On October 31, the a321 disaster over the Sinai Peninsula. A321 crash over Sinai: five versions. "There were no questions to the car"

On October 31, 2015, the Russian plane Airbus A321 of the airline "Kogalymavia" (Metrojet), performing flight 9268 Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg,.

On behalf of the President, the Russian government in connection with the disaster, headed by the Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov. The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) was led by the executive director of the committee, Viktor Sorochenko.

Cairo immediately after the disaster on the possibility of taking part in the investigation of the tragedy. A special commission of investigation was created, in it: Russia, Egypt, France (the state - the developer of the aircraft), Germany (the state - the manufacturer of the airliner) and Ireland (the state of registration). Ayman al-Mukaddam was appointed head of the commission to investigate the disaster.

On November 1, 2015, Egyptian Prosecutor General Nabil Ahmed Sadek participated in the investigation of the causes of the crash with a Russian plane in the Sinai Peninsula.

A group of investigators and criminologists from the central office of the Investigative Committee of Russia, in consultation with the competent authorities and together with representatives of the Republic of Egypt, in accordance with the norms of national and international law, participated in the inspection of the site of the plane crash in Egypt.

On November 17, 2015, the head of the FSB of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bortnikov, during a meeting in the Kremlin on the results of the investigation into the causes of the crash of the Russian plane, that as a result of the examination of personal belongings, baggage and parts of the plane that crashed in Egypt, traces of foreign-made explosives were revealed. Is he .

In turn, the Egyptian authorities urged not to rush to conclusions. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri said that within the framework of a criminal investigation.

In March 2016, the International Commission to Investigate the crash of the Russian A321 aircraft that it received an official report from the Investigative Committee of Russia and handed it over to the Egyptian Prosecutor General's Office to complete legal procedures. The commission itself, despite the transfer of the case to the investigative bodies of the state security of the country, continued a technical examination of the wreckage of the liner.

In mid-April, Egyptian Prosecutor General Nabil Sadek on the transfer of the case of the Russian plane crash to the country's Supreme State Security Prosecutor's Office. The decision of the head of the supervisory department, it was noted in the text of the statement, was made on the basis of the data of the report of the Investigative Committee of Russia, "which indicates a suspicion of a criminal trace."

In June, CIA Director John Brennan, speaking in the US Senate, that American intelligence has information about the involvement of the Egyptian group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis in the explosion on the Russian A321 passenger plane, which has sworn allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist movement banned in many countries (an organization banned in the Russian Federation), and on August 4, the Egyptian Ministry of Defense announced the elimination of the leader of this terrorist group.

At the insistence of the Investigative Committee of Russia, the international commission for the investigation of the aviation accident. As a result of the work carried out, the fact of the impact of high-energy elements on the aircraft skin in the direction "from the inside-out" and "explosive decompression" in flight was established.

In October 2016, a commission of inquiry, formed by the Egyptian Attorney General's Office, sent twelve wrecks of the liner to the Alloys Science Laboratory for detailed investigation.

Work to determine the causes of the crash. To date, the parties have no understanding of what happened to the plane, how the explosive device got on board the plane, who carried it. There are also no identified suspects and their accomplices from the airport staff.

October 31, 2015, flight Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg. Someone is reviewing photos on the phone, imagining how they will tell family and friends about the rest. Married couples reassure kids who behave too violently in the morning - yes, I suppose they are afraid to fly. Departure on schedule, drove straight into the sky. The very next day, the media will replicate a photo of the "main passenger" - ten-month old Darina Gromova. This picture will become a kind of symbol of the fateful Airbus flight 321, from which none of the 224 people returned alive.

"Normal flight"

The plane took off safely and began to climb at 6:50 Moscow time. Everything goes on as usual, when suddenly after 23 minutes the dispatchers lose contact with the crew.

