Sinai Peninsula plane crashed. Sinai disaster: what is known about the crash of the Russian A321 a year later. Other children killed in the plane crash

Last information:

12/25/2015 The terrorist attack on board the A321 was carried out using an improvised explosive device based on S-4 plastic explosives. As the Kommersant newspaper reported on Friday, citing its own source close to the investigation, this fact significantly expands the list of potential criminals.

The source said that Russian special services have established the possible nature of the explosive device. C-4 plastic explosive was developed in the USA and is now produced in many countries. Thus, the list of those suspected of participating in the preparation of a terrorist attack will be significantly expanded, which means that the search for them will be more complicated.

11/17/2015 The FSB confirmed the version of the explosion on board the Airbus A321.

Information about this was received by the resource site after a meeting between the director of the FSB and Vladimir Putin. As it became known, in all likelihood, the power of the explosive device detonated on board the Russian passenger airliner that crashed on the Sinai Peninsula was about 1 kilogram of TNT equivalent, however, in reality, we can talk about a much smaller amount of explosives that could serve only the initiator of further destruction of the aircraft in the air.

The cause of the explosion on board the Russian A321 over Sinai was an unknown suitcase, which one of the loaders received from an employee at Sharm el-Sheikh airport. According to Egyptian security sources, the baggage scanning machine was left unattended for some time.

The terrible tragedy that occurred on October 31, 2015, and took the lives of 224 people, is fraught with a lot of questions, and despite the fact that the flight recorders found at the crash site of the Airbus A321 airliner have not yet been deciphered, experts have already advanced far more than one version of why the plane crash could have happened.

Terrorist act

Almost immediately after information appeared about the crash of a passenger airliner of the Kogalymavia airline (Metrojet), versions appeared about what happened on board the plane terrorist act. It is extremely difficult to guess who could have carried it out, since there are not so few radical groups around the world, but experts who adhere to this version believe that these could be militants of the Islamic State, whose positions were so mercilessly destroyed in Syria by the Aerospace Forces over the course of a month Russian Federation.

Almost immediately after this version was presented, skeptics appeared, noting that the version of a terrorist act on board an aircraft is unlikely for the reason that in the event of an explosion on board, and it is most likely worth considering precisely these circumstances, very large damage would certainly be discovered, including those affecting both passengers and interior trim. However, it is worth noting the fact that even a small explosion inside the cabin of the aircraft would have been enough to depressurize it, and given the fact that the plane was at a high altitude, with a 99% probability we can say that the plane would have been destroyed.

Destroying an airplane from the ground

One of the first versions to emerge was that the passenger airliner of the domestic airline Kogalymavia could have been destroyed from the ground. This version was discussed in great detail until photographs and videos from the scene of the passenger airliner crash were made public. The presented photos and video materials clearly show that there is no external, or at least visible, damage to the fuselage from being hit by a missile, which minimizes the likelihood of such circumstances occurring, but at the same time does not completely exclude them.

Technical malfunction of the airliner

Most common cause Almost any plane crash is a technical malfunction, and at the moment, this version is followed by the majority of specialists involved in the investigation of the plane crash. At the moment, experts are not willing to say what exactly the nature of the malfunction was, since a variety of versions are possible, however, it is worth assuming that it arose very fleetingly.

Initially, it was assumed that a failed aircraft engine could be to blame for everything, however, it is fair to note the fact that modern airliners are very well insured against falling in the event of failure of one of the engines, since even when using only one power plant, the aircraft can in no way overcome less than 200-300 kilometers.

In addition, taking into account official data, before departure from the Egyptian airport, the passenger airliner of the Kogalymavia company was fully operational, and no technical problems causing concern were previously observed with it.

It is also worth clarifying that in the event of any technical malfunction, the crew of the aircraft first of all reports this to the air traffic controller, however, according to official data, the pilot passenger plane did not make any requests or notifications regarding technical problems that arose on board the aircraft.

