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Who’s Involved in the Metrojet Crash Investigation Who’s Involved in the Metrojet Crash Investigation
(1 day later)
Investigators from Egypt, Russia and Western Europe have descended on the Sinai Peninsula, hoping to find evidence that would explain why a commercial flight carrying 224 people crashed on Saturday, leaving no survivors.Investigators from Egypt, Russia and Western Europe have descended on the Sinai Peninsula, hoping to find evidence that would explain why a commercial flight carrying 224 people crashed on Saturday, leaving no survivors.
Technical failure, human error, an explosion on board and a missile strike have all been proffered as potential explanations for the destruction of the plane, Metrojet Flight 9268. A complex web of national and business interests and the agendas and motives of individuals and terrorist groups intersect in the investigation.Technical failure, human error, an explosion on board and a missile strike have all been proffered as potential explanations for the destruction of the plane, Metrojet Flight 9268. A complex web of national and business interests and the agendas and motives of individuals and terrorist groups intersect in the investigation.
Here is a look at the principal parties and what they have at stake.Here is a look at the principal parties and what they have at stake.
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Metrojet is a Russian airline, the flight was bound for Russia and all 224 people aboard were Russian citizens. The disaster is being treated as a national tragedy, with flags lowered to half-staff and President Vladimir V. Putin calling for a “thorough inquiry.”Metrojet is a Russian airline, the flight was bound for Russia and all 224 people aboard were Russian citizens. The disaster is being treated as a national tragedy, with flags lowered to half-staff and President Vladimir V. Putin calling for a “thorough inquiry.”
Russian aviation officials went to Egypt after the crash, but according to Alexander Neradko, the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, the Egyptian authorities were refusing on Monday to share data from the plane’s flight recorders or ground-based radar.Russian aviation officials went to Egypt after the crash, but according to Alexander Neradko, the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, the Egyptian authorities were refusing on Monday to share data from the plane’s flight recorders or ground-based radar.
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Russia recently began a military campaign to defend the rule of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Russia’s only ally in the region, from the rebel forces assailing him, including the Islamic State. Russian officials have spoken out in defense of the safety of their frequently criticized civil aviation fleet.Russia recently began a military campaign to defend the rule of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Russia’s only ally in the region, from the rebel forces assailing him, including the Islamic State. Russian officials have spoken out in defense of the safety of their frequently criticized civil aviation fleet.
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The aircraft took off from Sharm el Sheikh, an Egyptian resort town on the Red Sea, and crashed in the Sinai Peninsula, a restive region of Egypt where the military is fighting Islamic extremists, including allies of the Islamic State. The Egyptian authorities will lead the investigation into the crash, and are able to control international investigators’ access to the wreckage and to evidence obtained from flight recorders, ground radar and witnesses.The aircraft took off from Sharm el Sheikh, an Egyptian resort town on the Red Sea, and crashed in the Sinai Peninsula, a restive region of Egypt where the military is fighting Islamic extremists, including allies of the Islamic State. The Egyptian authorities will lead the investigation into the crash, and are able to control international investigators’ access to the wreckage and to evidence obtained from flight recorders, ground radar and witnesses.
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Egypt’s military-backed government is nominally allied with the West in the fight against organizations like the Islamic State, and is also friendly with Russia. Egypt’s economy depends heavily on tourism, but years of civil strife and terrorist attacks have frightened visitors away from many parts of the country. Sharm el Sheikh had been one of the few places in Egypt that foreign tourists, many of them from Russia, still felt comfortable visiting.Egypt’s military-backed government is nominally allied with the West in the fight against organizations like the Islamic State, and is also friendly with Russia. Egypt’s economy depends heavily on tourism, but years of civil strife and terrorist attacks have frightened visitors away from many parts of the country. Sharm el Sheikh had been one of the few places in Egypt that foreign tourists, many of them from Russia, still felt comfortable visiting.
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The airline, formerly known as Kogalymavia, operated Flight 9268, a charter flight bound for St. Petersburg, Russia.The airline, formerly known as Kogalymavia, operated Flight 9268, a charter flight bound for St. Petersburg, Russia.
After the crash, the wife of the plane’s co-pilot told the news media that her husband had complained about the condition of the aircraft, an Airbus A321-200. The plane’s tail was damaged during a landing in Cairo in 2001.After the crash, the wife of the plane’s co-pilot told the news media that her husband had complained about the condition of the aircraft, an Airbus A321-200. The plane’s tail was damaged during a landing in Cairo in 2001.
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The airline’s safety and maintenance practices will inevitably be scrutinized. Though Metrojet has so far had limited access to the crash site and none to flight-recorder data, the airline’s executives moved swiftly to try to pre-empt any blame for the crash.The airline’s safety and maintenance practices will inevitably be scrutinized. Though Metrojet has so far had limited access to the crash site and none to flight-recorder data, the airline’s executives moved swiftly to try to pre-empt any blame for the crash.
“We absolutely exclude the technical failure of the plane, and we absolutely exclude pilot error or a human factor,” Aleksandr A. Smirnov, a former pilot and the airline’s deputy director for aviation, told reporters in Moscow on Monday.“We absolutely exclude the technical failure of the plane, and we absolutely exclude pilot error or a human factor,” Aleksandr A. Smirnov, a former pilot and the airline’s deputy director for aviation, told reporters in Moscow on Monday.
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The aircraft was built by Airbus, a European company with headquarters in France, and was registered in Ireland. The plane was assembled in Germany in 1997, and its flight recorders were made there. Investigators from Airbus and the governments of Germany, France and Ireland have all arrived in Egypt.The aircraft was built by Airbus, a European company with headquarters in France, and was registered in Ireland. The plane was assembled in Germany in 1997, and its flight recorders were made there. Investigators from Airbus and the governments of Germany, France and Ireland have all arrived in Egypt.
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The Airbus A321-200 has a global reputation for safety and reliability that the company and its home countries are keen to defend. The airplane in question had flown for less than half of its planned service life of 60,000 hours. The Airbus A321-200 has a global reputation for safety and reliability that the company and its home countries are keen to defend. The airplane in question had flown for less than half of its planned service life of 120,000 hours.
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Soon after the crash, the Islamic State, a terrorist organization fighting both the Egyptians in Sinai and the Russians in Syria, claimed that it had destroyed the aircraft, and it offered a blurry video clip that it said showed the plane being shot down by a missile.Soon after the crash, the Islamic State, a terrorist organization fighting both the Egyptians in Sinai and the Russians in Syria, claimed that it had destroyed the aircraft, and it offered a blurry video clip that it said showed the plane being shot down by a missile.
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Investigators doubt that the group, also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh, would be able to shoot down a plane at cruising altitude. But they have not ruled out a more conventional terrorist attack, like a bomb placed onboard. The Islamic State has called for jihad against Russia, following the country’s intervention in Syria, and sowing fear is essential to the way the group operates.Investigators doubt that the group, also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh, would be able to shoot down a plane at cruising altitude. But they have not ruled out a more conventional terrorist attack, like a bomb placed onboard. The Islamic State has called for jihad against Russia, following the country’s intervention in Syria, and sowing fear is essential to the way the group operates.