CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Despite an FBI probe into the case, an EgyptAir pilot who often flew with the two pilots assigned to Flight 990 believes neither would intentionally or erroneously cause the plane to crash.
Reasons for their actions -- including shutting down both engines -- can be explained, said Yusri Hamid, if they needed to slow the plane following an explosion or another catastrophic event."I know them very well and I know their capabilities and their skills," Hamid said Tuesday of Capt. Ahmed el-Habashy and co-pilot Adel Anwar. "Neither would have done such a thing" as intentionally crash the plane.
The FBI has taken over the crash investigation, Clinton administration officials said Tuesday, an indication that authorities believe the plane may have been brought down by a criminal act.
According to a source close to the probe, someone in the cockpit -- apparently someone in the copilot's seat -- uttered a prayer before the jet's autopilot disengaged and it began its fatal plunge. The wording of the prayer was not immediately disclosed.
Hamid dismissed speculation that the prayer could indicate the plane was crashed intentionally as part of a suicide mission.
"Any pilot who sees he is heading toward trouble will say religious prayers, whether he is a Muslim or a Christian," said Hamid, a 59-year-old veteran who has clocked some 5,000 flight hours on a Boeing 767.
"If the pilot did turn off the autopilot it means there was a problem and he was trying to solve it," he said. "If you are in a dangerous position and you do not know what to do, you may do almost anything."
The flight data recorder shows the plane was cruising normally at 33,000 feet until its autopilot was turned off, its nose pointed sharply down, its throttles cut back and engines shut off. The plane then rose from the dive and gained height briefly before breaking up and crashing into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 217 people on board.
Some American pilots have said they cannot think of an emergency situation that would prompt the crew to take those steps.
But Hamid said there were possible explanations, including that the pilots cut the engines to try to slow a downward plunge.
"They are going down. The speed is faster and faster. The plane can collapse. They are trying to reduce the speed, so they (turn) off the engines to reduce the speed," said Hamid, who flew the latest EgyptAir flight from New York to Cairo on Sunday.
In addition to el-Habashy and Anwar, two pilots on a cross-Atlantic familiarization course were aboard during the crash, EgyptAir's worst disaster.