On October 31, 1999, the Boeing 767-300ER operating the flight crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 60 miles (100 km) southeast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. All 217 people on board were killed. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated that El-Habashi and relief first officer Gameel Al-Batouti were both in the cockpit at the time of the accident.