Sudden depressurization of the aircraft

The last, very plausible version voiced was the so-called explosive depressurization. Considering the fairly large scatter of debris from a passenger airliner, as well as the rapidity of the process, this version is completely justified; however, the circumstances of the incident remain unknown, since to initiate the process of instantaneous depressurization, either a large hole in the fuselage of a passenger airliner or a sharp increase in pressure inside the passenger aircraft is required , which can be caused precisely by the detonation of explosives on board the airliner, which again suggests a version of either a terrorist act, or a version of the deliberate destruction of the plane from the ground.

Experts note that most likely the main cause of the disaster will be named only after decoding the aircraft’s flight recorders, which, although they received some damage, are quite suitable for extracting information and data from them. It is expected that the first information from the flight recorders will be received by experts by the middle of this week.

Two years ago, on October 31, 2015, an A-321 plane crashed over the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt). All 224 people on board were killed. 25 of them are children.

At the time of the tragedy, 48 people from the Leningrad region, including four children, were flying on flight 9268 from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. These are residents of the villages of Sovetsky, Gostilitsy, Romanovka, residents of Shlisselburg, Vsevolozhsk, Gatchina, Vyborg, Sosnovy Bor, Slantsy, Volkhov.

Has disappeared from the radar screens

At 7:14 a.m., the Kogalymavia airline A-321, flying from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to St. Petersburg, disappeared from radar screens 20 minutes after takeoff. There are 217 passengers and 7 crew members on board. Of these, four are Ukrainians, one is Belarusian, and all the rest are Russians.

At 7:14 near Larnaca, according to preliminary data, communication with the plane was lost, and the aircraft's mark disappeared from the radar screens.

Rosaviatsia

Catastrophe

A couple of hours later, Egyptian authorities confirmed the crash. Russian plane in central Sinai.

The liner was completely destroyed, its debris scattered over an area of ​​13 kilometers. 40 ambulances arrived at the crash site to evacuate victims of the disaster.

According to rescuers, the chances of finding survivors are extremely low.

Everyone died

Reuters reported four survivors. Hope quickly faded - official data arrived. Everyone died.

The smallest victim in terms of age, but not in importance, was 10-month-old Darina Gromova from Gatchina. Her photograph against the background of the liners, which the girl’s mother took before leaving for the Egyptian resort, will become a symbol of the Sinai tragedy.

The child looks at the planes standing on the ground. The caption under the photo is “ Main passenger».

Darina's father and mother were also on board the A-321 and died along with her.

Grief and Unity

The tragedy left no one indifferent. In Pulkovo and to the Alexander Column, people brought flowers, letters of condolences and children's toys. There are so many of them that later hundreds of workers will be needed to remove all the spontaneous memorials.

To the sky on Palace Square released hundreds balloons in memory of the dead.

About the causes of the disaster

Soon after the tragedy, different versions of what happened began to appear.

- Pilot error

The crew was commanded by 48-year-old Valery Nemov, who has over 12 thousand flight hours, of which more than 3,860 were on the Airbus A321. The aircraft was flown by experienced and highly qualified pilots. The version of pilot error was ruled out.

- Technical fault

Before departure, the aircraft underwent maintenance. No faults found.

- Terrorist attack

The head of the Russian FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, puts forward the first official version— the disaster occurred as a result of a terrorist attack.

A homemade explosive device with a capacity of up to 1 kg of TNT went off. Traces of explosives were found on the wreckage of the plane.

Later, the Russian side will announce a reward of $50 million for information about the terrorists.

The murder of our people in Sinai is among the bloodiest in terms of the number of crime victims. And we will not wipe away the tears from our souls and hearts. This will stay with us forever. But this will not stop us from finding and punishing the criminals.

Vladimir Putin

It is still unclear who ordered the terrible crime. No performers found. According to the most common version, the Sinai branch of the Islamic State (*terrorist organization banned in Russia) was behind the terrorist attack.

Putin: stop flights to Egypt until “the proper level of aviation safety is established”

In November 2015, Russian authorities completely blocked air traffic with Egypt. Remaining in Arab country The tourists were taken out at the end of their tours. You were only allowed to take on board the plane hand luggage, the luggage of passengers was taken out by special flights of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Also, flights with Egypt were interrupted by Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and a number of German airlines.

"Kogalymavia"

In the spring of 2016, the Federal Air Transport Agency banned internal and international flights airline, despite the fact that its involvement in the tragic incident has not been proven.