Meanwhile, at the Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg they report that the flight is delayed "for technical reasons." Time is postponed once, postponed two ... In Russia they try not to think about the worst and nervously await messages from relatives: about an emergency landing, or anything, if only they wrote. When the flowers had already begun to fade, and the board was showing a record about the next flight transfer, the relatives' nerves could not stand it: calls to the Kogalymavia airline and the tour operator Brisco rained down. “We’ll figure it out,” “Don't worry,” people in different instances heard.

And then the news came, which flashed in everyone's head, but refused to believe. The fact that everyone had died did not become known immediately. One of the rescuers, who moved to the site immediately after the crash, said that he heard the voices of passengers who came from under the wreckage of the liner. Within minutes it became clear: I did not hear, it seemed.

Main passenger

A photograph of ten-month-old Darina Gromova from Gatchina, taken at Pulkovo airport, seems to have gone around all the famous Russian media and was replicated on social networks. The picture became one of the symbols of that terrible tragedy.

The son, Alexey, wanted to be a pilot. Only I didn’t allow, - later Darina's grandmother Elena told Life.

Alexei's father was a military pilot for 30 years. The young man himself graduated from a technical specialty and went to work in an IT company. Here he met Tatiana. Young people got married a little more than a year before the tragedy. On the still accessible page of the young man on the social network, there are many photos of a couple in love, taken on their wedding day.

Tatiana named her daughter "the main passenger". Before flying from Pulkovo, she photographed a girl who pressed her hands to the glass, and posted the picture on a social network.

Darina's grandmother suggested that her parents not take the child on the flight: she would be scared, she would not bear it well. But they didn't listen: the child should bask in the sun.

"I won't live without her"

October 31 was a tragedy for thousands of people. Svetlana Dudochkina's husband, Anatoly, could not fly with his wife on vacation that time. The couple had been to Egypt more than once, so the woman knew quite well how to behave at the resort. His warning seemed all the more strange.

She went on vacation for the first time without me. I told her that if something happened, I would not survive without her. I don't want to live anymore, I'm not interested, - Anatoly said after the crash.

The woman went to rest in the company of her daughter and two young grandchildren. But the daughter decided to stay for another day or two, as there was an opportunity to rest longer. As a result, only Svetlana from the whole family went on the fatal flight.

Birthday present

On October 27, the common-law wife of the then deputy head of Pskov, Alexander Kopylov, celebrated her birthday. He bought himself and his beloved, Elena Melnikova, vouchers. They did not want to let go of work, but the deputy head of the city persuaded to do it. He argued that the reason was too weighty.

The man met his future common-law wife at work. The fact is that Elena is the head of the personnel department in the Pskov City Duma. Alexander's wife had died a few years earlier, Elena was divorced. They had been together for about a year by then.

All the time on vacation, Elena told in social networks that they have a very good rest - they swim, sunbathe and generally "come off". The last time I went online three hours before the fatal departure.

"A little more - and I will quit aviation"

The senior flight attendant, 38-year-old Valentina Martsevich, who has devoted 12 years to the sky, planned to retire from aviation in the near future. She wanted peace, made plans for a quiet family life. Valentina's husband, Maxim, is the commander of the aircraft. At the time, he was on a China Airlines flight.

Valentina herself is from Anapa, she worked at the Krasnodar airport when she met her future husband. Soon they moved to Moscow together. He is on the flight all the time, she is on the next flight. Tired of seeing my husband and family in fits and starts.

On October 5, her birthday, she flew home to hug her mother. Acquaintances later recalled that she behaved rather strangely: she spoke strangely, smiled strangely, took many pictures.

During her return to Moscow, shortly before the fateful flight, the woman was frightened for the first time in her life during landing. She told her friends how the liner was shaking and she was afraid that the pilots would not land the board successfully.

"Fuzzy, I'm waiting"

Flight attendant Marina Okhotnikova was supposed to meet her husband, steward Andrei Belomestnov, at Domodedovo on November 1. The plan looked like this: Andrey lands at Pulkovo, rests, and then leaves for Moscow as a passenger. 20 minutes after the arrival of his board in the capital, she lands. The young people were planning an unforgettable weekend.

