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^eapChair questions board’s EgyptAir investigation
meat.
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I WASHINGTON (AP) — Jim Hall, chair of the
^ Cl national Transportation Safety Board (NTSB),
^|fuest:ioned yesterday
''hether his agency would
, , Dntinue leading the investi-
-Bllouirnovu W, of th | crash of
, RVPtAir Flight 990, raising
. and we are m th 6 at the |ane wa |
enonB,llc * l ' s UH.dbyacrimfMlKt.
Hall also met with FBI Di-
?ctor Louis J. Freeh to dis-
as| having the law enforcement agency take over
i" Branch Davidi teInvestigation after the plane’s cockpit voice
^ninpr iintmsti border taped one of the crew members making
down,mera oft questionable statement,
l ing the Feb 281 A federal law enforcement official told the As-
jndoff, when Bui elated Press (AP) that the question of whether
gents sought loser 5 °P en a criminal investigation was raised be-
kiians. ATFspokf atfe “one view is that a crew member is heard
aware of anyreqi nthe cockpit tape to say something religious in
capons used at V ature.”
the House Cover The official, who spoke on the condition of
s investigating) nonymity, added: “There is no desire for the
siege, said aides! BI to rush into this.” The decision after yes-
Branch Davidiair relay’s meeting between Hall and Freeh was
>st. ) Vvait and see what else can be drawn from
favidian weapons le tape recording.
'rely damaged, yBS News reported, meanwhile, that the sys-
mid. “They melted:* n | recorded what sounded like the cockpit door
scovered thesheic Pening and a voice saying something to the ef-
ey held in custody! -ct of “what’s going on?”
is about evidence.Tm
omorrow that are.
;e to examine some
government’s poss
Hall told a news conference he was confident
the jetliner’s advanced flight data recorder would
provide information needed to resolve questions
about the Oct. 31 crash, which killed all 217
aboard.
Hall said work on the plane’s other “black
box,” the cockpit voice recorder, was being
slowed because of the need to translate the
recorded conversations to English from the pi
lots’ native Arabic.
He acknowledged there have been “many ru
mors, theories and stories” circulating about
whether the crash was caused by mechanical fail
ure or a criminal act such as a hijacking, crew
fight or pilot suicide.
That prompted him to say: “We are concen
trating our efforts on determining from the evi
dence, including the cockpit voice recorder,
whether or not this investigation is to remain un
der the leadership of the [NTSB]. ”
The board’s charter said that it will be the pri
mary investigative authority for transportation ac
cidents until there is evidence of a crime.
NTSB spokesperson Ted Lopatkiewicz said the
only time in recent memory the board transferred
oversight to the FBI under similar circumstances
was in 1987, when a Pacific Southwest Airlines
plane crashed north of Los Angeles.
The FBI and the board later concluded that a
disgruntled worker shot the crew members, caus
ing the plane to crash and kill all 43 aboard.
Besides Hall’s statements at the news confer
ence, there were other signs the probe may turn
into a criminal investigation:
• Hall pledged over the weekend that the cock
pit voice tape would be reviewed yesterday by a
group that included Boeing, which made the 767
that crashed, and Pratt & Whitney, which made
the plane’s engines.
That meeting was canceled, a government of
ficial close to the investigation told the AP, and a
smaller group primarily including NTSB officials
and FBI agents reviewed the tape instead.
• Hall’s meeting with Freeh and other officials
to discuss whether there was enough evidence to
open a criminal investigation, said an official who
requested anonymity.
“Not everyone agrees over what to make of
some things on the [cockpit] tape,” the official
said.
The EgyptAir Boeing 767 crashed into the At
lantic early Halloween morning about 40 minutes
after takeoff from New York.
It was heading to Cairo from Los Angeles
after an intermediate stop at Kennedy Inter
national Airport.
Speculation about a possible hijacking, crew
fight or pilot suicide lingers because the flight data
recorder shows that the plane was cruising nor
mally at 33,000 feet until its autopilot was turned
off, its nose was pointed sharply down, its throt
tles were cut back and its engines then shut off.
Nurse receives maximum sentence
for killing 6 patients under his care
BRAZIL, Ind. (AP) — A judge
sentenced former nurse Orville
Lynn Majors to the maximum of
360 years in prison yesterday for
killing six elderly patients under his
care with lethal injections.
Judge Ernest Yelton cited the
nature of the crime, committed
in a hospital where the six vic
tims had gone for treatment of
various illnesses.
“He was entrusted with these
people’s care,” Yelton said. “In re
sponse, he committed diabolical
acts that extinguished the frail lives
of six people.”
The judge gave Majors six 60-
year sentences, to be served con
secutively, effectively giving him a
life sentence. Majors would have to
serve at least 180 years before be
ing eligible for early release.
“At long last, may the souls of
Mary Ann Alderson, Dorothea
Dixon, Luella Hopkins, Margaret
Hornick, Freddie Dale Wilson,
Derek Maxwell and Cecil Smith
rest in peace,” Yelton said.
Majors, 38,was convicted Oct.
17 of killing six patients — all those
mentioned by the judge except
Smith — while they were patients
at Vermiliion County Hospital in
the mid-1990s.
Jurors could not reach a deci
sion in the case of Smith, which
ended in a mistrial.
Majors sat a few feet from the
witness stand where three of the
victims’ relatives made emotion
al pleas for the longest possible
sentence.
“Mr. Majors, if you don’t want
the fruit of sin, then stay out of the
devil’s orchard,” Maxwell’s wife,
Kathryn, said.
Defense attorney Carolyn Rader
offered no evidence that might
have lessened the sentence, saying
she did not believe it would make
a difference. She left immediately
after the hearing without speaking
to reporters.
Majors still maintains his inno
cence and his lawyers are appeal
ing the verdict.
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