Terrorist attack on October 31. A year ago, a plane carrying Russian tourists exploded over Sinai. Causes of the A321 crash

As is known on at the moment, the aircraft crashed near the city of El-Arish. Shortly before the accident, the aircraft commander requested permission from ground services for an emergency landing in Cairo due to technical problems.

According to the Internet portal Flightradar, the airliner sharply decreased in altitude before disappearing from radar: the plane crashed after descending 1.5 km.

There were 224 people on board the crashed Airbus 321, seven of them crew members. Egyptian rescuers who arrived at the scene reported hearing people groaning under the rubble and said they hoped to find someone who had survived, but it soon became known that no one had survived. Most of the plane's passengers were tourists returning to Russia after a vacation in Egypt.

Among the dead were the deputy head of Pskov, who was returning from vacation with his common-law wife, as well as a participant in the TV show “Top Model in Russian” Elena Domashnyaya from St. Petersburg. 24 children also died.

The vast majority of those on board the ship are Russians, but there are three Ukrainian citizens and one Belarusian citizen.

The bodies of the disaster victims were delivered to Cairo morgues as of Saturday evening. In St. Petersburg, DNA samples were taken from relatives of the victims for identification.

According to the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram, investigators have already found one of the flight recorders of Airbus 321. The “black box” contains all the communication data between the aircraft and the control tower of air traffic controllers, as well as conversations between the aircraft commander and his assistants,” the newspaper noted. It will be deciphered by Russian investigators and aviation experts, who flew to Egypt shortly after the tragedy.

The crash of Airbus 321 was the largest in Russian history, killing 224 people.

Before this, the largest in terms of the number of victims was the crash of a Tu-154 flying from Tashkent to Leningrad on July 10, 1985. Due to an error by the crew, the plane went into a tailspin and crashed near the Uzbek city of Uchkuduk. Then 200 people died.

Why did the plane crash?

On the first day of the disaster, conflicting information was received about the possible causes of the crash. Thus, Egyptian authorities said that the crew of the Airbus 321 complained of engine problems. They also put forward a version of a technical malfunction as one of the main ones. At the same time

Kogalymavia stated that they saw no reason to doubt the technical serviceability of the aircraft.

The Investigative Committee will apparently check all versions. In particular, investigators from the Privolzhsky Investigation Department for Transport in Samara at the site of the last refueling of the crashed plane on Saturday seized fuel samples.

A few hours after the accident (an organization banned in Russia), through its friendly news agency Aamaq, announced that it was taking responsibility for the crash of Airbus 321. Information about this was also posted. At the same time, it is known that local militants do not have weapons capable of hitting a flying target at such a height. Later, the terrorists' statements were categorically denied by Russian officials, including the Russian Minister of Transport. Despite all this,

In addition, the Minister of Labor ordered that the families of the deceased crew members of the crashed Airbus 321 be paid 1 million rubles each.

It is noteworthy that the tragedy did not affect plans for celebrating Halloween in Moscow. Gazeta.Ru called the organizers of the largest Halloween parties planned for that night in Moscow. As it turned out, the clubs do not intend to make adjustments to their plans in connection with the plane crash.
So,

parties will take place at Soho Rooms, Arma17, Ray Just Arena and the Moscow club.

The few city parks that joined the celebration, such as Sokolniki Park, also kept the schedule in place. Previously, an announcement about the event was even posted on the website of the prefecture of the Eastern Administrative District.

“Today everything will go according to the program, and tomorrow, of course, is a day of mourning,” the director of the park told Gazeta.Ru. “We don’t have anything special planned for tomorrow, but we’ll cancel the dances, for example.”

Could savings lead to tragedy?

The crashed Airbus A-321 was 18 years old. However, contrary to popular belief, the age of an aircraft does not affect its flight characteristics. The fact is that each aircraft is required to undergo regular scheduled checks and technical inspection in accordance with the rules of the International Association air transport(ICAO). Without the appropriate certificate, the air authorities and the airport will not allow the aircraft to fly. It is worth noting that, unlike the well-known method in Russia to “quickly do” maintenance on a car, this option with an airplane is impossible, since

Each technician and technical team inspecting the aircraft bears personal responsibility for their inspection area and signs its results.