The couple had a tradition: all four years that they were together, Andrei sent his beloved SMS during such "intersections" with the same text: "Fuzzy, I'm already waiting for you." There was no message this time. In November, Andrei was supposed to be 30 years old ...

Versions

Experts considered four main versions of the plane crash: a technical malfunction, a pilot error, that the plane was shot down and an explosion.

Technical malfunction

The first version that investigators began to consider was a technical malfunction. Allegedly, the liner had defects. For example, even 14 years before the tragedy, in November 2001, at the Cairo airport, the airliner unsuccessfully landed and touched the ground with its tail. Then it still belonged to Middle East Airlines. After the incident, the aircraft was repaired and sold. Thereafter, it was chartered by various airlines until it finally settled in Kogalymavia in 2012.

You can say anything about this airline, but any aircraft of any carrier is checked before a new flight. In addition, technical checks are arranged for the aircraft. So, the engines of the liner were examined five days before the tragedy. And it is unlikely that the experts would have missed such a significant malfunction, because of which the plane could crash. This point of view was confirmed by the airline. In addition, pilots with great experience have said more than once that none of the crew members will risk their own lives, but simply refuse to fly in case of doubt.

Another fact speaks against the version of the malfunction: on the eve of the crash, the Airbus flew from Sharm el-Sheikh to Samara and back. After that, he underwent maintenance at the Egyptian airport, no critical problems were recorded.

A week after the tragedy, representatives of the IAC said that until the recording of the recorders was stopped, the flight was proceeding in a normal mode, information about the failures of the aircraft systems and assemblies was not recorded on the parametric recorder.

Crew error

This version became the second. Allegedly, the pilots could panic, misbehave in a critical situation. This version was denied in the Federal Air Transport Agency on the same day. FAC Valery Nemov was originally a military pilot, and after retirement (the man was 48 years old) he retrained as a civil aviation pilot at the AmurAir training center in Turkey. His total flight experience is 3682 hours, of which 1100 hours - as an aircraft commander.

The co-pilot, 45-year-old Sergey Trukhachev, had 5,641 flight hours behind him - more than the PIC. He underwent special training in the Czech Republic to manage the A321.

The Kogalymavia pilots themselves ruled out the version of the error: they posted a letter on the Web a few hours after the tragedy, where they argued that there could be no mistake.

Shot down

Soon after the crash, ISIS * militants claimed responsibility for the plane crash. They even posted a video where the aircraft was allegedly shot down. It soon turned out that the video was nothing more than a fake, and no one had shot down the Russian airliner.

After a preliminary examination of the wreckage of the aircraft, the experts realized that no one had fired at it.

The plane crashed in the air. Initially, the tail section was torn off, and then the entire liner began to disintegrate. The wreckage of the aircraft was at a distance of about 40 km from each other, the tail and nose were at a distance of 5 km.

Terrorist attack

This version is prioritized. The media began to write about the fact that there was a bomb on board a few hours after the tragedy. Within a month, the fact of the explosion was confirmed by Russian experts. So, on November 16, 2015, the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, at a meeting in the Kremlin, for the first time officially announced that what had happened was a terrorist attack.

Initially, it was assumed that the bomb was planted between the passenger seats in the 30th row. However, later experts came to the conclusion that an improvised explosive device with a capacity of up to 1 kg in TNT equivalent was in the tail section, next to baby carriages. A timer installed in the bomb counted how many more minutes 224 people would live. After the explosion, the tail section of the liner was torn off, and it went into an uncontrolled dive.

For a long time, Egyptian officials did not officially recognize the incident as a terrorist attack (according to one version, fearing multimillion-dollar lawsuits from the relatives of the victims). Cairo urged to wait for the official results of the investigation, which, by the way, are still missing. However, in February 2017, the representative of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid, in some way admitted that there was a terrorist attack on board.

Dozens or even hundreds of people have become victims of terrorist operations, including as a result of the fall of a Russian liner on the Sinai, he said.

* The organization is banned in Russia by the decision of the Supreme Court.

