While promoting speculation of "terrorist" action, the media hype has fueled anti-Arab prejudices. Three weeks after the crash a pilot ordered an emergency evacuation at a runway in Columbus, Ohio, because the flight crew supposedly observed "suspicious behavior" by two Arab passengers.

Washington's anti-Muslim campaign sparked anger among Egyptian government officials and other citizens. "They are looking for a scapegoat," declared Issam Abdel Moneim, an accountant.

"Cairo's indignation over the theory that one of its pilots could have been responsible for the crash comes against a background in which Egyptians and others in the Muslim world believe that Westerners can be insufficiently sensitive to the subtleties of Islam and too eager to attribute deadly events to Islamic extremism" the November 18 New York Times reported.

The statement attributed to Batouti, "I made my decision now. I put my faith in God's hands" was widely circulated in the media but the first five words in the first sentence were the creation of someone else and were not on the flight deck recorders. Justice Department officials have retracted their claims that Batouti made the alleged comments

Earlier coverage of the disaster implied that a struggle may have occurred in the cockpit and that Batouti "resisted his captain's urgent pleadings to help him take the plane out of its death dive," the Washington Post reported November 18. Several days later an article in the Washington Post stated, "investigators believed they had a good idea who was in the cockpit at the time of dive but now are less certain. Sources close to the investigation point out that at least eight people aboard the plane could have flown it—four flight crew members and four pilots who were riding in the cabin as passengers." On long flights pilots are added to allow them to have some rest.

No evidence has been presented that indicates any physical struggle took place in the flight deck.

Earlier the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) decided to pass the investigation to the FBI for a criminal inquiry, saying "the plane's voice and data recorders, plus radar data, would probably be sufficient to determine a cause," but beat a hasty retreat when the Egyptian government objected to such a quick determination.

"We don't feel there is enough evidence to warrant turning it over to the FBI," stated an Arab official in Washington after stressing that there is no conflict between Egypt and the United States.

NTSB chairman Jim Hall declared, "After consultations among the Egyptian authorities, the safety board and the FBI, we agreed more work needs to be done. " He said the Smit Pioneer, a huge salvage ship, would arrive at the crash site by December 1 to bring up pieces of the aircraft wreckage and human remains from the ocean floor to determine the cause of the catastropheplane.

The suicide theory like the earlier completely unsubstantiated news coverage about terrorism in the skies or possible sabotage by workers at Boeing downplay the disregard of the airline bosses and aerospace manufacturers to air safety. It also opened up a new round of attacks on the democratic rights of workers in the industry and passengers.

Boeing chairman and CEO Phil Condit appeared on CNN's Larry King Live November 18 commenting on the fact that the aircraft of flight 990 was built at the same time as another Boeing 767 which crashed in 1991. A November 5 newsletter issued by Boeing urged workers not to speak directly to the "media, public, regulatory agency, or governmental personnel, requesting information." Demanding adherence to company policy, the bosses mandated, "if the media or public calls you directly, please do not answer any questions but instead refer them to Boeing Public Relations." With these gag rules Boeing attempts to handcuff workers at its plants from weighing in on the side of safety.

Muhammad Al-Qudhaieen and Hamdan Alshalawi, both graduate students at Arizona University were detained for almost eight hours, including two hours handcuffed in a police car and held detention at the airport. They were held after a America West pilot ordered an emergency runway evacuation when the plane landed at Port Columbus International Airport.

At a press briefing on Capital Hill, Nihad Awed, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said that the two were innocent victims of "racial and religious profiling." The group said the incident might have been a result of tensions surrounding the investigation of the recent crash of EgptAir Flight 990.

They are guilty of asking question about their itinerary, speaking in Arabic and trying to use the restroom. In 1997 the White House Commission on Aviation Security urged the implementation of a process for spotting what they considered potential terrorists. Government officials say that it doesn't target racial, religious or ethnic groups but has never given details of the profile.  
 
 
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