Airbus a321 crash. Before the Airbus A321 crashed, the satellite recorded a thermal flash. Aircraft damage on another flight

Exactly a year ago, on October 31, 2015, the most massive plane crash in Russia in terms of the number of victims occurred. Then in the north of the Sinai Peninsula an A321 aircraft Russian airline"Kogalymavia". There were 217 passengers on board, including 24 children, and seven crew members. They all died. Russian authorities have recognized the incident as a terrorist attack, but the international investigation has not yet been completed.

On October 31, an A321 aircraft of the Russian airline Kogalymavia was performing chartered flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. The airliner took off at 5:50 am and disappeared from radar 23 minutes later. On the same day, Egyptian government search teams discovered the wreckage of a destroyed plane near the city of Nehel in the northern Sinai Peninsula. All 224 people on board died, including 219 Russians, four citizens of Ukraine and one native of Belarus.

Causes of the A321 crash

The international investigation, led by Egyptian aviation authorities, is not yet over. Representatives of Russia, France, Germany, Ireland and the USA take part in it.

Western media were the first to report that a terrorist attack could have occurred on board the A321, shortly after the plane crash, citing their sources in the intelligence services and officials. From these publications it followed that the US and British authorities considered the version of a terrorist attack to be the most likely. However, Moscow publicly distanced itself from it for a long time, calling the version of the terrorist attack premature and calling to wait for the official results of the investigation. And only on November 6, a decision was made to suspend air traffic with Egypt until the causes of the A321 crash were clarified and to evacuate the Russians there.

Officially, the FSB terrorist attack that occurred over Sinai only two and a half weeks after the disaster, on November 17. According to the department, an improvised explosive device went off during the flight. Vladimir Putin, at a meeting of the Security Council, find the organizers of the crash “anywhere on the planet” and destroy them.

However, even after these statements, the Egyptian authorities continued to insist that the most likely cause of the disaster was a technical problem. And only in February 2016, the country's President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi admitted that a terrorist attack had occurred on board the A321.

In September, the Kommersant newspaper, citing sources, reported that an international technical commission had established the exact location of the explosion on the plane. According to the publication, experts determined that terrorists had mined the compartment oversized luggage in the tail of the plane, hiding an explosive device between baby carriages and wicker furniture carried by tourists.

Russia and the CIA believe that the explosion on board was organized by Wilayat Sinai (until 2014 - Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis), a cell of the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) banned in Russia. The group claimed responsibility for the downing of A321: On November 18, 2015, the Islamic State's propaganda magazine, Dabiq, published a photo of an improvised explosive device made from a can of Schweppes soda. As stated in the article, this is the device that was activated on board the A321. In August 2016, the Egyptian military reported the murder of Wilayat Sinai leader Abu Duaa al-Ansari, suspected of organizing the terrorist attack.

Scandalous case

Relatives of those killed in the disaster have repeatedly complained about the progress of the investigation and the process of paying compensation. In December, lawyer Igor Trunov, on behalf of 35 relatives, filed a complaint with the Basmanny Court about the inaction of the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin. According to the lawyer, it was expressed in the fact that the Investigative Committee ignored two appeals from relatives. In one of them, they asked to be informed of the number of the criminal case, to be recognized as victims and to be acquainted with the investigation materials. Another complaint concerned Ingosstrakh. The appeal alleged that the company fraudulently obtains statements from relatives of the deceased that limit their right to go to court to obtain compensation. Ingosstrakh itself categorically rejected these accusations. And the claim against Bastrykin was rejected.

Consequences

After the crash of the Kogalymavia plane, Russia suspended air traffic with Egypt, and tour operators were prohibited from working in this direction. They have been waiting all year for the resumption of communications with the country, which for many years was one of the main resort destinations for Russians. According to the latest data, this may happen no earlier than December-January.

