.” At 0141:51, the CVR again
recorded the sound of the cockpit door operating. Sounds recorded during the next minute
by the CVR (including a whirring sound similar to an electric seat motor operating, a
clicking sound similar to a seat belt operating, and some conversation) indicated that the
command first officer vacated and the relief first officer moved into the first officer’s seat.
Flight data recorder (FDR) and radar data indicated that the airplane leveled at its
assigned altitude of FL 330 at 0144:27. At 0147:19, New York ARTCC instructed
EgyptAir flight 990 to change radio frequencies for better communication coverage. The
command captain of EgyptAir flight 990 acknowledged and reported on the new
8
frequency at 0147:39.
At 0147:55, the relief first officer stated, “Look, here’s the new first officer’s pen.
9
Give it to him please. God spare you,”
and, at 0147:58, someone responded, “yeah.”
6
When two flight crews are used, EgyptAir designates one crew as the command flight crew and the
other as the relief flight crew. Although EgyptAir has no written or formal procedures for command/relief
flight crew transitions, postaccident interviews with EgyptAir flight crewmembers indicated that the
command and relief flight crews typically agreed upon transfer-of-control procedures for a flight before
departure. The interviews indicated that the most common procedure involved the command flight crew
flying the airplane for the first 3 or 4 hours of the flight, then the relief flight crew assuming control until
about 1 to 2 hours before landing. The command flight crew would then resume control of the airplane and
complete the flight.
7
Postaccident interviews with several EgyptAir pilots indicated that the relief first officer was often
addressed as “captain” as a title of respect because he had instructed many of the EgyptAir pilots at the
Egyptian flight training institute before he was hired by EgyptAir.
8
This was the last transmission to ATC from the accident airplane. Although some irregularities in
ATC handling were noted during the investigation, they were not relevant to the accident. For additional
information, see the Air Traffic Control Group Chairman’s Factual Report and its attachments and addenda.
NTSB/AAB-02/01

ADVERTISEMENT

00 votes

Related Articles

Related forms

Related Categories

Parent category: Legal