On October 30, Airbus 321-231 of "Kogalymavia" airline successfully performed two flights on the route Sharm el-Sheikh - Samara - Sharm el-Sheikh. The handing over crew of the PIC Dmitry Zhigalkovich and the co-pilot Yuri Yushko do not express any comments on the liner. Already in the early morning of October 31, the plane will have two more ordinary flights: Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg - Sharm el-Sheikh. The board is already receiving the next crew: an experienced 48-year-old Valery Nemov, who has flown over 12,000 hours, and a 45-year-old co-pilot Sergei Trukhachev, a former military pilot who completed the Chechen campaign.

217 passengers will be waiting for them on board, most of them are from St. Petersburg, many are returning home with their families from a long-awaited holiday in Egypt. At 03:50:06 local time (06:50 Moscow time), flight 7K-9268 departs from Sharm el-Sheikh, after which, following the air corridor along the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba, it begins to climb.

In St. Petersburg, the plane, bypassing the Sinai Peninsula, will have to arrive at 12:10 local time, on a regular Saturday October noon, along with dozens of other domestic and international flights listed on the Pulkovo board. But neither then, nor after several delays, highlighted on the scoreboard, the long-awaited flight 9268 never returned to its homeland.

A few days after the disaster in the skies over Egypt, Flightradar will release data on the last flight of the A321 over Sinai. According to a summary posted on the website, the plane took off safely and began to climb, moving parallel to the coast. Minutes after the liner turned inland, its height begins to plummet by 6,000 feet. Communication with the aircraft is lost. The first reports in the media that the Kogalymavia Airbus plane disappeared from the radar began to appear only at 10:18 Moscow time. In short news items, the data differ significantly: according to the information they contain, there were from 207 to 224 people on board. Some reports say the plane went missing in the Larnaca region of Cyprus.

Flight 9268 Sharm el Sheikh - St. Petersburg, operated by Airbus 321 Kogalymavia, took off at 6:21 Moscow time and disappeared from the radar screens 23 minutes later, there were 217 passengers and seven crew members on board, the Federal Air Transport Agency reported.

The account goes for a moment - two minutes later, there is news from the Arab media, reporting that a Russian plane crashed in the central part of the Sinai Peninsula. But the data is still scarce and not backed up by official confirmation. Hope persists. At 10:42 am, Reuters and Sky News publish the first reports denying the plane crash. Sources of publications claim that the crew of the missing plane got in touch in Turkey. Flightradar also does not confirm the fall, specifying that the liner sharply lowered the altitude before disappearing from the radar.

The Federal Air Transport Agency reports that they are trying to contact the flight missing from the radar. At 11:44, the Pulkovo online scoreboard also indicated that the arrival of the aircraft from Sharm el-Sheikh was delayed (from 12:10 to 12:20). But closer to 12, with reference to sources in the Federal Air Transport Agency, most media publish information about the crash of an airliner over the Sinai Peninsula. In Pulkovo, where by that time information about the arrival disappears from the scoreboard, the headquarters for emergency situations begins operational work, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation is preparing two aircraft for dispatch to Egypt. Later, the department decides to send five special aircraft to Egypt.

Search teams found the site of the disaster among the mountains of the Sinai Peninsula. The wreckage of the liner was scattered over 13 kilometers.

The search operation took place in difficult conditions: North Sinai is a closed zone; for a year now, the Egyptian army has been conducting a large-scale operation there against militants of an extremist group associated with ISIS (the activities of the group are banned in Russia by the decision of the Supreme Court. - Note... ed.). It was the Egyptian military patrolling the area who first discovered the wreckage of the liner. The plane crashed in the En-Nahal massif, a desolate, waterless and deserted place. According to the updated and officially confirmed information, there were 224 people on board the aircraft, including seven crew members. According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, there were 192 adults and 25 children among the passengers of the liner. They all died.

