In the aftermath of the crash of Egypt Air flight 990 after leaving New York on Halloween, I had a instinctive feeling that mind control was involved in some way and I discussed it with some friends. At that time there was no evidence to support this as the usual questions were being asked about mechanical failures.

But when you read the latest reports on the crash, it begins to point that way more and more. As those who have read my books, and related works, will know, it is perfectly straightforward to program someone to take a future action and then place that instruction deep in the subconscious. It stays there until the programmed "trigger", a word, a sentence, a sound, whatever, brings that subconscious programming to the conscious level.

At that point, the person will carry out the instructions of the programming - in this case, quite possibly, ditching the plane. Egyptian authorities have dismissed the idea that a member of the crew would have crashed a plane to commit suicide, but the point is that the action would not have been that person's own conscious decision, but a mind control programming which overrides his own thought processes. Anyway, here is a report on the latest evidence. See what you think:

NEWPORT, R.I. Nov. 17 (AP) - As the U.S. government delayed an FBI probe of the EgyptAir Flight 990 crash, there were indications that a backup pilot was at the controls just before the jetliner began its fatal plunge, The Associated Press has learned.

It is too early to conclude whether the crew played any role in the Oct. 31 crash that killed 217 people, a source close to the investigation said Tuesday on condition of anonymity.

But the disclosure has focused attention on the four-man crew, including Capt. Gameel Batouty, a relief co-pilot nearing retirement after 35 years with the state-owned airline.

Egyptian airline officials have tentatively identified the person in the co-pilot's seat as Batouty after listening to the cockpit voice recorder, one of two ``black boxes'' recovered from the crash site 60 miles off the Massachusetts coast.

Batouty, 59, was scheduled to take over much later in the New York-to-Cairo flight from co-pilot Adel Anwar. Another source close to the investigation said the tape showed Batouty came to the cockpit, ``said he wanted to fly'' and his request was accepted.

The New York Times reported today that Batouty was left alone in the cockpit, repeating an Arabic phrase that can mean ``I entrust myself to God'' at about the same time the jet's autopilot is turned off. The plane began a steep plunge from 33,000 feet just after that, regaining some altitude before dropping into the sea.

Investigators suggested the pilot, Capt. Ahmed Mahmoud el-Habashy, returned to the cockpit and struggled to regain control of the jet, the Times reported, citing unidentified government officials.

The jet's two engines were effectively shut down during the dive, according to the cockpit data recorder. Sources also told the Times that the unusual split in the plane's elevators - flaps on the tail that bend down or up to raise or lift the plane's nose - may have been caused as one pilot tried to lift the plane out of a dive and another forced the controls down.

At a news conference Tuesday in Washington, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman James Hall said no sign of mechanical malfunction has been identified in the crash of the Boeing 767.

But he stopped short of turning the case over to the FBI at Egypt's request to allow additional Egyptian experts more time to analyze the last recorded words of the pilots so they might contribute more understanding to what was said.

``As long as there are differences in the interpretation - and there are significant differences in the cultural interpretations of some expressions on the recorder - I think it is unfair ... for us to characterize it,'' he said.

Although the phrase heard on the voice recorder has been characterized as a prayer, that doesn't mean it was related to the cause of the disaster. Arabic speakers make references to God in everyday statements.

Over the weekend, EgyptAir insisted that el-Habashy and Anwar were in good physical and mental condition, passing checkups in the past five months.

``They were among our best pilots,'' said Hassan Misharfa, EgyptAir's head of operations. ``They had long experience and, in addition to that, they had passed all professional, safety and psychological tests successfully.''

The airline did not address the condition of the other two pilots, Batouty and Capt. Raouf Noureddin. U.S. investigators are now studying the background of all crew members, including Batouty.

Married 27 years with five children, Batouty joined EgyptAir in 1987 after training pilots at Egypt's Civil Aviation Authority and the air force. He had more than 5,000 flight hours in a Boeing 767 and was to have retired in March.

His 10-year-old daughter, Aya, suffers from the immune disorder lupus erythematosis, and had been treated in the United States.

``She was everything to him,'' his brother-in-law Essam Dahi said. ``Only God will be able to give her the kind of love her father offered.''

Mohammed Batouty, the pilot's son, denied that the family had any financial problems. The Al-Ahram newspaper has reported that Batouty sent home money and a present for his daughter the day before the crash.

Dahi also remembered asking Batouty recently if he ever felt nervous flying over the ocean so often.

``We see our deaths every day over the ocean,'' Batouty had replied.

But Batouty didn't dwell on that which he could not predict, Dahi said. He was ``a man of experience, honor and, most importantly, faith.''

Batouty was Muslim. It is strictly against the Muslim faith to commit suicide, something relatives referred to amid suggestions that Batouty was responsible for the crash.

``The pain today is worse than the pain on the day he died,'' widow Omyama Mahmoud Famy said in today's Newsday. ``I don't believe he would do anything like that.''