Native Egyptians in the Iowa State community and experts in aircraft still are reeling from the tragedy of Flight 990 and are searching for answers as to what would have brought the supposedly safe jet crashing into the Atlantic Ocean.

According to The Associated Press, an EgyptAir Boeing 767 bound for Cairo from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York carrying 217 passengers plunged 33,000 feet to the Atlantic Ocean’s surface in two minutes off Nantucket Island, Mass., early Sunday.

It is believed about 62 Egyptian passengers were on board.

Abdalla Kishta, president of the Egyptian Student Association, said he hopes the cause of the crash would soon be found out by investigators.

“It’s a sorrowful and saddening accident,” he said.

Kishta, graduate student in agricultural engineering, said he thought sabotage might be the cause of the tragedy, despite the fact that the Egyptian government claims to have received no terrorist warnings.

“Some people don’t have to give warnings before they undertake such actions,” he said.

Kamel Kamel, junior in mechanical engineering and Cairo native, said when he heard about the accident, he immediately was sympathetic for the victims.

“I felt very sorry for my fellow Egyptians,” he said.

Kamel said he thought the plane crashed because of a mechanical problem.

“From an engineering point of view, I think something wrong happened with the computer of the plane,” he said.

Arthur Akers, emeritus professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics, agreed with Kamel.

“It seems possible that there was some breach in the structural integrity of the fuselage,” he said.

Despite his conjecture, Akers characterized the Boeing 767 as a typically excellent aircraft for three reasons: It is relatively simple to operate, it has renowned structural integrity and it possesses excellent air dynamics.

Kamel also thought there was a strong possibility that thrust reversers used for slowing down the plane during landing might have fired mid-air.

“The rapid descent of the plane couldn’t have happened unless there was something wrong with the thrust reversers,” he said.

But no matter what the cause of the crash, Kamel said he wished the investigation would go more quickly to make things easier on the families of the dead passengers.

“They should have gone faster than this; they should have done something right away,” he said. “At least they should find the bodies.”