American authorities: rubbish Egyptian pilot's information

US authorities have dismissed as "unimportant and irrelevant" the alleged information by defecting EgyptAir pilot Hamdi Hanafi Taha, now seeking political asylum in Britain, on the crash of one of the company's planes off the US east coast last Octoer.

An official EgyptAir source made the statement and added that an Egyptian delegation had headed to the US to follow up the latest developments in investigations into the crash and also to stand on the veracity of Taha's claims.

Meanwhile, one of Taha's colleagues, Osman Saad, has been grounded, with another pilot, replacing him in taking EgyptAir Flight 906 to Dubai on Sunday morning, according to the source.

Saad is being investigated over recent press statements in which he attacked the national air carrier and cast a slur on its leaderships.