EgyptAir plans to dismiss a pilot who abandoned his plane in Britain two weeks ago

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EgyptAir pilot dismissed from job after seeking asylum in Britain Copyright ) 2000 Nando Media Copyright ) 2000 Associated Press

http://www.nandotimes.com/global/story/0,1024,500169980-500218049-501030854-0,00.html

CAIRO, Egypt (February 18, 2000 11:12 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - EgyptAir plans to dismiss a pilot who abandoned his plane in Britain two weeks ago and sought asylum, an airline official said Friday.

Hamdi Hanafi Taha will be dismissed Saturday, said the official, who asked not to be named.

Taha flew an EgyptAir plane to London's Heathrow Airport on Feb. 4 and asked for asylum. He said he had information about the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990, which plunged into the sea off the coast of Massachusetts on Oct. 31, killing all 217 people on board.

EgyptAir suspended Taha effective Feb. 4. Egyptian labor law entitles the airline to fire him for failing to report to work within eight days of his suspension or within 16 days of leaving his job.

A U.S. investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, but senior EgyptAir officials have dismissed the idea that Taha knew something about it. The British government has said it is considering Taha's asylum application.

-- boop (leafyspurge@hotmail.com), February 18, 2000

Answers

Interesting...this happened at least a week ago. You'd think the Brits would have announced by now whether or not this pilot actually did have relevant info.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), February 18, 2000.

"You'd think the Brits would have announced by now whether or not this pilot actually did have relevant info. "

Could be the pilot said this just to get asylum in England. Who knows what domestic problems may have been on his mind. Compare the Afghanistan plane last week --

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), February 18, 2000.


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