Sharm El Sheikh plane crash. Latest photos of passengers killed in a plane crash in Egypt. Technical malfunction of the airliner

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 .

Egyptian authorities officially confirmed the plane crash and began searching for the wreckage with army forces, while Turkish aviation authorities reported that the airliner had entered their air space. 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 it is seen 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.

Note that many pilots and aviation experts, speaking about plane crashes, they reminded that an engine failure (without destroying the engine or the plane) 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 - the media also recall the emergency landing of the Tu-204, and "Gimli glider").

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

A state of emergency was introduced in northern Sinai in Egypt in connection with the crash of a 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 have begun removing the bodies of those killed in the crash of the Russian A-321 in 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 at the AmurAir training center located in Turkey,” the press adds, 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.

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 representative civil aviation.

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 Russian airliner airline "Kogalymavia" crashed 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 Ayman al-Mugadem, a spokesman for the Egyptian Aircraft Incident Investigation Committee, the pilot warned ground controllers that the plane had a “technical problem” and needed to land as soon as possible,” Izvestia reported.

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.

Exactly four years ago, an Airbus A320 plane crashed over the Sinai Peninsula, which was carrying Russian tourists from Egypt to their homeland. All passengers and crew members died before reaching home. Among the dead were 25 children, including a small resident of Gatchina Darina Gromova, which the Russians called the Main Passenger. Authorities in several countries are still investigating the causes of the plane crash. In terms of the number of victims, the disaster is the largest in Russian aviation. But nothing can bring back innocent people. the site remembers the victims of the disaster and the chronology of events over the Sinai Peninsula

Developments

The plane of the Russian airline Kogalymavia arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh on the eve of the tragedy. On October 30, he performed two passenger flights on the route Sharm el-Sheikh - Samara - Sharm el-Sheikh. The commander of the aircraft, Dmitry Zhigalkovich, and co-pilot Yuri Yushko later said that the flight took place as usual, and no problems arose in the air. On October 31, the airliner came under the control of 48-year-old commander Valery Nemov and 45-year-old co-pilot Sergei Trukhachev. Nemov had more than 12 thousand hours of flight practice under his belt, almost 4 thousand of which were at the controls of an Airbus A321. The plane passed technical control at Sharm el-Sheikh airport and took off safely.

Photo: flight path of flight 7K-9268 / flightradar24.com

Charter flight 7K-9268 route Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg was supposed to arrive at Northern capital at 12:10 p.m., a little more than five hours into the flight. At 06:50 Moscow time, the plane took off from the Egyptian airport and headed along the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba. After 12 minutes, the aircraft turned left on a course of 340° to cross the Sinai Peninsula. When the board rose to a height of 9411 meters, its speed began to drop sharply. According to the website Flightradar24, at 06:13 the Airbus A320 began to lose altitude at a speed of 30 m/s. At approximately 07:14, flight 7K-9268 crashed in the central part of the Sinai Peninsula. The wreckage of the plane was scattered over a radius of 13 km. total area the search for the bodies of the dead and the remains of the airliner amounted to 30 km. All 224 passengers died.

The first reports about the disappearance of the airliner from radar appeared in the Russian media at about 10:20 Moscow time. Initially it was reported that communication was interrupted near the Cypriot city of Larnaca. International publications Reuters and Sky News, citing their own sources, reported that the flight crashed. At this time, relatives of passengers begin to be notified about the loss of the airliner. People, hoping for a miracle, go to Pulkovo to meet a delayed flight. Charter 7K-9268 was still listed on the information board, which reported a ten minute delay.

“I was just at the airport that day and found people waiting for the plane. I was flying to study then, and I had problems getting my luggage. I arrived, but that flight did not. I remember the number of this plane on the board with the red inscription “detained”. I had just left the airport when literally 15 minutes later the crash was announced. A few hours later, photographs from the airport began to appear online. I look, and there are all these people, many of whom I saw at the entrance, or at Starbucks, or somewhere else. People who came to wait for their relatives"

Soon the hopes of the relatives were dashed: Egyptian authorities reported that the wreckage of the plane was found 50 km from Nehel, in the province of North Sinai. The airport management, together with the Federal Air Transport Agency, set up mobile medical headquarters. People were provided with psychological assistance. The emergency headquarters began work. Rescuers constantly informed relatives. But the latter were already beginning to understand that their relatives could no longer be returned.

Photo: wreckage of flight 7K-9268 / life.ru

Investigation

When information about the crash was confirmed, the Ministry of Emergency Situations sent five special aircraft to Egypt to deliver the bodies of the victims to their homeland. The black boxes, which were practically undamaged, were found on the day of the tragedy. The decryption was carried out by the Egyptian side. Representatives from six countries took part in the investigation: Russia, Egypt, the USA, Germany, France and Ireland. The commission also included consultants from Airbus.