To resume flights, the Egyptian side needs to fulfill a number of airport security requirements (their full list has not been officially published). During the year, Russia repeatedly sent its specialists to Egypt for inspections at the airports of Cairo, Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada, but each time there were violations. According to sources from the Al-Watan newspaper, quoted by TASS, “a number of Russian structures refuse to discuss the issue of resuming air traffic with Egypt until the results of the official investigation appear.”

With the closure of air traffic, Egypt suffered significant losses. From the collapse of tourism, one of the country’s key industries (more than 11% of GDP until November 2015), Egypt’s budget, according to Reuters, lost more than three billion dollars.

The crash of the Russian airbus and the subsequent cessation of flights to the Arab Republic led to problems for Kogalymavia itself and the associated tour operator Brisco, which was the customer of flight 9268. The case of declaring the carrier bankrupt has been dragging on since the spring of 2015, the next meeting will take place on November 10. In March, Rosaviatsia limited Kogalymavia’s operator’s certificate and deprived it of access to 13 international destinations.

The organizer of the flight, tour operator Brisco, suspended operations on August 2 until it repaid debts to clients and agencies. As reported on the Brisco website, after the closure of flights to Egypt and Turkey, the company suffered “colossal financial and economic losses.”

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.

State of emergency declared in North Sinai in Egypt due to crash 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 crash with the Russian airline Kogalymavia in Egypt was 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.

American infrared satellite before falling Airbus airliner The A321 recorded a thermal flash at the exact location where the plane crashed. /website/

According to American intelligence officers, the flash is evidence of a possible explosion on board the aircraft. It could have been a fuel tank, engine, or bomb explosion. Due to the fact that at the time of the explosion the satellite did not record a heat signature from a possible missile located nearby, the Americans ruled out the version of an external influence on the aircraft. “The version that the plane was shot down by a missile is no longer being discussed,” US intelligence officials said.

A Pentagon spokesman later said that the heat flashes may not have been related to the plane crash, but were a reflection of the fighting with Islamists in the area.

The most likely cause of the plane crash is considered to be the carrying of an explosive device on board the plane, according to a report by the American analytical agency Stratfor. At the same time, the CNN television channel stated that the remains of explosive substances on the wreckage of the airliner have not yet been found. Earlier, US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper suggested the involvement of militants from the Islamic State terrorist organization in the plane crash.

However, Stratfor ruled out this possibility. “It is unlikely that jihadists in Sinai shot down the plane using man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS. Although militants in the area were able to use MANPADS to shoot down an Egyptian helicopter and fire missiles at an Israeli plane, Flight 9268 was outside the weapon's range, analysts say.

Decoding "black boxes"

The very first results of decoding the “black box” data also showed that the plane was not exposed to external influences. It also did not send SOS signals before disappearing from radar.

The report notes that it is unlikely that an electrical failure would occur, since in this case the pilots would have been able to maneuver and land the aircraft.

Airbus A321 of Kogalymavia airlines, flying flight 9268 from Sharm el-Sheikh, in the central part of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. There were 217 passengers and 7 crew members on board the airliner, all of them died.

On two special flights of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the remains of the victims of the plane crash and their personal belongings were delivered to Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg. Search work continues at the crash site.

On October 31, 2015, a Russian Airbus A321 of Kogalymavia Airlines (Metrojet), operating flight 9268 Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg, on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.

There were 224 people on board the plane, including 217 passengers (58 men, 134 women and 25 children - of which 212 were citizens Russian Federation, four people are citizens of Ukraine, one citizen of Belarus) and seven crew members.

Most of the people on the plane were residents of St. Petersburg. Residents of neighboring regions also returned to Russia - Leningrad region, Novgorod, Pskov, Karelia, several people from other subjects of the Federation. Everyone on board died. The disaster was the largest in the history of Russian and Soviet aviation.

The Airbus-A321 aircraft of the Kogalymavia airline (Metrojet), in which the tour operator Brisco, took off from Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) to St. Petersburg on October 31 at 06.51 Moscow time and disappeared from the radar screens after 23 minutes. According to the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority, the airliner was flying at an altitude of 9.4 kilometers, then sharply decreased by 1.5 kilometers, after which it disappeared from radar.

