October 31, 2015 - the date of departure of the Airbus A321-231 airliner from the airport of the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. People who rested in Egypt were returning home to Russia on this plane. Landing was to take place in St. Petersburg. However, this was not destined to happen. The plane crashed. All crew members and passengers of the ill-fated flight are victims of the crash over Sinai.
Events Prior to the Tragedy
Shortly before the tragedy, the Airbus A321-231 airliner made two passenger flights. The first and second flights were carried out along the route Egypt (Sharm el-Sheikh) - Russia (Samara) - Egypt (Sharm el-Sheikh). Abroad, the plane landed on the afternoon of October 30. The crew did not have any comments on the airliner.
The next morning, the Airbus A321-231 went through maintenance before the scheduled flights. During it, no problems were detected. The next landing on the flight began. Boarded 192 adult passengers and 25 children. The crew consisted of 7 people.
Plane crash
At 06:50 Moscow time, the airliner flew from the airport of the Egyptian resort city to St. Petersburg. 23 minutes after takeoff, communication with crew members was lost. The plane disappeared from the radar. Search teams advanced to the alleged crash site.
The crashed airliner was found in the central part of the Sinai Peninsula, among the mountains. On a vast territory of more than 20 square meters. km debris and belongings of passengers on board were scattered. People who arrived at the scene of the tragedy heard the sounds of mobile phones. Relatives and friends of the victims called their loved ones, hoping that they were late for the flight.
Versions of the causes of the crash
The international media indicated that the plane could crash due to a technical malfunction. However, the airline Metrojet, which acquired this airliner on lease, has denied this version. Spokesman Alexei Smirnov noted that the plane crash over Sinai could not have happened due to a malfunction, because the plane was checked several days before the tragedy. No problems were found.
The error of the crew is another version that was put forward during the investigation. Metrojet Airlines said that the plane was operated by quite experienced people. The commander of the aircraft was Valery Yuryevich Nemov. He flew over 12 thousand hours. The co-pilot was Sergey Stanislavovich Trukhachev. Its total flying time was 5641 hours.
Explosion on board a makeshift bomb - version confirmed during the investigation. The President of Egypt made a statement that the Russian airliner crashed over the Sinai Peninsula as a result of a terrorist attack. Involvement in the perfect act was announced by ISIS militants.
Victims of the tragedy
The crash over Sinai claimed the lives of 224 people. There were several families on board the crashed plane. On the day of the tragedy, a memorial appeared in Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg. People brought flowers, toys, laid candles in memory of those who could not return from the Egyptian resort city to Russia.
The bodies of the dead were delivered to their homeland. The first plane with the victims flew to St. Petersburg on November 2 at about 6 in the morning. There were 144 people aboard this airliner whose lives were claimed by the plane crash over Sinai. The bodies of the dead, found later, personal belongings of people, fragments of bodies were brought to Russia on the following flights.
Identification procedure
After the arrival of aircraft from Egypt with the bodies of the dead, experts began to prepare for the identification procedure. The bodies were gradually given out to relatives and close people. The first funeral took place on November 5th. On this day, in St. Petersburg, they said goodbye to a 31-year-old resident who had a 2-year-old son and wife. In the Novgorod region, a 60-year-old woman who worked at a local school was buried.
The issue of the remains was completed on December 7, 2015 in St. Petersburg. During the events, it was not possible to establish the identities of 7 victims. Those who died in a plane crash over Sinai with the consent of relatives and relatives were buried by unidentified people.
Main passenger
Tatyana and Alexey Gromovs are a young family that died in a plane crash over the Sinai Peninsula. They went to the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh on October 15, not suspecting that this trip would be their last. Together with them, they took a 10-month-old daughter Darina. The girl’s grandmother was very worried when she found out that Tatyana and Aleksey would not go alone. An elderly woman asked them to leave their granddaughter in Russia. However, the parents did not agree. They really wanted their daughter to see the sea.
Before flying to Sharm el-Sheikh, Tatyana Gromova posted on the social network the latest photo of her baby. The girl stood by the window, holding the glass with her handles, and looked at the runway, looking at the planes. “Main passenger” - such words were written by mother. After 2 weeks, this photo became a symbol of a terrible tragedy.
Other children killed in a plane crash
Bogdanov Anton is a 10-year-old boy whose life was claimed by a plane crash over Sinai. He rested in Egypt with his older sister and father. The family was very happy about the upcoming trip. Before flying to Sharm el-Sheikh, the boy left the inscription “Farewell to Russia !!!” in his profile on the social network. Unfortunately, these words were prophetic.
The dead children also include 3-year-old Anastasia Sheina, 10-year-old Valeria Dushechkina, 11-year-old Evgeny Pryanikov. Their parents were Olga and Yuri Sheiny. Adults decided to go to Egypt to celebrate an important date for them - 10 years from the date of acquaintance. They took all the children with them.
The death toll in the plane crash over Sinai includes the names and surnames of two more children - 2-year-old Dmitry and 3-year-old Alexandra Vinnik. They rested in Egypt with their mother Marianna Vinnik and grandmother Natalia Osipova. On the day the plane crashed, all of them were gone. Oleg Vinnik, the husband of Marianna and the father of young children, lost a large family. There were no men on this airliner. He did not go on vacation, but remained in Russia.
There were other children on board. Each child had his own story, his own life, his dreams and desires. The ending for all these innocent children was one. Their fate in 2015 on October 31 was tragically cut short by a plane crash over Sinai. The bodies of dead children were found among the wreckage of the aircraft in the crash zone.
Foreboding of death
Some people flying that ill-fated flight, intuition told them not to go on a trip. However, they did not listen to their inner voice. One of these passengers turned out to be 15-year-old Maria Ivleva. The girl was afraid to fly, she was tormented by the fear of death. She told her friends about this. After the plane crash and the investigation, terrifying information was found out - Maria Ivleva was sitting on the spot where the terrorist bomb was located.
"I know that I will not return." One of the passengers of the fateful flight, Ekaterina Murashova, left a song with that name on her page on the social network. She lived in Pskov, participated in the city beauty contest in 2014, raised her daughter. Catherine was very fond of traveling. The girl went to Sharm el-Sheikh with her mother, but she did not take her little daughter with her. The trip to Egypt was the last for Ekaterina Murashova.
The crash of an airplane over the Sinai Peninsula is a tragic event that has been talked about all over the world. In one day, the lives of 224 people ended. Someone took a soul mate over the Sinai, someone lost their parents, someone was left without children, and someone lost all loved ones and was left completely alone. This is an irreplaceable loss, the pain of which did not pass over time and is unlikely to ever subside.