Moreover, each member of the engineering and technical staff is responsible only for his own area (for example, the aircraft engine, the condition of the flaps, tail, etc.). Most aircraft flying in Russia undergo maintenance abroad at specialized centers, and some types of maintenance on foreign civil aircraft can only be carried out abroad.

During its life, the aircraft undergoes many technical checks, which actually replace each other: Transit check, Daily check, Weekly check, A-check, B-check, C-check and D-check.

A-check and B-check are a simple (light) inspection, while C- and D-check are a heavy form of maintenance. A D-check occurs approximately once every 12 years (that is, the crashed aircraft has already passed one D-check) and lasts 30-40 days. During it, the entire aircraft, all its components and parts are checked. Units that have reached the end of their service life or have failed testing must be replaced. This essentially means that the ITS team almost completely disassembles the aircraft, checking every part, electronics, wiring and assembly for corrosion or rust. If even slight signs of corrosion are detected, the part or part of the frame is replaced with a new one. As experts note, de facto this means that

By 25 years of service, only a few original components and parts remain from all the components of the aircraft that were assembled at the manufacturer.

World experience shows that most airlines are trying to get rid of old aircraft, constantly renewing their aircraft fleet. However, the point here is not about flight safety, but about basic economic benefits. The higher and more complex the level of aircraft technical inspection, the longer it takes and the more expensive it is for the airline. Thus,

Having submitted the aircraft for a 30-40-day D-check, the company will incur serious losses, since the aircraft cannot be operated during the check, and therefore cannot generate income.

However, despite the high safety of flights, any plane crash attracts increased attention from international aviation authorities, as well as from the manufacturers of the crashed aircraft. As a result of an investigation into the cause of a plane crash or incident, international aviation authorities may introduce new air travel safety requirements.

So, for example, after several incidents with navigation failure on an airplane, passengers were prohibited from turning on mobile phones, and aircraft manufacturers were directed to consider improving the insulation of aircraft electronic systems. As a result, this malfunction was eliminated in new aircraft models and some aviation authorities, for example the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), officially canceled the outdated regulation. Similarly, regulations were introduced to keep the window shades open during takeoff and landing: firstly,

Through the windows, passengers can notice an emergency outside the aircraft and inform the crew about it, and secondly, in the event of a hard landing, the window shade may break and there is a risk that sharp fragments of plastic will injure passengers.

The cause of today's tragedy remains to be determined, but we can safely say that there is no correlation between the age of the aircraft and its safety.

A motley crowd of tourists, bright underwater world, attracting divers from all over the world - all this attracts travelers. Russians were eager to go there as if they were going to a second dacha: at least a week to rest from work and bask in the sun. Whole families flew until the plane crash in Egypt on October 31, 2015 forced the entire country to shudder.

Tragic accident

The Brisco tourist group was returning by charter flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. Despite the early morning (departure at 5.50 local time), the passengers were in excellent spirits. They posted pictures of their successful vacation on social networks. It was Saturday, and on Monday many had to plunge into work; some had work, others had to study.

The Airbus A321-231 EI-ETJ airliner, which arrived from Samara, took 217 passengers on board. They and seven crew members were to be in Northern capital, where many relatives and friends were waiting at the airport. Having reached a given altitude of 9400 meters in 23 minutes, at a speed of 520 km/h the aircraft suddenly disappeared from the radar. At 6.15 (7.15 Moscow) the plane crashed in the Sinai Peninsula near El-Arish airport - the hottest spot in Egypt, where government troops were confronted by Al-Qaeda Islamists.

Versions of the tragedy

Those meeting flight 9268 at Pulkovo Airport anxiously watched the board, which displayed the information: “Arrival delayed.” And by evening, the whole country knew that the wreckage of the aircraft that had disappeared from radar had been discovered by the Egyptian authorities. Scattered over a length of 13 kilometers, with the tail section torn off, they were shown on television, which gave rise to many versions of experts about the possible causes of the disaster. Three were considered the most reliable:

• Technical problems associated either with engine failure or metal fatigue. In the tail section, traces of skin repairs were found after the aircraft touched the asphalt with its tail while landing at Cairo airport in 2001. The resulting microcrack could cause the destruction of the aircraft as it climbed.
• The plane crash in Egypt was caused by the crew's mistakes.
• Terrorist act.

