01-11-2015, 06:07 PM
Disintegrated in mid-air![URL="http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/01/middleeast/egypt-sinai-russian-plane-crash/index.html"]
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/01/middleeast...index.html[/URL]
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (CNN)The remains of Russian tourists killed in a passenger jet crash in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula are expected to start arriving back in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday as questions swirl over what caused the disaster.
All 224 people aboard Kogalymavia Flight 9268 died in the Saturday morning crash that left debris strewn across a remote area of a region plagued by a violent Islamic insurgency.
The airliner broke into pieces in midair, Russia's state-run media quoted an aviation official as saying, but there were no additional details.
"Disintegration of the fuselage took place in the air, and the fragments are scattered around a large area (about 20 square kilometers)," Viktor Sorochenko, executive director of Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee, told journalists, according to reports.
Footage from the scene showed mangled wreckage and piles of belongings from the plane spilled over a largely flat, barren landscape.
Many of the passengers on the Airbus A321-200 aircraft, which crashed en route from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, were reported by Russian state media to be returning from vacation. Russian officials said there were 25 children aboard the plane.
At Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, where the aircraft was supposed to end its journey, mourners paid their respects to victims at a makeshift memorial. People brought red or white carnations and stuffed toys. A table held a dozen candles. Relatives who had waited desperately for news of loved ones broke down in tears.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared Sunday a day of mourning.
'It suddenly disappeared'
It remains unclear what caused Flight 9268 to suddenly drop off radar, in clear weather after only 23 minutes in the air, and hurtle to the ground.
Speaking to high-ranking army officers in Cairo on Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi asked them to observe a moment of silence before urging the public not to jump to conclusions. Determining what happened will require a lengthy investigation, he said.
"These are complicated matters that require advanced technologies and wide investigations that might go on for months," he said.
![[Image: 151031075332-map-sinai-plane-crash-medium-plus-169.jpg]](http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/151031075332-map-sinai-plane-crash-medium-plus-169.jpg)
The crash is most likely the result of a technical failure, Egyptian Airports Co. chief Adel Al-Mahjoob told CNN Arabic on Saturday, although he noted that the plane passed a routine check before it took off.
Russian media outlets said that the pilot reported technical problems and requested a landing at the nearest airport before the plane went missing, but Egyptian authorities disputed that claim.
Air traffic control recordings don't show any distress calls, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamel said at a news conference.
"There was nothing abnormal before the plane crash," he said. "It suddenly disappeared from the radar."
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/01/middleeast...index.html[/URL]
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (CNN)The remains of Russian tourists killed in a passenger jet crash in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula are expected to start arriving back in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday as questions swirl over what caused the disaster.
All 224 people aboard Kogalymavia Flight 9268 died in the Saturday morning crash that left debris strewn across a remote area of a region plagued by a violent Islamic insurgency.
The airliner broke into pieces in midair, Russia's state-run media quoted an aviation official as saying, but there were no additional details.
"Disintegration of the fuselage took place in the air, and the fragments are scattered around a large area (about 20 square kilometers)," Viktor Sorochenko, executive director of Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee, told journalists, according to reports.
Footage from the scene showed mangled wreckage and piles of belongings from the plane spilled over a largely flat, barren landscape.
Many of the passengers on the Airbus A321-200 aircraft, which crashed en route from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, were reported by Russian state media to be returning from vacation. Russian officials said there were 25 children aboard the plane.
At Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, where the aircraft was supposed to end its journey, mourners paid their respects to victims at a makeshift memorial. People brought red or white carnations and stuffed toys. A table held a dozen candles. Relatives who had waited desperately for news of loved ones broke down in tears.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared Sunday a day of mourning.
'It suddenly disappeared'
It remains unclear what caused Flight 9268 to suddenly drop off radar, in clear weather after only 23 minutes in the air, and hurtle to the ground.
Speaking to high-ranking army officers in Cairo on Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi asked them to observe a moment of silence before urging the public not to jump to conclusions. Determining what happened will require a lengthy investigation, he said.
"These are complicated matters that require advanced technologies and wide investigations that might go on for months," he said.
The crash is most likely the result of a technical failure, Egyptian Airports Co. chief Adel Al-Mahjoob told CNN Arabic on Saturday, although he noted that the plane passed a routine check before it took off.
Russian media outlets said that the pilot reported technical problems and requested a landing at the nearest airport before the plane went missing, but Egyptian authorities disputed that claim.
Air traffic control recordings don't show any distress calls, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamel said at a news conference.
"There was nothing abnormal before the plane crash," he said. "It suddenly disappeared from the radar."