There was no word on the fate of the plane for quite some time. The airliner disappeared from radar screens in the Cyprus region, so for half an hour they could not determine the exact location of the possible crash.

To search for the Russian plane there was military aviation Egypt. The Israel Defense Forces sent a reconnaissance aircraft to Egypt to participate in the search operation.

The wreckage of A321 was discovered in the center of the Sinai Peninsula in the mountains between the areas of Al-Kantala and Al-Laksim near the city of Al-Hasna. To identify the aircraft, Egyptian emergency services were sent to the discovery site, where a large-scale search and rescue operation was carried out.

In agreement with Cairo, a group of forces and assets of the Russian United state system prevention and liquidation of emergency situations (RSChS) in the amount of more than one thousand people and 250 units of equipment, of which from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia - more than 660 people and 100 units of equipment, as well as psychologists of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia.

Search operations were organized at the site using unmanned aerial vehicles. aircraft and space monitoring data, more than 40 square kilometers of territory were surveyed.

On the day of the plane crash, two A321 flight emergency recorders were found in Cairo - voice and parametric.

In connection with the crash of a Russian plane in Egypt, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared mourning in the country on November 1, 2015. The authorities of St. Petersburg until November 3, and the Leningrad region until November 4.

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation on the fact of the plane crash of a Russian plane in Egypt was first under the article “Violation of flight rules and preparation for them,” then another under the article “Performance of work or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements.” Later they were in the same production.

On instructions from the President, the Russian government in connection with the disaster, headed by Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov. The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) was under the leadership of the executive director of the committee, Viktor Sorochenko.

Cairo immediately after the disaster, all interested countries offered the opportunity to take part in the investigation of the tragedy. A special team was created, which included specialists from five countries: Russia, Egypt, France (the state that developed the aircraft), Germany (the state that manufactured the airliner) and Ireland (the state of registration). Ayman al-Muqaddam was appointed head of the commission to investigate the disaster.

On November 1, 2015, Egyptian Prosecutor General Nabil Ahmed Sadek investigated the causes of the crash of a Russian plane in the Sinai Peninsula. According to the Russian Ambassador in Cairo, Sergei Kirpichenko, Russia and Egypt have an agreement, according to which Russian specialists have access to almost everywhere they want to go as part of the investigation into the A321 crash.

A group of investigators and criminologists from the central office of the Investigative Committee of Russia, in agreement with the competent authorities and together with representatives of the Republic of Egypt, in accordance with the norms of national and international law, participated in the inspection of the scene of the plane crash in Egypt.

The head of the FSB of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bortnikov, during a meeting in the Kremlin on the results of the investigation into the causes of the crash of the Russian plane, said that as a result of an examination of personal belongings, luggage and parts of the plane that crashed in Egypt, traces of foreign-made explosives were identified. It happened like a terrorist attack.

In turn, the Egyptian authorities. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that this criminal case is considering the terrorist attack as one of the versions.

In March 2016, the International Commission of Inquiry into the crash of the Russian A321 aircraft announced that it was from the Investigative Committee of Russia and transferred it to the Egyptian Prosecutor General's Office to complete legal procedures. The commission itself, despite the transfer of the case to the investigative authorities of the country's state security, will continue the technical examination of the wreckage of the airliner.

In mid-April, Egypt's Prosecutor General Nabil Sadek reported the crash of a Russian plane to the country's Supreme State Security Prosecutor's Office. The decision of the head of the supervisory agency, as noted in the text of the statement, was made on the basis of data from the report of the Investigative Committee of Russia, “which indicates a suspicion of the presence of a criminal trail.”

In June, CIA Director John Brennan, speaking in the US Senate, said that American intelligence implicated the Egyptian group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist movement banned in many countries, in the explosion on a Russian passenger plane A321. (IS), and on August 4, the Egyptian Ministry of Defense announced the elimination of the leader of this terrorist group.

