Speculation about the cause of the plane crash

The Russian passenger plane A321, which crashed in Egypt on October 31, killing 224 passengers and crew members, fell due to "external factors," the Russian airline Kogalimavia announced today, while the president and prime minister of Russia are calling for a thorough investigation into the tragic accident. plane crash.

The head of the Russian Air Transport Agency, Alexander Neradko, said that the plane disintegrated in the air while flying at a high altitude, but the official of "Kogalimavia" Alexander Smirnov indicated that there were no technical malfunctions that could have led to the disintegration of the plane in the air, and that "it is only explanation of some external event".

The Russian airline believes that the accident occurred due to a mechanical impact in mid-air and damage to the plane's structure.

Citing sources in the committee that analyzes the plane's black box found after the crash, Reuters, however, reports that the plane "was not hit externally and that the pilot did not report an emergency before the plane disappeared from radar."

The deputy director of "Kogalimavia" Viktor Jung explains that the plane's crew did not report the problem because they had already lost the ability to act when the disaster occurred.

The black boxes were found in Sinai, and Russian investigators initiated criminal proceedings against "Kogalimaviya" under the article of the law on violation of flight rules and preparation for them.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that every possible cause of the plane crash in Egypt will be investigated, reminding that the main investigation is carried out by the country where the crash occurred, noting that Moscow highly appreciates the efficiency of the Egyptian authorities in investigating the crash.

He indicates that for now no possible cause can be ruled out and that the investigators have just begun their work and emphasizes that "it is absolutely wrong to articulate any preliminary speculations, opinions or statements".

At the same time, the director of the Russian Aviation Agency, Neradko, today criticized the airline company "Kogalimaviya" for pointing out the cause of the tragedy while the investigation has not yet been completed.

He also stated that the Egyptian authorities will start analyzing the contents of the black box only when representatives of all interested parties arrive, which includes not only Russia and Egypt, but also France, Germany and Ireland.

Meanwhile, British military expert Paul Beaver expressed the opinion that Islamic State jihadists, who announced shortly after the tragedy that they had shot down a Russian passenger plane, could not have brought it down.

Namely, Biver is convinced that IS does not possess a missile system, like the Russian BUK system, with which it is possible to shoot down a plane from a height of almost 10.000 meters, and he adds that the intelligence agencies closely monitor the Sinai Peninsula, so that the missile system would be noticed.

On the other hand, US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper notes that although there is no direct evidence that terrorism is responsible for the downing of the Russian passenger plane in Egypt, the Islamic State has a significant presence in that Egyptian part of the Sinai.

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations today expanded the search area for the bodies of the victims and the remains of the A321 plane that crashed in Sinai to 30 square kilometers, Minister Vladimir Pushkov announced.

Russian news agencies reported that the first plane of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations landed at Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg this morning just before six o'clock local time, carrying 144 bodies, and the Ministry stated that the next plane with the bodies would take off from Cairo tonight to St. Petersburg.

The identification process should begin today, Reuters said.

The passenger plane A321 crashed on the way to St. Petersburg about half an hour after taking off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

It went down about 70 kilometers south of the town of Al Arish in northern Sinai, with 217 passengers and seven crew members on board. Most of the passengers were Russian citizens returning from a summer vacation, four Ukrainians and one Belarusian citizen, and there are no survivors.

Investigators from several countries are searching the Sinai site, and the head of the Irish team said the results from the black boxes found would be known in a few days.

No direct evidence that terrorism was responsible for the plane crash

US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said today that although there is no direct evidence that terrorism was responsible for the downing of the Russian passenger plane in Egypt, the Islamic State (IS) has a significant presence in that Egyptian part of the Sinai.

"We still don't have any direct evidence of any terrorist involvement in the crash on Saturday that killed all 224 people on the Russian Metrojet plane," Klapper said.

However, Clapper noted that IS, which claimed responsibility for the attack, has a significant presence in the Egyptian part of the Sinai Peninsula, where the crash occurred.

When asked if IS jihadists have the "capacity" to carry out such an attack and shoot down a passenger plane, Klaper stated that "it is unlikely."

"I wouldn't rule it out (as the cause of the plane crash)," Clapper told reporters on the sidelines of a rally held in Washington, AP reported. The Egyptian branch of the IS extremist group announced on Saturday that its members shot down a Russian passenger plane that crashed in the Sinai Peninsula.

Ireland: The Russian side is responsible for the aircraft registered in Ireland

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) announced today that the plane, which crashed on Saturday on the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, was registered in Ireland, where earlier this year it was determined that all documents related to its safety were in order. A

vion is owned by an Irish company - Irish Firm Wilmington Trust SP Servisis (Dublin) Ltd. and was leased to the Russian airline Metrojet.

The Irish authorities stated that the Russian side, according to international aviation rules, is responsible for all aspects related to the operation of the aircraft, including its maintenance and safety. P

since the plane was registered in Ireland, therefore in April and May of this year the IAA conducted an annual review of the plane's documentation and determined that all the certificates were in order at that time.