Relatives of those killed in the plane crash over Sinai have filed a class action lawsuit against the tour operator Kogalymavia airline in the amount of €1.4 billion.

Memory of an interrupted flight

On the eve of the second anniversary of the tragedy, October 28, a monument to the victims of the disaster was unveiled at the Serafimovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg.

The monument was called “Folded Wings”. On one is the flight number, on the other is the date of the disaster. In front of them is a sarcophagus with a note: “To the crew members and passengers of flight 7K9268 who died at the hands of terrorists on October 31, 2015 in the skies over Sinai (Egypt).”

Meanwhile, today, October 31, a “Garden of Memory” was opened on Rumbolovskaya Gora in the Vsevolozhsk district of the Leningrad region for the victims of the terrorist attack. The memorial is a corridor made of metal plates on which the names of all the victims are carved.

The monument is surrounded by red-leaved maples. 25 fir trees are planted separately, they symbolize the memory of the dead children.

The Russian FSB classifies the incident as a terrorist attack, and the investigation is still ongoing. Air traffic between Russia and Egypt was stopped after the disaster and has not resumed to this day.

A motley crowd of tourists, bright undersea world, attracting divers from all over the world - all this attracts travelers. Russians were eager to go there as if they were going to a second dacha: at least a week to rest from work and bask in the sun. Whole families flew until the plane crash in Egypt on October 31, 2015 forced the entire country to shudder.

Tragic incident

A tourist group from the Brisco company was returning on a charter flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. Despite the early morning (departure at 5.50 local time), the passengers were in excellent spirits. They posted pictures of their successful vacation on social networks. It was Saturday, and on Monday many had to plunge into work; some had work, others had to study.

The Airbus A321-231 EI-ETJ airliner, which arrived from Samara, took 217 passengers on board. They and seven crew members were to be in Northern capital, where many relatives and friends were waiting at the airport. Having reached a given altitude of 9400 meters in 23 minutes, at a speed of 520 km/h the aircraft suddenly disappeared from the radar. At 6.15 (7.15 Moscow) the plane crashed in the area Sinai Peninsula near El-Arish airport - the hottest spot in Egypt, where Al-Qaeda Islamists confronted government troops.

Versions of the tragedy

Those meeting flight 9268 at Pulkovo Airport anxiously watched the board, which displayed the information: “Arrival delayed.” And by evening, the whole country knew that the wreckage of the aircraft that had disappeared from radar had been discovered by the Egyptian authorities. Scattered over a length of 13 kilometers, with the tail section torn off, they were shown on television, which gave rise to many versions of experts about possible reasons disasters. Three were considered the most reliable:

• Technical problems associated either with engine failure or metal fatigue. In the tail section, traces of skin repair were found after the aircraft touched the asphalt with its tail while landing at Cairo airport in 2001. The resulting microcrack could cause the destruction of the aircraft as it climbed.
• The plane crash in Egypt was caused by the crew's mistakes.
• Terrorist act.

The IAC commission, headed by Egyptian representative Ayman al-Mukkadam, began working at the site of the tragedy. It included representatives of Russia, France, Germany, the USA and Ireland. After studying the evidence and decoding, the first two versions were found unfounded.

Aircraft

The A321 crash over the Sinai Peninsula was the largest in the history of Egypt and modern Russia. The airbus belonged to the Kogalymavia company, which underwent a thorough inspection. It was found that after the 2001 emergency, the aircraft was repaired in France at the manufacturer's plant, after which all the necessary tests were carried out. Over 18 years of operation, the airliner flew less than 50% of its service life (57,428 hours) and was in good condition. This is evidenced by weekly technical checks, the last of which was carried out on October 26, 2015. The flight recorders did not detect any system malfunction. Until the 23rd minute, the flight proceeded quite normally.

