EgyptAir Flight 990 — 1999 plane crash of an EgyptAir Boeing 767 in the Atlantic Ocean
The crash killed all 217 aboard and became the deadliest EgyptAir disaster, with US and Egyptian investigators reaching conflicting conclusions on cause.
Key Facts
- Date of crash
- October 31, 1999
- Total fatalities
- 217 people
- Distance from Nantucket
- 60 miles
- Aircraft type
- Boeing 767-300ER
- Primary US investigator
- National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
- Scheduled route
- Los Angeles – New York JFK – Cairo
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The NTSB concluded that the crash resulted from intentional flight control inputs by the relief first officer, causing the aircraft to depart normal cruise flight. Egyptian investigators disputed this, attributing the accident to mechanical failure of the right elevator's power control units, and the two sides never reached agreement.
On October 31, 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, a Boeing 767-300ER en route from New York JFK to Cairo, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean approximately 60 miles south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, killing all 217 passengers and crew aboard.
The crash triggered a prolonged investigative dispute between the NTSB and Egypt's ECAA, each issuing contradictory official findings. The FBI was proposed as lead investigator but Egypt refused the handover, leaving the NTSB to continue outside its normal purview, and the two countries' reports remain in conflict.