U.S. Authorities Force Egyptair To Change Crew Of New York Bound Flight

CAIRO, Aug 20 (AFP) - US authorities forced Egypt's national carrier to replace two crew members on its regular flight to New York Friday, causing a delay of 100 minutes, an airport official told AFP.
EgyptAir received a message from US authorities shortly before Flight 985 was scheduled to take off, advising it that the two crew members should be substituted, the official said.
It was not immediately clear why Washington had raised objections to the pair, as officials said they had worked on a recent flight to New York, but EgyptAir complied with the request.
In line with US aviation security policy since the September 11, 2001, attacks, EgyptAir has been sending Washington advance lists of passengers and crew members for screening.
Mohammed Atta, the man Washington said was the leader of the September 11 hijackers, was an Egyptian.