Crew

Forty-eight-year-old crew commander Valery Nemov is a graduate of SVAAULSH (Stavropol Military School). He is one of the few who, in the difficult 90s, retrained to fly on Airbuses since 2008, having 12 thousand flight hours, which testifies to his enormous experience. The co-pilot also came from military aviation, being a veteran of the Chechen campaign. After retiring, Sergei Trukhachev retrained on the A321, having undergone training in the Czech Republic. I flew them for more than 2 years. The total flight time was 6 thousand hours. Both pilots were in good standing with their airline. Nemov was even called back from vacation prematurely to be sent 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 during a meeting with the President of the Russian Federation. To support his words, he provided the following evidence:

1. American satellites recorded a thermal flash over Sinai during the disaster, which indicates an explosion occurred on board the plane.
2. 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.
3. When decoding the recorder recording the negotiations, before the recording is interrupted, extraneous noise is heard, the nature of which can be attributed to a blast wave.
4. The plane crash in Egypt caused great public outcry. After a while, they not only admitted responsibility for the terrorist attack, but also posted a photo of an improvised explosive device (IED) on the pages of Dabig magazine.
5. Some of the victims had injuries indicating death from the consequences of the explosion (burns, tissue ruptures).
6. Traces of explosives - TNT molecules - were found in fragments of shrapnel, luggage and on the bodies of the victims.

The power of the explosion was estimated at 1 kilogram. The estimated location of the IED is the tail of the aircraft. For the blast wave moved forward, but the fracture of the fuselage prevented its further advancement.

Plane crash in Egypt: who is to blame?

After the Russian version appeared, 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 airliner?” The FSB began studying the biographies of 34 passengers (11 men and 23 women) who had TNT molecules on their bodies. But official Egypt soon stated that there was no evidence for a clear statement about a terrorist attack on board the plane. None of the employees were actually arrested. Russian authorities have announced a $50 million reward for any information about the terrorists.

Only in February 2016 did the Egyptian President officially acknowledge the terrorist attack. It was discovered that the bomb was made from plasticite, which is used to create military projectiles. It is powered by a clock mechanism. The plane crash in Egypt on October 31, 2015 showed that the airport security system does not meet international standards. The IED could have come on board the food supply company, through employees with access to the runway, or through carry-on luggage during baggage checks. The latest data is such that it was in the cabin in the immediate vicinity of place 31A. All these facts led to a ban on the sale of holiday 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 “Dzhulka”. On that tragic morning, she broke up three aviation marriages and killed a young steward who replaced a colleague who had quit due to a bad dream. It also took the lives of 217 passengers, 25 of whom were children. Those killed in a plane crash in Egypt are entire families, dozens of destroyed love stories, babies who will never grow up. Ten-month-old Darina Gromova was on this flight with her parents. Her mother posted her photo on a social network before the flight. A girl stands at the airport facing the runway, and below is the signature: “Main Passenger.” This picture has become a symbol tragic flight, from which no one managed to return.

Almost all passengers are Russians, 4 people are citizens of Ukraine, 1 is from Belarus. The majority are residents of St. Petersburg, although there are also representatives of other regions: Pskov, Novgorod, Ulyanovsk. Those killed in the plane crash in Egypt are people of various professions. Even while relatives were busy identifying the bodies, caring people were forming a collective portrait of the passengers, collecting information about them bit by bit. A wonderful gallery was created, where there were many good words about everyone.

Almost a year later

On July 31, Moscow and St. Petersburg held a rally in memory of those killed over the Sinai. Nine months passed: many relatives received compensation, identified and buried their loved ones, but the pain did not subside. On August 5, 2016, a message was received that forty-five militants led by Abu Dua al-Ansari, through whose fault the plane crash occurred in Egypt, were killed during a military operation near El-Arish. I really want to believe that something like this will never happen again!

On the morning of October 31, 2015, the largest disaster in the history of domestic aviation occurred. The plane of the Russian company Kogalymavia took off from the Egyptian Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, but was blown up by terrorists over the Sinai Peninsula. 224 people on board died - children, wives, husbands, fathers, mothers... Many of them, before departure, left photographs and notes on their pages on social networks, which involuntarily became farewell notes.

The Airbus A321 airliner was performing chartered flight 7K-9268 on the route Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg. 23 minutes after takeoff, radio contact with the crew was lost, and the airliner itself disappeared from radar. Egyptian search teams discovered the wreckage of the plane near the town of Nehel. All people on board the plane, including 25 children and 7 crew members, were killed.