The IAC commission, headed by Egyptian representative Ayman al-Mukkadam, began working at the site of the tragedy. It included representatives of Russia, France, Germany, the USA and Ireland. After studying the evidence and deciphering, the first two versions were found unfounded.

Aircraft

The A321 crash over the Sinai Peninsula was the worst in Egyptian history and modern Russia. The airbus belonged to the Kogalymavia company, which underwent a thorough inspection. It was found that after the 2001 emergency, the aircraft was repaired in France at the manufacturer's plant, after which all the necessary tests were carried out. Over 18 years of operation, the airliner flew less than 50% of its service life (57,428 hours) and was in good condition. This is evidenced by weekly technical checks, the last of which was carried out on October 26, 2015. The flight recorders did not detect any system malfunction. Until the 23rd minute, the flight proceeded quite normally.

Crew

Forty-eight-year-old crew commander Valery Nemov is a graduate of SVAAULSH (Stavropol Military School). He is one of the few who, in the difficult 90s, retrained to fly on Airbuses since 2008, having 12 thousand flight hours, which testifies to his enormous experience. The second pilot also came from military aviation, being a veteran of the Chechen campaign. After retiring, Sergei Trukhachev retrained on the A321, having undergone training in the Czech Republic. I flew them for more than 2 years. The total flight time was 6 thousand hours. Both pilots were in good standing with their airline. Nemov was even called back from vacation prematurely to be sent to the sad famous flight 9268.

Official version

Two weeks after the tragedy, the version of the terrorist attack was officially voiced by the head of the FSB during a meeting with the President of the Russian Federation. To support his words, he provided the following evidence:

1. American satellites recorded a thermal flash over Sinai during the disaster, which indicates an explosion occurred on board the plane.
2. The fuselage fragment has a hole with a diameter of about one meter. Its edges are curved outward. This indicates that the source of the explosion was inside.
3. When decoding the recorder recording the negotiations, before the recording is interrupted, extraneous noise is heard, the nature of which can be attributed to a blast wave.
4. The plane crash in Egypt caused great public outcry. After a while, they not only admitted responsibility for the terrorist attack, but also posted a photo of an improvised explosive device (IED) on the pages of Dabig magazine.
5. Some of the victims had injuries indicating death from the consequences of the explosion (burns, tissue ruptures).
6. Traces of explosives - TNT molecules - were found in fragments of shrapnel, luggage and on the bodies of the victims.

The power of the explosion was estimated at 1 kilogram. The estimated location of the IED is the tail of the aircraft. For the blast wave moved forward, but the fracture of the fuselage prevented its further advancement.

Plane crash in Egypt: who is to blame?

After the Russian version appeared, it became known that 17 employees were detained at the Egyptian airport. The main question was one: “How did the IED get on board the airliner?” The FSB began studying the biographies of 34 passengers (11 men and 23 women) who had TNT molecules on their bodies. But official Egypt soon stated that there was no evidence for a clear statement about a terrorist attack on board the plane. None of the employees were actually arrested. Russian authorities have announced a $50 million reward for any information about the terrorists.

Only in February 2016 did the Egyptian President officially acknowledge the terrorist attack. It was discovered that the bomb was made from plasticite, which is used to create military projectiles. It is powered by a clock mechanism. The plane crash in Egypt on October 31, 2015 showed that the airport security system does not meet international standards. The IED could have gotten on board with the company supplying the products through employees with access to runway, and also through hand luggage during baggage check. The latest data is such that it was in the cabin in the immediate vicinity of place 31A. All these facts led to a ban on the sale of holiday tours in Egypt.

Flight passengers

EI-ETJ - the last digits of the Airbus number. According to them, the aviators called the board “Juliet” among themselves, affectionately “Dzhulka”. On that tragic morning, she broke up three aviation marriages and killed a young steward who replaced a colleague who had quit due to a bad dream. It also took the lives of 217 passengers, 25 of whom were children. Those killed in a plane crash in Egypt are entire families, dozens of destroyed love stories, babies who will never grow up. Ten-month-old Darina Gromova was on this flight with her parents. Her mother posted her photo on social network before departure. A girl stands at the airport facing the runway, and below is the signature: “Main Passenger.” This picture has become a symbol tragic flight, from which no one managed to return.

Almost all passengers are Russians, 4 people are citizens of Ukraine, 1 is from Belarus. The majority are residents of St. Petersburg, although there are also representatives of other regions: Pskov, Novgorod, Ulyanovsk. Those killed in the plane crash in Egypt are people of various professions. Even while relatives were busy identifying the bodies, caring people were forming a collective portrait of the passengers, collecting information about them bit by bit. A wonderful gallery was created, where there were many good words about everyone.

Almost a year later

On July 31, Moscow and St. Petersburg held a rally in memory of those killed over the Sinai. Nine months passed: many relatives received compensation, identified and buried their loved ones, but the pain did not subside. On August 5, 2016, a message was received that forty-five militants led by Abu Dua al-Ansari, through whose fault the plane crash occurred in Egypt, were killed during a military operation near El-Arish. I really want to believe that something like this will never happen again!

A year ago, a plane flying 9268 from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg crashed over the Sinai Peninsula. The catastrophe, which became the largest in the history of Soviet and Russian aviation, claimed the lives of 224 people. Most of them are residents of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region. A year after the tragedy, not all the relatives of the victims were able to bury their loved ones. Until now, St. Petersburg residents are waiting for official and final results of the investigation into the disaster from the Egyptian side. And they literally learn to live again.

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

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

The plane, bypassing the Sinai Peninsula, will arrive in St. Petersburg at 12:10 local time, on a regular Saturday afternoon in October, among dozens of other domestic and international flights listed on the Pulkovo board. But neither then, nor after several delays that were displayed on the board, 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 the Sinai. According to the report published on the website, the plane took off safely and began to gain altitude, moving parallel to the coast. A few minutes after the liner turned deeper into the peninsula, its altitude began to drop sharply by 6,000 feet. Communication with the plane is lost. The first media reports that the plane Airbus airlines"Kogalymavia" disappeared from the radar and began to appear only at 10:18 Moscow time. Short news reports vary significantly: according to the information they contain, there were from 207 to 224 people on board. Some reports say the plane went missing near Larnaca in Cyprus.

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

Moments count - two minutes later news appears from Arab media, reporting that a Russian plane crashed in the central part of the Sinai Peninsula. But the data is still scarce and not supported by official confirmation. Hope remains. At 10:42 Reuters and Sky News publish the first reports refuting the plane crash. Publication sources claim that the crew of the missing plane made contact in Turkey. Flightradar does not confirm the fall, specifying that the airliner sharply decreased in altitude before disappearing from the radar.

The Federal Air Transport Agency reports that they are trying to contact the flight that disappeared from radar. At 11:44 on the Pulkovo online board there is still information that the flight’s arrival from Sharm el-Sheikh is delayed (from 12:10 to 12:20). But already closer to 12, citing sources in the Federal Air Transport Agency, most media outlets publish information about the crash of an airliner over the Sinai Peninsula. In Pulkovo, where by that time the information about the arrival had disappeared from the display, the emergency headquarters began operational work, and the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations was preparing two aircraft to be sent to Egypt. Later, the department decides to send five special aircraft to Egypt.

Search teams discovered the crash site among the mountains of the Sinai Peninsula. The wreckage of the airliner was scattered over 13 kilometers.

The search operation took place in difficult conditions: North Sinai is a closed zone, and 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 group’s activities are prohibited in Russia by decision Supreme Court. - Prim. ed.). It was the Egyptian military, patrolling the territory, who were the first to discover the wreckage of the airliner. The plane crashed in the En-Nahal mountain range, deserted, waterless and deserted place. According to clarified and officially confirmed information, there were 224 people on board the plane, including seven crew members. According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, among the passengers on the plane there were 192 adults and 25 children. They all died.

Dear Amalia, 28 years ago you gave the world a wonderful boy. Every mother dreams of such a son and every girl dreams of such a reliable and loving man nearby. A year ago, photographs of all the dead 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 didn’t know him, but I’m incredibly sorry for Armen. Such boys were obliged to live and give the world beautiful children. But, unfortunately, another world, black and evil, took his life. Strength and health to you. Thank you for such a son. I'm so sorry... Blessed memory Armen and happy heavenly birthday. (Tatyana Svetlova, St. Petersburg) - such letters, a year after the tragedy, continue to be received by the relatives of those killed in 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 his last messages he asked his mother not to be bored, because the separation would not be long, he promised to bring a magnet or, as a joke, even a whole camel.

A year after the tragedy, Amalia carefully preserves all the photographs and messages of her son. Concerned residents of other regions of Russia and dozens of other loved ones of the victims of the plane crash help her to honor the memory and overcome the grief of loss. The tragedy united more than 36 thousand people online. Through the efforts of St. Petersburg residents, the Flight 9268 charitable foundation was created, which now provides support to people who 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 those things that we are able to accomplish: creating a memorial and 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. This is a protest against terrorism, murder, cruelty and injustice. A big journey begins with a small step. And we are taking this step all together - this is precisely the goal set for ourselves by people whose lives were divided by the tragedy into before and after the disaster.

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

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

The tragedy cut short the lives of entire families: Olga and Yuri Shein and three of their children died in the disaster. The whole country from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok was shocked to the core by the love story of Alexandra Chernova and Evgeny Yavsin who were on board the A321: Evgeny specially saved money to take Sasha to Egypt and propose to her there. And dozens of other life-long stories that were so unfairly and suddenly ended on that ill-fated 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" of Irina Zakharova, the remains, which are now stored in the crematorium on Shafirovsky Prospekt, are not subject to examination. However, families still have hope of receiving fragments of the bodies of their dead relatives: in Egypt, after the completion of the main stage of the investigation, new remains were discovered, they are now being studied.

The report of the international commission investigating the crash of the Russian A321 over the Sinai has not yet been made public: on the preliminary results of its work (and this is a year after the investigation), according to a source in the Ministry civil aviation Egypt, experts will tell you “within 60 days.”

Certain technical analyzes are now 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.

Let us remind you that representatives from six countries are taking part in the investigation into the causes of the disaster: Egypt, Russia, as well as specialists from France, Germany, Ireland and the USA. Its progress in accordance with the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is supervised by the Egyptian aviation authorities. 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 on another probable cause of the crash of the Kogalymavia airliner - a version of technical problems. This was announced on the day of the crash by the operational services of Egypt following a preliminary inspection of the wreckage of the plane. At the initial stage of the investigation, Russian experts were also inclined towards this same version.

Representatives of Kogalymavia (Metrojet trademark) were the first to refute it: already on November 2, the airline’s press secretary, Alexander Smirnov, ruled out a technical malfunction and pilot error as the causes of the disaster and announced an “external influence” on the airliner. He stressed that the aircraft, which the airline owned under lease, was 100% ready to fly and that its crew was “very experienced.” The company representative supported his speech with certificates received by the airline at the beginning of 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 stopped, the flight was proceeding as normal; no information about failures of the aircraft’s systems and components 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 about third-party interference with links to various sources were previously published in foreign and Russian media. - We can definitely say that this is terrorist attack“, Bortnikov said, adding that traces of foreign-made explosives were found on the wreckage and things. - According to our experts, an improvised explosive device with a power of up to 1 kg in TNT equivalent went off on board the aircraft during the flight, which resulted in the aircraft falling apart in the air, which explains the scattering of parts of the aircraft fuselage over a long distance.

Bortnikov explained that the conclusions were made by specialists after a thorough examination of personal belongings, luggage of passengers and parts of the crashed airliner.

It was initially believed that the explosive device was planted under the passenger seat of 30A or 31A. However, in September 2016, data from the commission were made public, according to which the explosion occurred in the tail section, in the compartment for oversized luggage. A timed bomb was hidden among the baby strollers. Experts came to this conclusion after analyzing the layout of the collected fragments of the A321 in the hangar at Cairo airport. Due to the explosion, the plane lost its tail section, after which it went into an uncontrolled dive.

The investigation into the tragedy is progressing very slowly, and all the circumstances of what happened 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 the explosive device on board - numerous evidence of the weak level of security in the air harbor immediately after the tragedy flooded the Internet: many tourists said that for a small bribe they calmly carried bags with things through all the security cordons, and no one inspected them. However, the Egyptian side for a long time insisted on the version of a technical malfunction, refusing to acknowledge the possibility of a terrorist attack on board the liner. In December 2015, the Technical Investigation Committee issued a statement saying that Cairo had found no signs of terrorist involvement in the Airbus 321 crash. It was not until February 2016 that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi admitted for the first time that a Russian plane had crashed in the skies above. Sinai was a terrorist attack. The head of state stated this at the presentation of a report on the country’s development until 2030.

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

Air traffic with Egypt, which was stopped immediately after the A321 crash, has not yet been restored. In accordance with the official commentary of the Russian Ministry of Transport, the situation will not change until all concerns in the field of aviation security are eliminated.

A decision to resume air traffic between Russia and Egypt is possible only after all concerns in the field of aviation and transport security have been eliminated. It is worth noting that the Egyptian side has made significant progress in resolving these issues and the interaction between the two countries is quite constructive, the department noted on October 25.

The Garden of Memory", which will be located on Rumbolovskaya Mountain 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 killed in the A321 plane crash, as well as metal structures in the form of pipes on which the wind will play, anyone who drives along the Road of Life will see it.

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

Experts are still arguing about what became cause of the plane crash October 31, 2015 in Egypt. At the moment, there are several versions of what happened, but none of them have been reliably confirmed. It is known that it fell apart in the air at a high altitude. This version, which was presented by the IAC, was confirmed by the Federal Air Transport Agency. This is evidenced by the nature of the scattering of debris in the area.

The plane, which was flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, crashed for unknown reasons on the morning of October 31. 21 minutes after takeoff, the plane reached an altitude of 10,210 meters and a speed of 748 km/h, and just a minute later it reached 8,649 meters and its speed was 172 km/h. 22 minutes after takeoff, the airliner stopped transmitting data, and its mark disappeared from radar. The wreckage of an Airbus A321 was found on Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. The plane crash site is an ellipse 8 kilometers long and 6 kilometers wide. This suggests that the destruction of the aircraft occurred at a high altitude. A thorough study of the plane crash site is currently underway. The “black boxes” were found, but decryption has not yet begun.

Experts, having analyzed the data available at the moment, suggest three versions of what happened. According to experts, the plane's body burst due to pressure drop. Sharp drop pressure, which led to depressurization and destruction of the airliner, could have arisen due to detached engine parts, due to fatigue cracks in the supporting structures, or due to a shock wave from an explosive device. To establish the exact cause, confirm or refute these assumptions, experts must collect all the wreckage of the airbus and display it in the hangar. At this stage of the investigation, neither version can yet be ruled out. It is also worth noting that experts refuted the version that the plane could have been shot down from the ground using MANPADS, since the plane was flying at an altitude unattainable for this weapon. However, experts are in no hurry to completely discount the terrorist attack on the A321, since it is unknown whether radical militants have more powerful air defense systems.

Experts pay special attention to the incident that occurred with this aircraft in 2001. Then the Airbus A321, when landing in Cairo, hit the runway with its tail. After that, the plane was bought Turkish airline Onur Air, and in 2012 the aircraft was put into operation by Kogalymavia. Experts do not exclude that the damage that was received in 2001 could have played a fatal role in the crash on October 31, 2015. Hidden damage in the tail section, which was invisible from the outside, could fail under the influence of time or under the influence of an increase in load, as a result of which the plane began to fall apart.

The plane crashed on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt on October 31, 2015. Airbus 321, which was flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, crashed 23 minutes after takeoff. 217 passengers and seven crew members died.

Airbus A321 flight 9268 of Kogalymavia Airlines (Metrojet brand) crashed and disappeared from radar on the morning of Saturday, October 31. There were 224 people on board the plane - passengers, children, 7 crew members, all of them were Russians. The airliner was operating a “tourist” flight between Sharm El-Sheikh and St. Petersburg.

The latest information about the disaster can also be read on Twitter using the hashtag #KogalymAvia And #7k9268 .

The Egyptian authorities officially confirmed the plane crash and began searching for the wreckage with the army, while the Turkish aviation authorities reported that the airliner had entered their airspace. At the same time, the media previously stated that the airliner continued its flight, but the official press of Cairo states that the plane crash did occur, and the wreckage of the airliner is in Sinai.

The most eloquent illustration is the Flightradar system, which allows you to track any civilian aircraft in the world that have special transponders. According to Flightradar visible that the plane "descended at approximately 6,000 feet per minute (110 km/h) before the signal was lost" 23 minutes after takeoff.

The press also reports that the airliner’s crew reported malfunctions; some journalists say that the PIC and co-pilot requested emergency landing- however, this information has not yet been confirmed.

Let us note that many pilots and aviation experts, speaking about plane crashes, recalled that an engine failure (without destroying the engine or the aircraft) does not lead to the crash of airliners - they can glide even with all engines turned off to the nearest airfield (this has also happened in the history of aviation - media they remember both the emergency landing of the Tu-204 and the “Gimli glider”).

“The plane crashed in a closed military zone. Counter-terrorism operations are being carried out there,” reports VGTRK.

State of emergency declared in North Sinai in Egypt due to crash Russian plane, the Prime Minister of Egypt, rescuers and military personnel went to the crash site.

Reuters reports that "the screams of surviving passengers may be heard at the crash site."

“The CREW OF THE CRASHED RUSSIAN AIRLINER COMPLAINED ABOUT ENGINE PROBLEMS SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK,” news agencies report.

"Egyptian emergency services began removing the bodies of those killed in the crash of the Russian A-321 on the Sinai Peninsula," reports AFP. The disaster site is cordoned off and protected from looters.

"The bodies of five children have been found; the Russian plane that crashed in Sinai has broken into two parts," AFP said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his deepest condolences to the relatives of those killed in the Kogalymavia plane crash, ordering rescuers to be sent to the scene of the tragedy.

“The total flight time of the 48-year-old commander of the plane that crashed in Egypt was 3,682 hours. Of these, Valery Nemov flew 1,100 hours as an aircraft commander,” Lifenews.ru said.

“As it became known, before flying on an A-321 type aircraft, Valery Nemov flew a TU-154. The pilot was retrained in training center AmurAir, located in Turkey,” adds the press, calling the PIC a professional pilot.

It became known that at least one of the passengers on the flight posted a photo of the plane and her husband and daughter before takeoff, writing " we're flying home ".

“According to the Egyptian side, the plane was trying to land at El-Arish airfield,” the Russian Embassy reported.

“As it became known, about a hundred bodies of passengers were pulled out from under the wreckage of a Russian airliner that crashed 100 kilometers from El-Arish in the north of the Sinai Peninsula,” reports Egypt Independet.

“Eyewitnesses say that the plane that crashed in Egypt was burning in the air,” Kommersant FM reported.

The media reported that rescuers found one of the flight recorders - black boxes - at the scene of the tragedy.

President Vladimir Putin declared mourning on November 1 in connection with the crash of a Russian airliner in Egypt.

The bodies of all 17 children were found at the A-321 crash site in Egypt. RIA Novosti reports with reference to a civil aviation representative.

As Gazeta.Ru found out, travel company Brisco, whose clients were flying on the crashed plane, and Kogalymavia airline are owned by the same people.

“Either a fire in the central/tail section, or an engine fire spreading throughout the entire nacelle with subsequent thermal destruction of the wing,” they write on a professional pilot forum.

The local Bedouin tribe Al Tayaha saw a Russian Kogalymavia airliner crash on the Sinai Peninsula. According to the nomads, the Airbus A321 burst into flames in the air, in particular, they saw one of the plane’s engines burning.

"Many died in seats wearing seat belts," Egyptian intelligence official/Reuters

The office of the owner of the Kogalymavia airline on Stoleshnikov Lane in Moscow is being searched. Law enforcement officers are seizing documents and electronic media from the office, media reports.

Egyptian aviation authorities do not rule out that the plane crash Russian airline“Kogalymavia” in Egypt occurred due to a terrorist attack, CBS Extra reports. “This version is unlikely, since terrorists in the region do not have the appropriate weapons - anti-aircraft missile systems, because the plane was at an altitude of more than 6 thousand meters,” experts say.

“A couple of months ago, rockets were fired at Israeli territory from Sinai. In Syria and Libya, Islamists captured dozens of C125 and C200 complexes. In Yemen, firefights are taking place using Point U, and the Saudis have deployed Patriots along the entire border,” they write on social networks.

"According to a representative of the Egyptian investigation committee aviation incidents Ayman al-Mugadem, the pilot warned ground controllers that the plane had " technical problem“and he needs to land as soon as possible,” Izvestia reports.

Egyptian authorities said no one survived the Russian plane crash, Reuters reported.

Before taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh, the crashed plane underwent the necessary technical checks and no faults were identified, said the head of the Egyptian airport company Adel Mahgoub. “A technical inspection of the aircraft was carried out and its airworthiness was confirmed,” he emphasized.