Gameel Al-Batouti
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Gameel Al-Batouti (February 2, 1940 – October 31, 1999) was a pilot for EgyptAir, his home country's national airline, and a former officer for the Egyptian Air Force. All 217 aboard were killed when Flight 990 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean 60 miles SE of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, on October 31, 1999.
Batouti was the co-pilot that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) suspected of deliberately crashing Flight 990 into the ocean, an assertion denied by Egyptian authorities. According to the NTSB, Batouti seized the plane's controls and turned off the autopilot after the captain left the cockpit. He then led the plane into a dive, continually repeating, "I rely on God". The pilot then came back into the cockpit, tried to stop the dive, but could not prevent the plane from crashing into the ocean.
Some investigators learned that he was supposedly reprimanded for inappropriate behavior with female guests at the Hotel Pennsylvania, a New York City hotel often used by EgyptAir crews. An EgyptAir official said to be responsible for the alleged reprimand was a passenger on Flight 990. The details of the reprimand included the removal of Gameel Al-Batouti's privilege of flying any flight to the United States, and that Flight 990 would be his last.
There were some suggestions that Batouti may have been a terrorist, but his family and friends indicated that he had no strong political beliefs.