The cause of the tragedy, according to the Russian FSB, was a terrorist attack for which the international terrorist group “Islamic State”, banned in the Russian Federation, took responsibility. As experts later established, an improvised explosive device was planted in the compartment oversized luggage at the tail of the plane. The explosion led to the complete destruction of the aircraft. By the time the fragments of the aircraft hit the ground, almost all the people on board had already died from barotrauma.

Most of the passengers on the tragic flight were residents of North-West Russia, mainly from St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Novgorod and Pskov regions. Also on board were four citizens of Ukraine and one citizen of Belarus.

The people who boarded the liner were young and full of vitality. Some of them celebrated their wedding anniversary in Egypt, others decided to celebrate their birthday in southern country. Many went to the resort with their entire families, with children. And so they died - all together. There were also those who decided to go on holiday abroad for the first time. And this trip was the last...

“I know I won’t come back”

Spouses Olga and Yuri Shein celebrated ten years of marriage in Egypt - the whole family flew with three children: 11-year-old Zhenya, 10-year-old Leroy and 3-year-old Nastya. Last photo, posted on social networks, captured the father of the family climbing the plane. In his arms is his daughter Nastya. The caption under the photo “We are flying home” was made 11 minutes before departure. They never returned home...

The young Gromov family from the city of Gatchina died in the disaster Leningrad region. The youngest passenger on the flight was their daughter, ten-month-old Darina. Before flying out on vacation, the baby's mother published a photo of the child standing near the glass at the St. Petersburg airport and carefully watching the planes. “The main passenger,” Tatyana Gromova touchingly signed a photo of her baby. It was this photograph, published by many world publications, that became a visual symbol of the A321 tragedy. The baby’s body was found by rescuers 30-35 km from the epicenter of the crash.

Vladimir and Victoria Golenkov went to the sea with their little daughter Diana. She was only four years old. On the social network, Vladimir’s page published footage of a happy family life.

Among the dead was the deputy head of the city of Pskov and deputy of the Pskov City Duma Alexander Kopylov. He gave the trip to his wife for her birthday. Together they died...

“I’m still waiting for my daughter”

Irina Evgenievna found strength and told us about that terrible day when she lost her only daughter, Elvira Voskresenskaya. The 28-year-old girl worked at the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in St. Petersburg as an inspector in the supervisory activities department. I went on vacation with my friend. Irina Zakharova learned about the plane crash from her brother when she and her husband were going to the airport to meet their daughter.

In the morning, completely calmly, without any bad thoughts, we began to get ready for the dacha, which is located not far from Pulkovo. Just in time to meet you at the airport on the way home. Our daughter’s husband could not meet us - he is also an employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and that day he had just taken duty for a day. When we had already reached the ring road, my brother called me to clarify whether my daughter had arrived or not. I said that she was arriving today at 12 o'clock. He says: “What flight is she flying?” I say I don't know which one. He, apparently not yet assessing the situation, says: “You know, some plane disappeared from radar over Sinai. Where is she flying from? I say from Sharm el-Sheikh. He says: “You know, some plane that took off from Sharm el-Sheikh disappeared from the radar”...

I don't even want to remember what happened. It’s just that at the first moment there were thoughts in my head that this was not her plane. Yes, this cannot be! This is not her flight. There is more than one flight, and it’s not about her at all. Then I called her husband, since he also works in the Ministry of Emergency Situations and knows everything. Then those terrible hours of waiting, which turned into days. My daughter's husband was there from the very beginning to the end - he was replaced at work. I couldn’t go to Pulkovo - I don’t even know how I survived. My dad went and took a DNA test.

Actually, I still don’t believe it. It seems to me that this is not about her, she is somewhere and simply cannot return yet.

The first moment when the lists appeared, she was not on them... It’s hard to remember. Even though we knew that our loved ones were on that plane, every day we waited for news whether we were on the lists of those identified. This is the worst thing when, having lost a loved one, you cannot even bury the remains so that you can come and venerate them.

Hope faded away gradually, but it did not fade away, I am still waiting for my daughter. It seems to me that someday this terrible dream will end. Therefore, when I do something now, it seems to me that this is not about us, not about our family, not about our daughter. This simply cannot be, she could not leave us with dad.

She was very caring and worried about our health. She didn’t even want to live separately from us when she got married. She had a dream to build her own house, in one half of which we would live, in the other - she and her husband.

She was very positive and goal oriented. She was always in a hurry, always on the move, driving quickly. Speed ​​in general meant a lot to her. She was always late for something because she had a lot of plans. I wanted to master everything and as quickly as possible. I took a motorcycle driving course. She and my dad had a dream, secret from me: they wanted to buy a good motorcycle for both of them.

She was feminine, but with a masculine character. She never whined and tried to hide her weaknesses. She was strong. And I tried to help everyone as much as I could. Relatives came to us from Donetsk, from the demarcation line. With three children, they fled from this war. She took upon herself all the care of these children. Just before flying on vacation, she became the godmother of the little girl Anastasia. She said that now she will also have to think about her children. I really wanted to have my own children. This was her dream because two years ago she lost her twins due to premature birth.

But then she planned to entrust the children to me and work - she wanted to reach certain heights in her profession. She told her father: “Dad, you are the major, and I will be the general!” She liked her job. It’s my dad and I’s pride that we raised her to be a real person.

“We have a lot of caring people”

The first emotions of people who have lost their loved ones are shock, tears, non-acceptance of what happened. Then - identification in the morgue of the few who could be identified visually. Then - a painfully long wait for the results of DNA testing of those whose remains could not be identified. For some relatives, this nightmare is still not over - six victims of the disaster have still not been identified. Their relatives hope for the results of the latest genetic examinations.

In total there are about 200 unidentified body fragments.

“The Egyptian services have remains that were found during the laying out of the plane. When they are transferred to the Investigative Committee, a genetic examination will be carried out. We are waiting for its results to understand whether we have the right to bury the existing remains,” Zakharova explained. The relatives of the victims intend to bury all unidentified remains in a mass grave.

Irina Evgenievna noted the support of caring townspeople in the first mournful days; human solidarity continues to be felt to this day.

“This deserves a huge amount of gratitude. In the first days, we saw how people rallied and worried. Until now, those who knew our dead relatives, always next to us. The graves are always buried in flowers, and candles are burning, people come constantly. It is great happiness that we have many caring people. I think it was stressful for everyone at first. Anyone could find themselves in this situation. At Pulkovo, a plane takes off and lands every 10-15 minutes. So many people use this type of transport every day, so many people use other modes of transport. Terrorism has no borders. At that moment, people were shocked, and everyone tried this situation on themselves. Therefore, everyone was very scared and in pain,” added Irina Zakharova.

According to her, the relatives of the victims communicated on social networks in the first months to exchange the slightest new information. After most of the funeral was completed, people gathered to decide what they planned to do in memory of their loved ones. At the very first meeting, the idea of ​​​​building a temple was expressed. It will be built at the intersection of Matisov and the Dudergof Canal on the territory of the Baltic Pearl microdistrict in the Krasnoselsky district of St. Petersburg. The future rector of the Church of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, in memory of the victims of the A321 disaster, Father Sergei lost his friend in this tragedy.

As Irina Zakharova says,

“the temple will contain a small atrium, where the names of our loved ones, possibly photographs, will be placed”

“A lot of children were left without parents. They will be able to come there. We want to build a house for 224 souls and their relatives. So that this house can live a full life. This will be the best memory of our loved ones. Because it will include not only the memory of them, but also care for the living,” added the interlocutor of the REGNUM news agency.

Exactly two years ago, on October 31, 2015, the most massive plane crash, throughout the history of Russia. On this day, an Airbus A321-231 airliner of a Russian airline took off from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and headed for St. Petersburg. The crew of the airliner was performing a charter flight and was carrying Russian tourists home after rest.

The plane climbed calmly along the Gulf of Aqaba and would soon cross the Sinai Peninsula to enter European airspace. However, at the 23rd minute of the flight, communication between ground services and the aircraft was interrupted. It soon became clear that the Airbus A321-231 crashed to the ground in the central part of the Sinai Peninsula and was completely destroyed. The wreckage of the aircraft was scattered over 13 km. All 224 people on board the plane were killed.