The wreckage found 13 km from the crash site gave rise to claims that the plane was destroyed in the air. In this regard, versions began to appear about a possible explosion of the plane. Moreover, the possibility of both a bomb explosion in the cabin and a missile strike from the ground was not excluded. However, Egypt called any versions premature and unsupported by facts. On November 16, the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, said that the plane exploded as a result of a terrorist attack. On the bodies of the passengers, security forces found remains of explosives not produced in Russia. The Egyptian authorities assured that they would take the FSB study into account, but did not draw any conclusions. One of the groups controlled by ISIS (an organization banned in Russia) took responsibility for the terrorist attack. An examination of the wreckage of the airliner showed that the bomb exploded within rows 30-31. Presumably it was laid at site 31A. However, in September 2016, experts said that the bomb was hidden in the tail of the plane among baby strollers.

Photo: wreckage of flight 7K9268 / vebus.ru

Until now, the authorities of the African country have not opened a case under the article “Terrorism”. In July 2017, a source close to Russian-Egyptian negotiations on aviation security told RIA-Novosti that Egypt does not want to investigate the case under the article “Terrorism” in order not to pay compensation to the relatives of the victims. In this case, it will become clear that the disaster occurred due to shortcomings of the local security services.

Victims

224 people died from the explosion, burns and falling from a great height. On board were mainly Russian citizens - 219 people. Also, four citizens of Ukraine and one citizen of Belarus were flying back from vacation. The oldest victim was 77 years old, the youngest was only 10 months old. 48 people who did not return home were from the Leningrad region. On November 1, 2015, mourning was declared in Russia, which lasted three days. In the Leningrad region, all entertainment events have been canceled until November 4.

Among the dead were children, grandchildren, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. Many of the passengers posted photos online before the flight. Some flew to Egypt with their family, some to celebrate their wedding anniversary, and some to propose to their girlfriend. There were also those who went on vacation abroad for the first time. But no one was destined to return to their home.

The most famous publication is a photograph of the daughter of the Gromov couple. Little Darina flew with her parents to warm Egypt for the first time. The girl’s mother Tatyana Gromova captioned the photo “ Main passenger" Under this name, the recording spread throughout the world and became a symbol of the tragedy. Darina was the smallest passenger on the plane. Her body was found 35 km from the crash site.

Spouses Olga and Yuri Shein flew to Egypt to celebrate ten years of marriage. They took three children with them: 11-year-old Zhenya, 10-year-old Lena and 3-year-old Nastya. A few minutes before landing, Olga posted a photo of her husband and her youngest daughter on her VKontakte page. The caption for the photo reads: "We're flying home." Sheina will never see her home.

Photo: personal archive of Olga Sheina

Armen Vishnev flew to Egypt to celebrate his birthday. A few days before the tragedy, on October 26, he turned 27 years old. He worked in the Federal Customs Service near St. Petersburg, in Pushkin. Armen’s mother told reporters that in one of his last messages he urged her not to get bored. Armen promised to bring a souvenir with him.

Volkhov resident Dmitry Bogdanov took his children, 10-year-old Anton, 22-year-old Nastya and 24-year-old Lera, to the sea for a vacation. The mother of a large family died of cancer several years earlier. The children wrote on their pages on the social network “Goodbye, Russia!”, “Goodbye, cold Russia” and “Rainy St. Petersburg, good-bye.” They will never see their homeland again.

The young couple Alexandra Chernovaya and Evgeny Yavsin went on their first joint trip abroad. A surprise awaited Alexandra on vacation: Evgeniy specifically saved money for trips to propose to his beloved at sea.

Photo: personal archive of Alexandra Chernova

Evgenia Murashova from Pskov died in the disaster. She flew to Egypt with her mother Irina Pikaleva. Evgenia has an 8-year-old daughter at home. A few days before her tragic death, she posted an audio recording on her page entitled “I know I won’t come back.”

Photo: screenshot from Ekaterina Murashova’s page

Along with all these innocent people, hundreds of others died. Hundreds, if not thousands, of relatives were left with broken hearts. Many of them still have not been able to identify their loved ones, which means they keep a grain of hope in their hearts. The unidentified remains of victims of the Sinai disaster were buried in a mass grave at one of the memorial cemeteries in St. Petersburg.