Dear Amalia, 28 years ago you gave the world a wonderful boy. Every mother dreams of such a son and a girl dreams of such a reliable and loving man next to her. A year ago, photos of all the victims were published, I immediately remembered Armen's face, it attracts the eye with its kind and pure smile, this is the face of a purposeful and very decent young man. I did not know him, but I am terribly sorry for Armen. Such boys were obliged to live and give the world wonderful children. But, unfortunately, another world, black and evil, took his life away. Strength and health to you. Thank you for such a son. It's a shame ... Happy memory to Armen and a heavenly birthday. (Tatyana Svetlova, St. Petersburg) - such letters a year after the tragedy continue to receive the relatives of those killed in the terrible plane crash over Sinai.

On October 26, a few days before the plane crash, Armen Vishnev, a native of the city of Pushkin, who served in the Federal Customs Service, turned 27 years old. Armen flew to Egypt to rest, in one of the last messages he asked his mother not to be bored, because the separation would be short-lived, he promised to bring a magnet or, as a joke, even a whole camel.

A year after the tragedy, Amalia carefully keeps all the photos and messages of her son. The caring residents of other regions of Russia and dozens of other relatives of the victims of the plane crash help her to honor her memory and relive the grief of loss. The tragedy brought together more than 36 thousand people on the Internet. Thanks to the efforts of Petersburgers, the Flight 9268 charity foundation was created, which now provides support to people who have lost loved ones in the disaster over Sinai.

The main goal for which we have united is to perpetuate the memory of our relatives in the deeds that we are able to accomplish: creating a memorial and a temple, preserving the memories of our loved ones, helping the families of the victims who need financial, legal and psychological support. Our foundation is not just an attempt to rally around a common cause. It is a protest against terrorism, murder, cruelty and injustice. A long journey begins with a small step. And we are all taking this step together - this is the goal set by people whose lives were divided by the tragedy into before and after the disaster.

Fund group in social networks has long become a kind of spontaneous memory book, where you can find out the latest information about the investigation of the tragedy, see again the photos of all those who did not return home from the ill-fated flight, and also provide all possible help to relatives and friends.

And it's not only about money: any support is valuable, because even after a year practice shows: time does not heal, and the long investigation and difficult bureaucratic procedures associated with the payment of compensation only exacerbate the already unabated pain of loss.

The tragedy cut off the lives of entire families: Olga and Yuri Shein and their three children were killed in the crash. The whole country from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok was shaken to the core by the love story of Alexandra Chernova and Yevgeny Yavsin on board the A321: Yevgeny specially saved money to take Sasha to Egypt and propose to her there.
And dozens of other lifelong stories that ended so unjustly and suddenly on that unfortunate October morning. Most of the passengers of the crashed A321 were residents of the North-West of Russia, mainly from St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Novgorod and Pskov regions. Also on board were four citizens of Ukraine and one citizen of Belarus. Flight 9268 "by Irina Zakharova, the remains, which are now stored in the crematorium on Shafirovsky Prospekt, are not subject to examination. However, families still have hope to receive the fragments of the bodies of their deceased relatives: in Egypt, after the completion of the main stage of the investigation, new remains were found, they are now being studied.

The report of the international commission to investigate the catastrophe of the Russian A321 over Sinai has not yet been made public: according to a source in the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation, experts will tell about the preliminary results of their work (and this is a year after the investigation) "within 60 days."

Now certain technical analyzes are being carried out, after which a preliminary report will be made public, - a representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Aviation told the media on October 26.

Recall that representatives of six countries are taking part in the investigation of the causes of the disaster: Egypt, Russia, as well as specialists from France, Germany, Ireland and the United States. Its course is governed by the Egyptian aviation authorities in accordance with the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
One of the first versions of the disaster was the assumption that the Russian plane could have been shot down by a missile fired by militants operating in the North Sinai region. However, this assumption was almost immediately refuted by experts as untenable. For a long time, experts worked out another probable cause of the crash of the Kogalymavia airliner - a version of technical problems. This was announced on the day of the crash in the operational services of Egypt following a preliminary inspection of the aircraft wreckage. At the initial stage of the investigation, Russian experts were inclined to the same version.

