Kogalmavia Flight KGL9268 (Photo : Egypt Prime Minister's Office)
All the 224 passengers and crew of Kogalymavia Flight KGL9268 that crashed on Saturday in central Sinai perished. There are conflicting reports on the cause of the air mishap.
While Egypt suggests the crash was due to a technical fault, the Islamic State (IS) claims it was responsible for downing the Airbus A-321 bound for St. Petersburg. ISIS tweeted, "The fighters of the Islamic State were able to down a Russian plane over Sinai province that was carrying over 220 Russian crusaders. They were all killed, thanks be to God," quotes The New York Post.
Both Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov downplayed the IS claim. Ismail says there were no irregular activities, while Sokolov adds, "such reports cannot be considered true" since there is no evidence to indicate the Metrojet was targeted, reports BBC.
The British news website cites security experts who say that at the altitude of the Russian aircraft, it is beyond the range of a Manpad, or the surface-to-air missile launched from the shoulder of Sinai militants who are known to own such weapons. The plane was at 31,000 feet when it disappeared from the radar screen of the Cyprus air traffic control office at 6:14 a.m., reports the Telegraph.
The crash caused the 18-year-old plane to split into two. Most of the passengers were still strapped to their seats. One proof that technical problem was the cause is that Ayman al-Muqadem, member of the Aviation Incidents Committee, said the pilot asked to land at the nearest airport which would not be the case if the jet was hit by a missile.
Of the 224 people on board, 217 were passengers. All were Russians, except for three Ukrainians. There were seven members of the flight crew.
Following the tragedy, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Nov. 1, Sunday, as a day of mourning. He deployed rescue teams to the crash site and an official investigation to be conducted. The commission, led by Sokolov, left for Egypt on Saturday afternoon.
Despite the air accident, British Airways and EasyJet said they would not change their route to and from Sharm el-Sheikh where the ill-fated jet departed from. However, major airlines are reviewing their routes over Egypt.
