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November 16, 1999 — The NOAA Ship Whiting, marine weather forecasters and oil spill and fisheries experts have completed their role in the investigation of EgyptAir 990. The Whiting, a hydrographic survey vessel which maps the ocean floor, left the Newport, Rhode Island, naval base last Thursday. It is now at its home port at NOAA's Atlantic Marine Center in Norfolk, Virginia.

The remaining NOAA personnel disengaged from the mission on Monday. NOAA will continue to make its marine forecasts available to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the U.S. Navy from its headquarters in Camp Springs, Maryland.

The NTSB and the U.S. Navy commended NOAA personnel for playing a vital role in finding the debris area. NOAA HazMat personnel were instrumental in identifying the origin of oil slicks in the recovery area.

NOAA personnel who assisted in this effort represented the NOAA Commissioned Corps, Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, National Weather Service, National Ocean Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service.

Previous Missions
The NOAA Ship Whiting also took part in the recovery operations for JFK, Jr. last July off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. Its sister ship, NOAA Ship Rude, identified the location of the downed aircraft. The NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations also took part in the recovery operations of TWA 800 in July 1996.

See real-time ocean information from a buoy near the crash site off the coast of Nantucket Island. This information comes from NOAA's National Data Buoy Center. Offshore waters forecasts (graphics and text) are also being provided in text format by NOAA's Marine Prediction Center.

Background Information

NOAA'S MARINE PREDICTION CENTER SPECIAL EGYPTAIR 990 WEATHER INFORMATION

NOAA SHIP WHITING

NOAA SHIPS TAKE PART IN JFK, JR. PLANE SEARCH

SIDE SCAN SONAR

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD (NTSB)

U.S. NAVY OPERATIONS

DYNAMICALLY FOCUSED MULTI-BEAM SIDE SCAN SONAR

NOAA'S OFFICE OF COAST SURVEY — The nation's official chartmaker.

NOAA LOCATES WRECKAGE ON OCEAN FLOOR AFTER TWA FLIGHT 800 DISASTER

NOTE: A NAUTICAL MILE = 1.15 MILES ; e.g. 13.6 knots = 13.6 x 1.15 = 15.64 miles per hour

NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations
Since NOAA’s beginning, a large percentage of its oceanographic, atmospheric, hydrographic, fisheries and coastal data has been collected on NOAA ships and aircraft. This fleet of platforms is managed and operated by the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (formerly Office of NOAA Corps Operations), an office made up of civilians and officers of the NOAA Commissioned Corps (a uniformed service of the United States). In addition to research and monitoring activities critical to NOAA’s mission, NOAA ships and aircraft provide immediate response capabilities for unpredictable events, such as recovery and search efforts after the TWA Flight 800 crash, damage assessment after major oil spills such as the Exxon Valdez, Persian Gulf War and New Carissa, and several major hurricanes during the 1998 season.

Rear Admiral Evelyn Fields is the director of the NOAA Corps.

Contact Information

Media should contact Greg Hernandez, NOAA public affairs, in Washington, DC, at (202) 482-3091 or the main number at (202) 482-6090.