This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/world/middleeast/russian-plane-crash-egypt.html
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| F.B.I. to Help Russia Investigate Plane Crash in Egypt | F.B.I. to Help Russia Investigate Plane Crash in Egypt |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. has agreed to help the Russian government with its investigation into the deadly crash of a Russian charter plane in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, senior American officials said on Saturday. | WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. has agreed to help the Russian government with its investigation into the deadly crash of a Russian charter plane in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, senior American officials said on Saturday. |
| The Russians want help doing a forensic analysis of debris of the plane, an Airbus A321-200, to determine what brought it down, the officials said. Although most of the debris is scattered over nearly eight square miles in the desert, some parts of the plane were brought back to Russia for analysis. | |
| It is rare for the Russians to make such a request, which was first reported on Friday by CBS News, and some American officials interpreted it as a sign of the challenges facing investigators. | |
| Moreover, although the F.B.I. and its Russian counterpart, the F.S.B., often work together on terrorism issues when they see a common enemy — in Muslim extremist groups like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, for example — American-Russian relations are at one of their lowest points since the fall of the Berlin Wall. | Moreover, although the F.B.I. and its Russian counterpart, the F.S.B., often work together on terrorism issues when they see a common enemy — in Muslim extremist groups like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, for example — American-Russian relations are at one of their lowest points since the fall of the Berlin Wall. |
| In Cairo on Saturday, the head of the Egyptian-led committee looking into the crash said investigators were focusing on a sound heard in the last second of a 23-minute cockpit voice recording. But he insisted that it was still premature to consider any specific explanations. | |
| At a news conference, Ayman al-Muqaddam, the head of the committee, confirmed previously reported data about the Oct. 31 crash, which killed all 224 aboard, and said 58 investigators and technical advisers from Egypt and France, Russia, Ireland and Germany were working on the inquiry. | At a news conference, Ayman al-Muqaddam, the head of the committee, confirmed previously reported data about the Oct. 31 crash, which killed all 224 aboard, and said 58 investigators and technical advisers from Egypt and France, Russia, Ireland and Germany were working on the inquiry. |
| He did not elaborate on the sound on the recording, and emphasized that all possibilities were being considered. When asked specifically what was being looked at, Mr. Muqaddam listed as possibilities a lithium battery explosion in a passenger’s luggage, a fuel tank explosion, fuselage fatigue or “the explosion of anything.” | He did not elaborate on the sound on the recording, and emphasized that all possibilities were being considered. When asked specifically what was being looked at, Mr. Muqaddam listed as possibilities a lithium battery explosion in a passenger’s luggage, a fuel tank explosion, fuselage fatigue or “the explosion of anything.” |
| “We can say that an in-flight breakup took place,” Mr. Muqaddam said. “Saying more than this would be entering the space of inference.” | “We can say that an in-flight breakup took place,” Mr. Muqaddam said. “Saying more than this would be entering the space of inference.” |
| He said nothing about the theory that a terrorist bomb brought down the plane, an explanation that has been endorsed by Britain and that President Obama has said he is taking “very seriously.” A branch of the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the crash. | |
| The plane, flown by the Russian airline Metrojet, was on its way from the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el Sheikh to Moscow when it disappeared from radar screens at about 30,000 feet. Egypt, which is highly dependent on the money tourists bring to Sharm el Sheikh, has dismissed any suggestion that a bomb exploded on the plane. | |
| In an apparent reference to the bomb theory, Mr. Muqaddam said that some media reports “claimed to be based on official intelligence that favors a certain scenario for the cause of the accident,” and that Egypt had not been provided with that information. After fielding two questions he left hurriedly, saying, “Please, people are waiting for me!” | In an apparent reference to the bomb theory, Mr. Muqaddam said that some media reports “claimed to be based on official intelligence that favors a certain scenario for the cause of the accident,” and that Egypt had not been provided with that information. After fielding two questions he left hurriedly, saying, “Please, people are waiting for me!” |