A NOAA Corps officer since 1989 , RDML Glang is a professional mariner , specializing in hydrographic surveying and seafloor mapping sciences . RDML Glang served aboard four NOAA ships . On the NOAAS '' Rainier '' , his first experiences in hydrography took him to the largely uncharted coastal waters of Alaska 's southwest peninsula . He also served as the executive officer of NOAAS '' Heck '' . RDML Glang was commanding officer of NOAAS '' Whiting '' in 1999 , when the ship responded to the seafloor search for John F. Kennedy , Jr. 's , downed aircraft . Just three months later , he led the NOAAS '' Whiting '' to the first discovery of the seafloor debris fields from EgyptAir Flight 990 . From 2008 to 2009 , RDML Glang served as commanding officer of NOAA 's largest ship , NOAAS '' Ronald H. Brown '' , with oceanographic and atmospheric research operations from the South Pacific to the Atlantic Coast . Projects included servicing oceanographic buoys in support of weather and atmospheric research , ocean mapping in support of tsunami modeling , and remotely operated vehicle exploration of deep-water corals
EgyptAir Flight 990
EgyptAir Flight 990
Gerd F. Glang