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DATE=10/31/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=EGYPTAIR 990 (UPDATE)(L) NUMBER=2-255675 BYLINE=LARRY FREUND DATELINE=NEW YORK CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Investigators are searching for clues for the cause of the crash of an EgyptAir Boeing 767 airliner shortly after it took off early Sunday from New York's Kennedy Airport, on a flight to Cairo. Two hundred seventeen people were aboard the aircraft and no survivors have been located. Correspondent Larry Freund reports from New York. TEXT: The National Transportation Safety Board, N-T-S- B - the U-S agency responsible for air crash investigations - has sent its investigators to the crash scene to begin searching for evidence to explain why EgyptAir Flight 990 fell into the ocean about 100 kilometers south of the island of Nantucket (Massachusetts). Radar indicates the aircraft fell very quickly shortly after taking off from New York. One of the key items searchers will try to find is the "black box," the on-board flight data and voice recorder that may explain what caused what one senior investigator calls an enormous human tragedy. Rear Admiral Richard Larrabee of the U-S Coast Guard said locating that black box is a top priority. /// LARRABEE ACTUALITY /// One of my concerns right now is locating and recovering that black box. /// END ACT /// The EgyptAir flight originated in Los Angeles, California, and took off for Cairo after stopping in New York for about an hour to receive additional passengers and to re-fuel. President Clinton told reporters there is no evidence of foul play but investigators say nothing can be ruled out. Families of the passengers aboard the jetliner gathered at a hotel at Kennedy Airport, where they spoke with New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. /// GIULIANI ACTUALITY /// They are seeking information. And what we have tried to say to them is that this is going to be a very difficult process. At this point no one really has evidence of what happened. So everybody is speculating. And that is very dangerous. The N-T-S-B and the F-B-I and everyone else is going to investigate this very thoroughly. And it is going to take days, weeks, maybe even months to get a good picture of exactly what happened. /// END ACTUALITY /// A special U-S Navy ship that has been used to lift wreckage of other aircraft from the ocean floor is on its way to the crash scene. (signed) NEB/NY/LSF/gm 31-Oct-1999 19:15 PM EDT (01-Nov-1999 0015 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .