The Russian Plane Crash Was Due to 'External Factors'

One of the managers of Russian airlines stated on Monday, November 2, that the only logical explanation for the crash of the Russian plane in Egypt is 'the impact of external factors on the aircraft.' According to CNN, Alexander Smirnov, a manager at Metrojet (Kogalymavia), the airline that owned the downed aircraft, mentioned that 'technical failure is out of the question and human error was not the cause of the crash.' Speaking at a news conference, he emphasized that 'airplanes do not simply break apart in the sky.' A Metrojet official also reported that the flight crew did not send any emergency messages before the crash and had no contact with the control tower in Egypt. The Airbus A321 from Russia, which was traveling from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to St. Petersburg in Russia, crashed on Saturday over the Sinai Desert, killing all 224 people on board. A Russian aviation official stated on Sunday after visiting the crash site in the Sinai Desert that the plane had disintegrated in the sky before the crash. However, he noted that it is too early to draw conclusions about the reasons for the crash. According to Reuters, Viktor Sorocheng, head of the Russian Intergovernmental Aviation Committee in Cairo, stated, 'The disintegration of the plane occurred in the sky, and parts of the aircraft are scattered over an area of 20 square kilometers.' He warned that 'it is still too early to draw conclusions based on this information.' Meanwhile, local media report that Egyptian experts are examining the contents of the two black boxes from the aircraft, and the results of this investigation are expected to be announced in a few days. Hours after the crash of the Russian passenger plane, the 'Islamic State' group claimed responsibility for the crash in a statement, which Russian officials have denied. Meanwhile, airlines from Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait announced that they would refrain from flying over the Sinai Peninsula until the cause of the Russian plane crash is determined. Air France-KLM and Lufthansa also announced yesterday that they would temporarily avoid flying over this area in Egypt. Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi emphasized that it will take months to determine the real cause of the crash, and during this time, the Egyptian government will assist Russia in the investigations. The crashed plane was an Airbus A321 belonging to Kogalymavia airline. Russian officials stated that communication with this passenger aircraft was lost after takeoff with the control tower in Cyprus, and it had disappeared from radar screens as well.