Memory

On Rumbolova Mountain in Vsevolozhsk on the second anniversary of the “Garden of Memory” tragedy. The project was financed from the regional budget and the budget of Vsevolozhsk. The names of all the dead passengers of flight 7K-9268 are immortalized on a granite slab. Also on this day, all the bells of the churches of St. Petersburg will strike 224 times, in honor of each person who died.

Photo: “Memory Garden”

On October 28, the monument “Folded Wings” was unveiled in St. Petersburg. The memorial was erected at the burial site of unidentified Airbus passengers. 25 white balloons were launched into the sky, symbolizing the children who died in the disaster.

Photo: “Folded Wings” / Administration of St. Petersburg

Every year, events in memory of the victims of the Sinai disaster are held throughout the country.

After the tragedy, activists created the Flight 9268 charitable foundation. The fund is supported by the administration Leningrad region, the administration of St. Petersburg, the Russian Union of Rescuers and the Kuznetsov Guild. In February 2016, with the assistance of the foundation, more than 80% of the families of relatives of the victims supported in writing the idea of building a temple and monument in memory of dead passengers and the crew of flight 9268. The Church of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki will be built in the Baltic Pearl multifunctional complex.

Photo: Draft design of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica in the Baltic Pearl multifunctional complex / flight9268.ru

31.10.2015 - 19:59

Egypt News. A tragedy that claimed 224 lives. There were 200 adults, 17 children and 7 crew members on board the plane. The bodies of those killed in the disaster began to be delivered to the Zenhom mortuary in Cairo on Saturday evening.

At the crash site Russian airliner Search and rescue operations continue in Egypt.

Let us recall that a passenger plane flying from resort town Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, . The airliner disappeared from radar screens less than half an hour after takeoff. Before this, the car suddenly began to lose altitude.

According to the latest data, 220 Russians, three Ukrainians and three died in the disaster.

It is already known that most of the passengers on the ill-fated flight were from St. Petersburg. Each line on the list of victims has its own story. Some were on vacation in Egypt, some were celebrating a wedding anniversary, some were celebrating a birthday. By and large, many came to the hot country as tourists.

Literally half an hour before the tragedy, this photo appeared on the page of a resident of St. Petersburg.

A beloved husband holds his beloved daughter in his arms. Their family turned four years old on October 27. Olga and Yuri, according to friends, were an incredibly happy couple, they valued and respected each other. Three nice children were born in love (all three were on vacation with mom and dad in Egypt). They loved to travel and preferred beach activities.

Olga Sheina with her daughter

In July we vacationed in Cyprus; we had long planned a trip to Egypt for October.

Tatiana and Alexey Gromov

As Tatyana wrote on her page on the social network, “ flew off to warm up" This was their first trip as a family. Before the flight from St. Petersburg, the happy mother took this photo.

Darina rests her hands on the glass and carefully examines the plane.

The grandmother of the “main passenger” did not want to let her granddaughter go to Egypt, saying that she was still just a baby, let her grow up a little. Darina’s parents insisted: “ Mom, nothing will happen. We'll soak our feet in the sea and come back».

Darina Gromova

The day before, Alexey called home and said that this vacation was the best and most significant, because the first trip “ full staff».

His father was a military pilot. Alexey wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps, but changed his mind. As a result, he built a career in an IT company.

Tatiana and Alexey Gromov

« They seemed the happiest in the world. Both their eyes shone with happiness“- this is what colleagues say

about 62-year-old Alexander Kopylov, deputy head of Pskov, and his wife Elena.

On October 27, the woman celebrated her 53rd birthday. The trips to Egypt were a gift from the husband in honor of his wife’s birthday.

Elena’s daughter, like dozens of daughters and sons whose lives were forever taken by the ill-fated flight from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, refuses to believe what happened.

Among the passengers Airbus aircraft A321 turned out to be Elena Domashnyaya, a participant in the popular TV show “Top Model in Russian”.

Colleague of Elena Domashnaya on the project “Top Model in Russian”. Post on social networks

After the TV show, Lena did not give up the modeling business, continued to take part in photo projects, and received a diploma in journalism.

Elena Home

In two weeks the beauty would have turned 25 years old. The girl was planning a big celebration.

Elena flew to Egypt on vacation. She was accompanied by her friend and colleague Ksenia Ogorodova.

Ksenia Ogorodova

Ksenia called the autumn spent in paradise, "ideal". Palm trees, sea and sun. A few days ago, a girl boasted that she experienced rain for the first time in Egypt.

One of the Egyptian photographs of Ksenia Ogorodova shows how four young guys throw a girl, probably Ksenia herself, into a pool, and two fall after her. " Rescue of a drowning man. Very cheerful Polish families that don't let you get burned“- this is how the girl signed this photo.

This shot was the last.

32-year-old Katya Murashova was a participant in the beauty contest among married women - “Mrs. Pskov-2014”.

Ekaterina Murashova

As Catherine’s friends say, travel was literally the meaning of her life. She worked in the state department of social protection of the Pskov region, and free time dedicated to trips with family to different countries and cities. " Very sociable, open and kind person“- this is how Katya’s colleagues characterize her.

Nikolay Korolev, organizer of the beauty contest (Pskov Information Agency):
She was a loving mother and an optimistic person. Ekaterina always did everything well. She was a persistent, hardworking, kind and sympathetic woman. Even without winning the competition, she was not upset, because the process of growth and self-development was important to her. I remember her as a loving mother - she and her daughter had a very warm relationship. She was an optimistic, cheerful woman who loved life.

Ironically, one of the last entries left by Ekaterina Murashova on her social network page is an airplane icon and a song with the sad and, as it turned out, prophetic title “I know that I will not return.”

At the age of 27, the life of Alina Gaydamak from St. Petersburg was cut short.

Alina Gaydamak

Finland, Estonia, Cyprus, Thailand. The girl visited a dozen countries and dreamed of visiting as many more, definitely no less. A trip to Egypt appeared spontaneously in her plans.

Alina went on a trip to Israel. On the way back, I decided to fly through Egypt.

Elena and Alexander

The anniversary was celebrated in Egypt. The family planned to return home on October 31 in order to complete preparations for another significant date. On November 1, Elena would have turned 35 years old.

Desperate hope “what if it’s a mistake?” Relatives and friends of the Belarusian Roman Seredinsky live.

A 28-year-old young man was awarded a trip to Egypt for Good work. Nobody could have imagined that the holiday would end in such a tragedy.

Roman Seredinsky

Natalya Melnichenko has known Roma since school. We studied together from first grade. He remembers how we went on excursions around memorable places Belarus, went hiking and to the river. About 10 years ago, a childhood friend left for St. Petersburg. All this time .

Natalya Melnichenok, classmate of Roman Seredinsky:
Roma was and will always remain a good, cheerful person for us.

The son of the dean of the St. Petersburg School of Economics and Management was vacationing at the resort with his beloved Alexandra.

On her Instagram page, Sasha Illarionova shared her impressions and posted photographs underwater world. Lenya and Sasha have recently become seriously interested in diving.

A week ago, Olga Kirillova enthusiastically told her friends that there was nothing better in the world than a vacation at sea.

Olga Kirillova

She calmly endured the heat and more than once noted how the sun adored her. The girl always came home with a luxurious tan.

In numerous photos she is smiling. Olga loved when people around her smiled, and then work was a pleasure. She made magnificent bouquets of flowers, buyers left on the pages in in social networks enthusiastic comments.

One of Olga's last works

In Egypt, Olga Kirillova was vacationing with her best friend, 25-year-old Zhenya Sologubova.

They said about them, “do not spill water.” Indeed, the friendship between the girls was the strongest. " The most important thing in any vacation is good company “, the girlfriends asserted.

Evgenia Sologubova

On the last day spent at the resort, Evgenia left a note on her online page with the words “ out of range” and several graphic emoticons. The girl, of course, said that she was out of the zone for the duration of the flight.

21-year-old table tennis coach Evgeny Yavsin was on vacation in Egypt with his girlfriend Alexandra Chernova.

Evgeny Yavsin and Alexandra Chernova

Evgeniy Yavsin

For their wards, friends and relatives, the news that the cheerful and purposeful Zhenya and Sasha were no more came as a real shock.

As Russian publications report, citing friends of the couple, Evgeniy invited Alexandra to relax in Egypt in order to propose to her.

« Wonderful friendly family“- this is how the Golenkov family from St. Petersburg was remembered.

Vladimir and Victoria Golenkov took their granddaughter Diana with them to the warm sea. In September the baby turned four years old.

Olesya Kosorukova from Novgorod is sure that time cannot be reconciled with pain. Her mother Natalya Rostenko was on board the Airbus A321.

In August, the woman retired and promised her family that she would take a little rest and upon her return she would help with her grandchildren. Natalia has five of them.

Natalya Rostenko during one of the trips

She vacationed in Sharm el-Sheikh seven times, was delighted with the resort and planned to return here in January to celebrate her birthday.

« I never thought that Egypt would evoke so many positive emotions in me. Do I want to live here? No. Will I come back here? Necessarily", wrote on Thursday evening

A 24-year-old resident of St. Petersburg on her social network page.

Victoria Sevryukova shared photos from the trip with her virtual friends. The girl enjoyed life and literally accompanied every photo with the hashtags “happiness is here” and “I don’t want to leave.”

Friends remember: Vika always traveled with her favorite pink suitcase.

Victoria Sevryukova

This thing seemed to confirm: the hostess is never in a bad mood.

Alexey and Oksana Semakova are another married couple who have registered on board.

The Semakovs

News of Ukraine. Ukraine has announced Iran’s agreement to transfer to it the black boxes of the Boeing shot down on January 8, reported the “24 Hours” News program on STV. In mid-February, Iran's Foreign Minister said that the country did not have the technical capabilities to decipher them.

Therefore, Tehran decided that it would send the flight recorders to Kyiv with subsequent transfer to France if additional examination was required.

Let us remind you that passenger airliner « International airlines Ukraine" crashed after taking off from Tehran airport. 176 people died. Iran admitted that it shot down the plane by mistake - two missiles were fired at the airliner.

Exactly one year ago, a Russian plane crashed over Sinai as a result of a terrorist attack. 224 people died in the plane crash. At the crash site, our country conducted an unprecedented search operation, and all surviving parts of the aircraft were found. The Investigative Committee stated that it will continue the criminal case until all those involved in this terrorist act are identified. On October 31, Russia remembers the victims of this terrible tragedy.

The funeral prayer began at 07:15 - this is the time the plane hit the ground. Nadezhda Volkova lost her son Nikolai in that terrible plane crash. Together with his wife Lera, he flew to Honeymoon. They were 32, reports.

“I don’t remember how I was driving home. When I arrived, my husband was destroying everything, beating, shouting: “They are no more.” No, do you understand?" But I didn’t believe it. And he said to me: “Look, the lists have arrived,” recalls Nadezhda Volkova.

The A321 aircraft of the Kogalymavia company carried out chartered flight number 9268 on the route Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg. 23 minutes after takeoff, the plane disappeared from radar. After another two hours, Egyptian Air Force aircraft discovered debris in the central Sinai Peninsula.

At St. Petersburg airport "Pulkovo" on electronic scoreboard all this time the line was on: arrival at 12:09. Then all the relatives meeting this flight were invited to board the bus and taken away from the television cameras. This is how the morning of October 31, 2015 began. In the evening, people brought flowers to the Arrival terminal.

The plane crash over Sinai killed 224 people, including seven crew members and 25 children. Almost all passengers were residents of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. The crash of the A321 aircraft became the largest mass death of Russian citizens in a plane crash in the entire history of world aviation and biggest disaster in the history of Egypt.

An international investigation into the causes of the tragedy is still ongoing. Preliminary results will be announced before the end of the year. Russian news agencies reported this last Thursday with reference to Egyptian media. Representatives of Russia, Egypt, France, Germany, Ireland, the USA, as well as consultants are taking part in the investigation Airbus Industry.

“There is a general version, which has already become the main one, that terrorists from the Egyptian IS cell are behind the disaster over the Sinai Peninsula ( The organization's activities are prohibited in Russia - editor's note.),” said Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine and director of the Center for Analysis of the Global Arms Trade.

An explosive device was planted in luggage right at Sharm el-Sheikh airport. It went off in the air. The airliner fell from a height of almost 10 thousand meters, and flew in a downward arc, losing altitude, at a speed of 30 meters per second. In Russia, the version of the explosion on board the A321 of an improvised explosive device with a capacity of up to a kilogram of TNT was officially announced on November 16, 2015 at a meeting with the president.

Egyptian authorities have become the latest to officially recognize the downing of the airliner as a terrorist act. The Egyptian president first publicly stated this only in February, four months after the plane crash.

“For Egypt, the recognition of the organization of a terrorist attack of this kind associated with the movement of tourists is a disaster for tourist area. Actually, this is what is happening today in Egypt. For a whole year they have been trying to restore the tourist flow, which is the main component of the Egyptian economy,” explained the director of the International Institute newest states, political scientist Alexey Martynov.

A year ago, a plane flying 9268 from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg crashed over the Sinai Peninsula. The disaster, 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 the 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 have to 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 Airbus 321 Kogalymavia, 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 either, 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. Insanely sorry... In loving memory of 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 the 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: according to a source in the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation, experts will talk about the preliminary results of their work (and this is a year after the investigation) “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 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. Responsibility for the crash Russian plane The Egyptian cell of the Islamic State group banned in Russia almost immediately took over. 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.

Making a decision on the resumption of air traffic between Russia and Egypt is possible only after all the problems in the field of aviation and transport security. 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.

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