33 Egyptian officers on EgyptAir jet - Pentagon

Updated 6:10 PM ET November 4, 1999

By Charles Aldinger

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most of the 33 Egyptian military officers killed when an EgyptAir aircraft plunged into the Atlantic Sunday had been in the United States for talks with private defense contractors, the Pentagon said Thursday.

All 217 people aboard the plane were killed.

Defense Department spokesman Ken Bacon did not identify the officers but said they were in small groups apparently not connected with one another. He said the officers were part of a total of about 1,000 Egyptian military personnel who visit the United States annually on a variety of missions.

Bacon said the U.S. Embassy in Cairo had provided information that put the Egyptians in five groups visiting under sponsorship of the Cairo government and a sixth group of individuals who were on vacation or visiting for other private reasons.

-- Six visiting Boston to deal with a commercial contractor providing network planning and communications analysis services to the Egyptian military under a private contract.

-- Seven visited Fort Rucker, Alabama, and were in the country to receive and test two H-3 helicopters from a private contractor.

-- Six had been dealing with a commercial company in California that is providing training on high frequency telecommunications equipment to the Egyptian military.

-- Three also had been undergoing training on telecommunications equipment in Florida under a commercial contract.

-- Six attended a conference dealing with repairs on Chaparral missiles under a private contract.

"In addition, there were five other officers here on whom we don't have a track," said Bacon. "We believe that they were here on personal business. They had visas that were not sponsored by the Ministry of Defense."

Defense Secretary William Cohen was asked by Pentagon reporters earlier Thursday if there was any indication to support some public speculation that the officers might have been targeted in a possible terrorist attack on the aircraft.

"We don't have any information that would support that at this time," he responded. "I think the investigation is still very much in the preliminary stages, but we don't have any information that would indicate that."

Cohen, as other senior U.S. officials have done, cautioned against speculation before the investigation was complete.

"All we can do is carry out the investigation, the inquiry, and not prejudge it. But we have no information that there was a terrorist act. The investigators are leaving everything open for their complete investigation," he said.