Representatives of Kogalymavia (Metrojet trademark) were the first to refute it: on November 2, the airline's press secretary, Alexander Smirnov, ruled out a technical malfunction and pilot error as the cause of the crash and announced an "external impact" on the liner. He stressed that the plane, which the airline owned on a lease basis, was 100% ready to fly and that its crew was "very experienced." The representative of the company supported his speech with certificates received by the airline in early 2015. He also stated that the plane's engine was checked on October 26, five days before the crash.

On November 7, the IAC reported that until the recording on the recorders was terminated, the flight was proceeding normally, no information about the failure of the aircraft systems and assemblies was recorded.

At a meeting in the Kremlin on November 16, the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, officially announced for the first time that the cause of the crash was a terrorist attack. Versions of third-party interference with links to different sources were previously published in foreign and Russian media. “We can definitely say that this is a terrorist act,” Bortnikov said, adding that traces of foreign-made explosives were found on the wreckage and belongings. - According to our specialists, an improvised explosive device with a capacity of up to 1 kg in TNT equivalent was detonated on board the aircraft in flight, as a result of which the aircraft fell apart in the air, which explains the spread of parts of the aircraft fuselage at a great distance.

Bortnikov explained that the conclusions were drawn by experts after a thorough examination of personal belongings, passengers' luggage and parts of the crashed liner.

Initially, it was assumed that an explosive device was planted under the passenger seat 30A or 31A. However, in September 2016, the commission's data were made public, according to which an explosion occurred in the tail section, in the oversized baggage compartment. A timer bomb was hidden among the prams. The experts came to this conclusion after having analyzed the layout of the collected fragments of the A321 in the hangar of the Cairo airport. Due to the explosion, the aircraft lost its tail section, after which it switched to an uncontrolled dive.

The investigation of the tragedy is progressing very slowly, and all the circumstances of the incident are still unknown. The Egyptian cell of the Islamic State group banned in Russia almost immediately took responsibility for the crash of the Russian plane. Airport employees could have brought an explosive device on board - numerous testimonies of a weak level of security in the air harbor immediately after the tragedy flooded the Internet: many tourists said that for a small bribe, bags with things were safely carried through all security cordons, and no one examined them themselves. However, the Egyptian side for a long time insisted on the version of a technical malfunction, refusing to admit the possibility of a terrorist attack on board the liner. In December 2015, the technical investigation committee issued a statement stating that Cairo had found no signs of terrorist involvement in the crash of Airbus 321. It was not until February 2016 that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi admitted for the first time that the cause of the Russian plane crash in the sky over Sinai was a terrorist attack. The head of state said this at the presentation of a report on the development of the country until 2030.

On August 30, 2016, it was announced that Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani, who, presumably, was the organizer of the terrorist attack, was destroyed in Aleppo, Syria.

Air traffic with Egypt, which was interrupted immediately after the crash of the A321, has not yet been restored. According to the official comment of the Russian Ministry of Transport, the situation will not change until all the remarks in the field of aviation security are eliminated.

A decision on the resumption of air traffic between Russia and Egypt is possible only after the elimination of all comments in the field of aviation and transport security. It is worth noting that the Egyptian side has made significant progress in resolving these issues and the interaction of the two countries is quite constructive, ”the ministry noted on October 25.

The Garden of Memory ", which will be located on Rumbolovskaya Hill in Vsevolozhsk, will be completed and fresh flowers will bloom here. A corridor of slabs, on which, in accordance with the design of the monument, will be the names of all those who died in the A321 plane crash, as well as metal structures in the form of pipes on which the wind will play, anyone who passes along the Road of Life will see.

On Monday, October 31, a memorial service for the victims of the A321 crash in the sky over the Sinai Peninsula will be held at St. Isaac's Cathedral. In memory of those who never returned home to their families and friends, the cathedral bell will ring 224 times.

