Egypt is often jokingly compared to a Christmas tree: both winter and summer are the same color in it. The turquoise sea, a motley crowd of tourists, a vibrant underwater world, attracting divers from all over the world - all this attracts travelers. The Russians were eager to go there, as if to the second cottage: at least a week to rest from work and fry in the sun. They flew with their entire families until the plane crash in Egypt on October 31, 2015 forced the whole country to shudder.
Tragic incident
The Briscoe travel group returned on a charter flight from Sharm El Sheikh to St. Petersburg. Despite the early morning hours (departure at 5.50 local time), the passengers were in a good mood. They uploaded pictures of a successful holiday on social networks. It was Saturday, and on Monday many had to plunge into workdays: someone was waiting for work, someone was studying.
The Airbus A321–231 EI-ETJ airliner, arriving from Samara, took on board 217 passengers. By 12 o'clock in the afternoon, they and seven crew members were to be in the Northern capital, where many relatives and friends were expected at the airport. Having gained the desired altitude of 9,400 meters in 23 minutes, at an speed of 520 km / h, the aircraft suddenly disappeared from the radar. At 6.15 (7.15 Moscow), the plane crashed in the Sinai Peninsula near El Arish Airport, the hottest point in Egypt, where al-Qaeda Islamists opposed government forces.
Versions of the tragedy
Those who met flight 9268 at Pulkovo Airport anxiously watched the scoreboard on which the information was displayed: "Arrival is delayed." And by evening, the whole country already knew that the wreckage of the missing aircraft from the radar was discovered by the Egyptian authorities. Scattered over a length of 13 kilometers, with a tail part, they were shown on television, which caused many versions of experts about the possible causes of the disaster. Three were considered the most reliable:
- Technical problems associated with either engine failure or metal fatigue. Traces of the repair of the skin were found in the tail section after, in 2001, the aircraft, when it landed at Cairo Airport, touched the asphalt with its tail. The resulting microcrack could cause the destruction of the aircraft with a climb.
- Air crash in Egypt - this is a crew error.
- Act of terrorism.
At the scene of the tragedy, the IAC commission began to work, headed by Egyptian representative Ayman al-Muqqadam. It included representatives of Russia, France, Germany, the USA and Ireland. After studying the evidence and deciphering the flight recorders, the first two versions were found to be insolvent.
Aircraft
Accident A321 over the Sinai Peninsula became the largest in the history of Egypt and modern Russia. The airbus belonged to the Kogalymavia company, which underwent a rigorous audit. It was found that after the emergency in 2001, aircraft repair was carried out in France at the factory, after which all the necessary tests were carried out. For 18 years of operation, the liner flew less than 50% of its life (57428 hours) and was in good condition. This is evidenced by weekly technical inspections, the last of which was carried out on 10/26/2015. Flight recorders did not detect a malfunction in the systems. Until the 23rd minute, the flight was completely regular.
Crew
Forty-eight-year-old crew commander Valery Nemov is a graduate of the SVAAULSH (Stavropol Military School). He is one of the few who in the difficult 90s retrained as a civilian pilot. He flew on “Airbuses” since 2008, having 12 thousand flying hours, which testifies to his colossal experience. The co-pilot also came from military aviation, being a veteran of the Chechen campaign. After retiring, Sergei Trukhachev retrained on A321, having completed training in the Czech Republic. I flew on them for more than 2 years. The total flight time was 6 thousand hours. Both pilots were in good standing at their airline. Nemov was even prematurely called out of vacation to send on the infamous flight 9268.
Official version
Two weeks after the tragedy, the version of the terrorist attack was officially voiced by the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, during a meeting with the president of the Russian Federation. In support of his words, he cited the following evidence:
- American satellites recorded a thermal outbreak over Sinai during the crash, which indicates an explosion occurred on board the aircraft.
- The fuselage fragment has a hole with a diameter of about one meter. Its edges are curved outward. This indicates that the source of the explosion was inside.
- When decoding the recorder fixing the negotiations, before the recording is interrupted, an extraneous noise is heard, the nature of which can be attributed to the blast wave.
- The plane crash in Egypt caused a great public outcry. Over time, ISIS fighters not only recognized the responsibility for the attack, but also posted on the pages of Dabig magazine a photo of an improvised explosive device (IED).
- In some of the dead, injuries were discovered, indicating death from the consequences of the explosion (burns, tissue breaks).
- Traces of explosives, TNT molecules, were found in fragments of fragments, baggage and on the body of the victims.
The power of the explosion was estimated at 1 kilogram of TNT equivalent. The alleged location of the IED is the tail of the aircraft. For the blast wave was moving forward, but the rupture of the fuselage prevented its further advancement.
Plane crash in Egypt: who is to blame?
After the appearance of the Russian version, it became known that 17 employees were detained at the Egyptian airport. The main question was one: "How did the IED get on board the liner?" The FSB began to study the biographies of 34 passengers (11 men and 23 women), on whose body there were TNT molecules. But official Egypt soon stated that there was no evidence for an unambiguous statement about the attack on board the aircraft. None of the employees were actually arrested. Russian authorities have announced a reward of $ 50 million for any information about terrorists.
Only in February 2016 did the President of Egypt officially acknowledge the attack. It was found that the bomb was made of plastite used to create warheads. It is powered by a clockwork. The plane crash in Egypt on October 31, 2015 showed that the security system at the airport does not meet international standards. IED could get on board with the company supplying the products, through employees with access to the runway, as well as through hand luggage during baggage inspection. Recent data are such that the explosive device was in the cabin in the immediate vicinity of place 31A. All these facts led to the prohibition of the sale of vacation tours in Egypt.
Flight passengers
EI-ETJ - the last digits of the airbus number. According to them, the aviators called the board “Juliet” among themselves, affectionately - “Julia”. On that tragic morning, she broke up three aircraft marriages and killed a young steward, who was replaced instead of a colleague who had left due to a nightmare. It also claimed the lives of 217 passengers, 25 of whom are children. Those who died in a plane crash in Egypt are whole families, dozens of destroyed love stories, babies who are never destined to become adults. This flight with parents flew ten-month-old Darina Gromova. Mom posted her photo on a social network before departure. A girl stands at the airport facing the runway, and below the signature: "Main Passenger". This picture became a symbol of a tragic flight from which no one managed to return.
Almost all passengers are Russians, 4 people are citizens of Ukraine, 1 is Belarus. Most are residents of St. Petersburg, although there are representatives of other areas: Pskov, Novgorod, Ulyanovsk. The dead in a plane crash in Egypt are people of various professions. While relatives were engaged in body identification, caring people formed a collective portrait of passengers, collecting information about them bit by bit. A wonderful gallery was created, where a lot of good words were found about each.
Almost a year later
July 31, Moscow and St. Petersburg held a rally in memory of those killed over the Sinai. 9 months passed: many relatives received compensation, identified and buried their loved ones, but the pain did not subside. 08/05/2016 it was reported that forty-five militants, led by Abu Dua al-Ansari, who caused the plane crash in Egypt, were destroyed during a military operation near El Arish. So I want to believe that this will never happen again!