On August 28, the commission investigating the disaster began “laying out” fragments of the aircraft’s structure in an aircraft hangar in the city of Cairo, where they were delivered from the crash site. after its completion, the point from which the destruction of the airliner’s hull began was determined.

According to media reports, when analyzing the layout of the collected fragments of the A321 in the hangar of Cairo airport, experts said that the terrorists placed an explosive device in the tail of the ship, the explosion caused the separation of the tail section and an uncontrolled dive. According to them, Russia has almost completed a report on the causes of the disaster, clearly indicating a terrorist trail: a powerful explosive device with a clock mechanism was used, which provoked a strong blast wave and fire.

The investigation into the crash of the Russian A321 over the Sinai Peninsula. On October 24, it became known that an investigation commission formed by the Egyptian Prosecutor General's Office sent twelve fragments of the airliner to a scientific alloy laboratory for a detailed study.

After the disaster, there were flights to Egypt from the Russian Federation and there was a flow of tourists. Russia stated the need to ensure security at Egyptian airports in order to resume air traffic between the countries. Flights to this country have also been suspended by a number of European airlines. Egyptian authorities are making great efforts to improve security measures in resort places and airports, wanting to restore tourist flow. In the months since the tragedy, many foreign expert delegations have visited the security inspection of Egyptian airports in Cairo, Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Until now, the picture of the crash looked too contradictory, which gave rise to a lot of rumors and unconfirmed versions that immediately spread in the media. Officially on this moment All that has been confirmed is that the plane began to fall apart while still in the air. This was announced by the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency Alexander Neradko. According to him, the wreckage of the plane scattered within a radius of 20 km.

All other data about the disaster that appeared earlier have now been almost completely refuted. Statistics of such refutations to MK were presented by specialists from the International Consulting and Analytical Agency “Flight Safety”:

The information that the crew reported a problem on board and requested landing in Cairo or another nearby airfield was denied by the Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation, who on the evening of November 1 said that the Russian crew did not send distress signals and did not make contact.

The information that the plane fell and two of its large parts lay on the ground - the fuselage and the tail - was refuted by video footage.

Information that tail section burned, also refuted by photographs and video footage.

Information that rescuers hear groans from passengers inside crashed plane, is refuted by the appearance of the debris - no one can survive such destruction.

Meanwhile, Sergei Melnichenko, general director of the International Consulting and Analytical Agency Flight Safety, told MK, Egypt published information containing a proposal to airlines not to use the airspace over North Sinai until the circumstances of the incident are clarified. So the wave of messages from carriers about the suspension of flights in this zone is no longer their own initiative, announced earlier, supposedly in order to reassure passengers.

Satellite photographs that have become available on the Internet, showing the areas where the debris fell, according to Melnichenko, indicate that the scattering of aircraft parts over an area of ​​several kilometers really gives reason to believe that the disintegration of the A321 began in the air. It is possible that the front part of the aircraft, where the transponder and its antenna are located, flew a slightly greater distance than the first structural parts that separated from the aircraft - they were found along the route closer than the point where the mark from the transponder disappeared.

“The fact that the front part of the aircraft lies in an inverted position,” says Sergei Melnichenko, “is explained by the laws of aerodynamics and the design of the aircraft. While the wings create lift, the stabilizer located on the tail is responsible for the longitudinal stability of the aircraft. If we assume that for some reason the tail part separated in the air, then the nose of the plane will immediately go down, and the part remaining behind the wings will go up. So it remains to establish the cause of the separation of the tail section, and the main and accompanying causes of the accident will become clear. I would like to hope that they will actually be found.”

In this regard, the main hopes of all specialists for establishing the true causes of the disaster are now associated with deciphering the “black boxes”. However, experts from the Flight Safety agency believe that “perhaps the data obtained after decoding the recorders will not be enough to completely restore the picture of what happened. Let us remember how many hopes were pinned on deciphering the “black boxes” of the downed Malaysian Boeing, however, it only confirmed that the plane fell as a result of external influence.”

 

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