On October 31, 2015, the Russian plane Airbus A321 of the airline "Kogalymavia" (Metrojet), performing flight 9268 Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg,.

On November 1, 2015, Egyptian Prosecutor General Nabil Ahmed Sadek participated in the investigation of the causes of the crash with a Russian plane in the Sinai Peninsula.

In turn, the Egyptian authorities urged not to rush to conclusions. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri said that within the framework of a criminal investigation.

In October 2016, a commission of inquiry, formed by the Egyptian Attorney General's Office, sent twelve wrecks of the liner to the Alloys Science Laboratory for detailed investigation.

Exactly two years have passed since the death of 224 people over Sinai. The overwhelming majority of those killed were Russian citizens. The FSB of the Russian Federation, and after it the Egyptian authorities, recognized the tragic incident as a terrorist act. However, its performers have not yet been found. It remains unclear to the end who became the customer of this terrible crime.

Exactly two years ago - on October 31, 2015, the most massive plane crash in terms of the number of fatalities occurred in the entire history of Russia.

On this day, the airliner Airbus A321-231 of the Russian airline "Kogalymavia" took off from the Egyptian Sharm el-Sheikh and headed for St. Petersburg. The crew of the liner performed a charter flight and took Russian tourists home after their rest.

The plane quietly climbed along the Gulf of Aqaba, and soon had to cross the Sinai Peninsula to enter European airspace. However, at the 23rd minute of the flight, the connection of the ground services with the aircraft was interrupted.

It soon became clear that the Airbus A321-231 crashed to the ground in the central part of the Sinai Peninsula and completely collapsed.

The wreckage of the aircraft was scattered over 13 km. All 224 people on board the aircraft were killed.

At the time of the death of the airliner, there were seven crew members, as well as 217 passengers. Of these, there were four Ukrainians, one Belarusian, and the rest were citizens of Russia. Among them was Alexander Kopylov, deputy head of Pskov and a member of the local legislative assembly.

According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, the oldest passenger was 77 years old, and the smallest victim of the tragedy was 10-month-old Darina Gromova.

Shortly before the tragic incident, her mother Tatyana published a photo of the child on her page on the VKontakte social network. The picture shows the girl standing on the windowsill of the airport window with her back to the viewer. She looks at the planes on the ground.

Tatiana Gromova signed the photo: "The main passenger." This photograph was later replicated by many Russian and international media and became a symbol of the Sinai catastrophe.

Darina's mother and father were also killed in the ship crash.

Condolences to the victims were expressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as leaders from many countries in Europe and the world. The day after the crash of the liner, mourning was declared in Russia.

However, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published three cartoons on the topic of the disaster, which caused a negative reaction from the Russian Foreign Ministry and the State Duma. In response, the French Foreign Ministry said that "in France, journalists freely express their opinion," while "it does not always coincide with the official position of the French authorities."

"There were no questions to the car"

Soon after the incident, various versions of what had happened began to be put forward.

Almost immediately, the hypothesis was swept aside, according to which the plane fell due to a pilot error. The crashed Airbus was operated by experienced pilots, and the crew commander, 48-year-old Valery Nemov, flew over 12 thousand hours, of which more than 3860 - on Airbus A321.

However, the details of the operation of the aircraft soon became known, and it turned out that it was far from new. It was released in the spring of 1997 and made its maiden flight on May 9. After that, the plane was handed over to the American company International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), which by May 27 leased it to the Lebanese airline Middle East Airlines (MEA), which had it in its possession for six years.

On June 2, 2003, already under the tail number TC-OAE, the liner was leased to the Turkish airline Onur Air. This structure later subleased the liner to Saudi Arabian Airlines, and from July 30 to September 29, 2010 - to Syrian Cham Wings Airlines. By the spring of 2012, the TC-OAE board returned to ILFC, and by March 30, 2012 it was leased by the Russian Kogalymavia.

On April 30 of the same 2012, the Dutch airline AerCap bought it from ILFC and re-handed it over to the Russian Kogalymavia. The Russian airline, in turn, has been operating under the Metrojet trademark since May 1, 2012.

