BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: An EgyptAir pilot seeking asylum in Britain has been suspended. The pilot claims to have information on last year's fatal crash of EgyptAir Flight 990. Airline officials, though, say they are skeptical thus far. For more now, here's CNN's Ben Wedeman on this story.</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another EgyptAir pilot is in the spotlight. Hamdi Hanafi Taha, a veteran pilot, has requested political asylum in Britain. Taha claims to possess critical information about the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 last October 31. The British home office has yet to decide on Taha's request. EgyptAir officials in Cairo question what Taha could possibly know about the crash. They describe Taha, with the airline since 1984, as mentally unstable. When the limelight was on another EgyptAir staff member, airline officials vigorously defended their pilot's psychological well-being.</s>MUHAMED FAHIM RAYAN, EGYPTAIR CHAIRMAN: Our pilots are frequently checked. They are checked physically, psychologically and everything.</s>WEDEMAN: The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigation, now more than three months old, has yet to make any of its findings public, but sources close to the investigation say they have largely ruled out the possibility of mechanical failure. Suspicion continues to focus on the role of co-pilot Gameel el-Batouty who, some believe, took the plane and all 217 people on board on a suicidal plunge into the sea.</s>HEMMER: Again, that story from CNN's Ben Wedeman, reporting from Cairo.
EgyptAir Pilot Suspended After Seeking Asylum in Britain