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DATE=11/16/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=EGYPT AIR INVESTIGATION (L) NUMBER=2-256226 BYLINE=NICK SIMEONE DATELINE=WASHINGTON CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: The investigation into the crash of EgyptAir Flight-990 is expected to be turned over to the F-B-I. Federal air safety investigators say they found suspicious comments on the plane's cockpit voice recorder. Correspondent Nick Simeone has the latest in the investigation. TEXT: Government sources say an EgyptAir crew member is heard on the voice recorder uttering something religious in nature, perhaps a Muslim prayer, in Arabic. Investigators are expected to announce -- perhaps as early as today (Tuesday)-- the F-B-I is taking over the case as a possible act of sabotage. From what investigators say, it is unclear whether the comments on the voice recorder were the last words of a pilot determined to take the plane down or a reaction to events during the final moments of the flight. The National Transportation Safety Board has been reviewing the 31-minutes of recorded cockpit conversations. Aviation expert Michael Hynes points out much more still needs to be learned about what those comments mean. // HYNES ACT // If I was sitting in that airplane knowing that my life was going to end, I think maybe I might have uttered a prayer and said goodbye to my family on the way down. So I am not too sure just how that prayer was said and what other conversations were going on at that time. // END ACT // But the cryptic comments heard on the voice recorder drew particular concern because EgyptAir's crew made no distress call to air-traffic controllers indicating a problem on board. More than two-weeks after the crash killed all 217 people on board, air-safety investigators have found nothing to explain what caused the Boeing 7-6-7 to plunge into the Atlantic Ocean after take-off from New York for Cairo. But National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall says he is confident the mystery of Flight-990 will be solved. (SIGNED) NEB/NJS/RAE 16-Nov-1999 12:51 PM EDT (16-Nov-1999 1751 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .