The plane crash in Egypt on October 31, 2015 made not only Russia shudder, whose citizens died in it, but the whole world. What are its reasons, who is to blame - there are still no definite answers to these questions.
Russians like to call Egypt a tree - in this country both in winter and summer, the turquoise sea, where there are no restrictions for divers, a huge number of beaches and hotels, where you can comfortably relax for single couples and families with children. The country has always attracted travelers from Russia, and from other countries of the world, until a terrible incident dampened interest in it.
Details of the crash over Egypt on October 31, 2015
The crash of the Airbus-321 aircraft, owned by the Russian airline Kogalymavia, occurred over the central part of the Sinai Peninsula of the state of Egypt. The tragic accident happened on October 31, 2015 at 7:14 Moscow time, 23 minutes after the aircraft took off. At the time of the crash, on board the ship were 7 crew members and 217 passengers, most of whom were citizens of the Russian Federation.
Before the crash, according to the issuing airport, the flight altitude of the aircraft sharply decreased immediately by 1.5 km, and then the radars stopped fixing the aircraft. In addition, it is documented that the first pilot of the vessel immediately before the fall requested permission to emergency landing at the nearest airport - in Cairo.
When the crash site was discovered and rescuers arrived, it turned out that the aircraft literally fell into two parts, and there were simply no survivors. Until recently, close passengers and crew members of the liner hoped that their relatives would survive, but, unfortunately, hopes were not realized.
Information about the aircraft and the crew of the Airbus-321 aircraft
The Russian Airbus-321 aircraft, crashed in Egypt, carried out charter flight 9268. The aircraft belonged to the narrow-body class, was launched in 1988, and became the first with the principle of remote control. Plane crashes involving this brand of aircraft occurred almost annually, starting from the year they began to be mass-produced. The largest of them:
- February 14, 1990 - 96 victims,
- August 23, 2000 - 143 victims,
- May 3, 2006 - 113 dead,
- July 28, 2010 - 152 victims,
- December 28, 2014 - 162 dead
- October 31, 2015 - 224 victims.
The crew of the aircraft on flight 9268 from Sharm El Sheikh to St. Petersburg included 7 specialists. The first pilot of the Airbus-321 aircraft was an experienced pilot Valery Nemkov, whose professional piggy bank has more than 12, 000 flight hours. The co-pilot Sergei Sukhachev had no less experience than his leader.
The passengers were serviced by a crew of 5 flight attendants, and for all of them this was the last flight. The team was led by 38-year-old Valentina Martsevich, she was assisted by Andrei Belomestnov (29 years old), Irina Olaru (22 years old), Stanislav Sviridov (29 years old) and Andrei Filimonov (25 years old).
Versions and true causes of the crash over Egypt in October 2015
Official confirmation that the aircraft operating flight 9268 crashed arrived in St. Petersburg on the evening of October 31. Prior to this, the sign “arrival delayed” was displayed on the scoreboard. The remains of the plane and those killed in the crash were scattered within a radius of 13 km from the crash site of the Airbus-321.
The investigating authorities of Egypt and the Russian Federation put forward and developed three versions of what happened at once:
- technical problems with one or more components of the aircraft,
- crew error made by the crew,
- terrorist act.
At the place where the plane crashed, representatives of the investigating authorities of several countries worked at once - Russia, Egypt, France, USA, Germany, Ireland. The representative of Egypt, Ayman al-Muqqadam, headed the IAC Commission of Experts.
The list of technical problems that could cause the plane crash, experts included engine failure and the so-called “fatigue” of the hull, poor-quality repairs, traces of which were found in the rear part of the aircraft, the formation of microcracks around the correction area.
The real reason for the crash, as it turned out after the end of the investigation, was a terrorist attack. The evidence was voiced by the head of the FSB of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bortnik. Traces of explosive (trotyl), a hole with a diameter of about 1 m were found on the wreckage of the tail section of the aircraft, airliner recorders recorded a blast wave, airport radars - a thermal flash.
Perpetrators of a plane crash over Egypt on October 31, 2015
The facts confirming that the terrorist attack was the cause of the crash of the Russian plane in the Egyptian sky were irrefutable. But here, two versions were put forward - the plane was shot down from the ground, the explosive device was on board the liner. Both versions were worked out in detail, as a result of the investigation, the experts allegedly even managed to establish the exact place where the explosives were - passenger seat 31A.
None of the terrorist organizations claimed responsibility for the tragedy and death of more than 200 people, including children. Egyptian authorities arrested airport employees, but none of them were punished.
As a result, one of the groups that are part of ISIS, the so-called jihadists, took responsibility for the explosion on board the aircraft performing flight 9268.
The list of deaths in a plane crash over Egypt on October 31, 2015
Most of the passengers on the Airbus-321 flying from Sharml-sheikh to St. Petersburg were Russians. But with them flew and citizens of other countries. On board were 4 Ukrainians, 1 Belarusian. 25 out of 217 passengers are children under 12 years old. And it was not just people who perished, families perished, whole tribal chains broke. A few days later the official list of those who lived the last minutes in the sky of Egypt was published.
The board transported customers of two Russian tour operators - Odeon, Brisok, who worked mainly in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. Most of the passengers were from this city, and only a few were from the Pskov, Ulyanovsk and Novgorod regions of the Russian Federation.
The most resonant loss is little Darina Gromova. Her photo at the airport window with a view of the runway scattered around the world, became the key moment of almost all mourning banners and posts on social networks.