During the long service of the aircraft, an unpleasant incident from the point of view of safety occurred with it. On November 16, 2001, he flew passenger flight ME 306 on the Beirut - Cairo route and, when approaching at the airport of the Egyptian capital, the pilots raised his nose too high, as a result of which the tail dropped so low that it hit the ground.

None of the 88 people on board the aircraft (81 passengers and 7 crew members) were injured then, and the liner itself returned to passenger routes after being repaired. This information was confirmed by representatives of "Kagalymavia", assuring that the plane passed all the necessary checks and technical tests on time.

On the eve of departure, the ill-fated flight passed maintenance, and the receiving crew had no questions about the car.

Interrupted message

The investigation into the causes of the tragedy began at once by several large structures of the countries of the world, since Egypt is a very popular tourist destination among citizens of many states.

The proceedings began to be carried out by the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee, the French Civil Aviation Safety Investigation and Analysis Bureau, the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation, the Irish Air Accident Investigation Division, and the US National Transportation Safety Board.

At the same time, in accordance with the norms of international law, the general leadership was carried out by Egyptian investigators, since the incident occurred in the airspace of this country. Already on November 1, the previously found "black boxes" from the deceased liner were deciphered.

In the meantime, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened criminal cases under Articles 263 and 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Violation of traffic safety rules and operation of railway, air, sea and inland water transport and metro" and "Production, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products, execution works or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements ").

On November 16, the head of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bortnikov, announced that the disaster occurred as a result of a terrorist attack - an improvised explosive device with a capacity of up to 1 kg in TNT was detonated.

This became clear after traces of an explosive not manufactured in Russia were found on the wreckage of the plane and the belongings of passengers.

And the next day, the Russian security forces turned to the Russian and international community for assistance in identifying the terrorists. For information contributing to the detention of criminals, a reward of $ 50 million is promised.

For some time, Egyptian law enforcement officers did not recognize the tragedy as a terrorist attack, they did it only by February 2016.

Be that as it may, already in November 2015, the Russian authorities decided to completely cut off air traffic with this Arab country until the situation in the aviation security sphere is normalized.

At the same time, the remaining Russian tourists at that time were taken out of Egypt after the end of tourist vouchers, but only hand luggage was allowed on board, and the luggage was delivered separately, by special flights of the Ministry of Emergencies.

The United Kingdom and German airlines also interrupted flights with the Egyptian state, and France, the Netherlands and Belgium warned their citizens about the undesirability of flights to Sharm el-Sheikh. In addition, Turkish Airlines announced the cancellation of night flights to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Customers not installed

Meanwhile, the victims of the disaster filed a class action lawsuit against the tour operator, Kogalymavia and insurance companies for a total of about € 1.4 billion. This is the first example of a class action lawsuit for such a serious amount in Russian history.

And although the involvement of Kagalymavia employees in the incident over Sinai is not confirmed by the facts, in the spring of 2016 the Federal Air Transport Agency banned the domestic and international flights of this airline.

According to the most frequently voiced version, the Sinai division of the ISIS terrorist organization Vilayat Sinai (both organizations are banned in Russia) is behind the attack. Its members claimed responsibility for the crime shortly after the incident.

However, there are other points of view. A number of experts believe that the prokara organization Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (an ISIS cell) could be behind the attack. The US CIA also announced her trace in the tragedy.

Be that as it may, after the death of the plane, Russian aviation began to carry out more intensive air strikes against the targets of various Islamist organizations in Syria. For the first time, Russian strategic aviation was involved in raids against ISIS and other extremists.

However, the names of the specific perpetrators of the terrorist act have not yet been established.

And on October 28, 2017, a monument to the victims of the disaster was unveiled at the Serafimovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg.

In addition, among the Petersburgers there is an idea to erect a monument to 10-month-old Darina Gromova, which the famous sculptor Zurab Tsereteli has already promised to make for free.

Vladimir Vaschenko

* terrorist group banned in the Russian Federation