At the time of the death of the airliner, there were seven crew members and 217 passengers. Of these, four were Ukrainians, one was Belarusian, and the rest were Russian citizens. Among them was the deputy head of Pskov and a deputy of the local legislative assembly. According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, the oldest passenger was 77 years old, and

the youngest victim of the tragedy was a 10-month-old.

Shortly before the tragic incident, her mother Tatyana published a photo of the child on a page on the VKontakte social network. The photo shows the girl standing on the windowsill of an airport window with her back to the viewer. She looks at the planes on the ground. She captioned the photo: “The most important passenger.”

This photograph was later circulated by many Russian and world media and became a symbol of the Sinai disaster. Diana's mother and father also died as a result of the plane crash.

The Russian President, as well as the leaders of many countries in Europe and the world, expressed condolences to the victims. The day after the plane crashed, mourning was declared in Russia. However, the French published three cartoons on the topic of the disaster, which caused a negative reaction from the Russian Federation and. In response, the French Foreign Ministry stated that “in France, journalists freely express their opinions,” while “it does not always coincide with the official position of the French authorities.”

“There were no questions about the car”

Soon after the incident, various versions of what happened began to be put forward. Almost immediately, the hypothesis that the plane crashed due to a pilot error was dismissed. Victim Airbus crash was controlled by experienced pilots, and the crew commander, 48-year-old Valery Nemov, flew over 12 thousand hours, of which more than 3860 were on the Airbus A321.

However, details of the aircraft’s operation soon became known, and it turned out that it was far from new.

It was released in the spring of 1997 and made its first flight on May 9. After this, the aircraft was transferred to the American company International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), which by May 27 leased it to the Lebanese airline Middle East Airlines (MEA), which had owned it for six years. On June 2, 2003, already under tail number TC-OAE, the airliner was leased to the Turkish airline Onur Air. This structure later sub-leased the aircraft to Saudi Arabian Airlines, and from July 30 to September 29, 2010 to Syrian Cham Wings Airlines. By the spring of 2012, the TC-OAE board returned to ILFC, and by March 30, 2012, it was leased to the Russian Kogalymavia.

On April 30 of the same 2012, it was bought from ILFC by the Dutch airline AerCap, which re-delivered this airliner to the Russian Kogalymavia. Russian airline, in turn, since May 1, 2012, has already operated under the Metrojet brand.

During the long service of the aircraft, an unpleasant incident occurred from a safety point of view. On November 16, 2001, he was flying passenger flight ME 306 on the Beirut-Cairo route and during landing at the airport in the Egyptian capital, the pilots raised his nose too high, causing the tail to drop so low that it hit the ground. None of the 88 people on board the plane (81 passengers and 7 crew members) were injured then, and the airliner itself returned to passenger routes after undergoing repairs. This information was confirmed by representatives of Kogalymavia, assuring that the aircraft passed all the necessary checks and technical tests on time.

On the eve of departure, the ill-fated flight underwent maintenance, and the receiving crew had no questions about the car.

Interrupted message

The investigation into the causes of the tragedy was launched by several large structures of the world, since Egypt is a very popular tourist destination among citizens of many countries. The investigation began to be carried out by the Ministry civil aviation Egyptian, Russian, Bureau of Investigation and Analysis of Civil Aviation Safety of France, German Federal Bureau of Investigation aviation accidents, the Irish Aircraft Accident Investigation Branch, and the US National Transportation Safety Board.

At the same time, in accordance with international law, general management was carried out by Egyptian investigators, since the incident occurred in the airspace of that country. Already on the first of November, the previously found “black boxes” from the lost liner were deciphered. In the meantime, he opened criminal cases under Articles 263 and 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation of traffic safety rules and operation of railway, air, sea and inland water transport and metro" and "Production, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products, performance of work or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements").

The UK and German airlines also interrupted flights with the Egyptian state, and France, the Netherlands and Belgium warned their citizens against flying to Sharm el-Sheikh. In addition, it announced the cancellation of night flights to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Customers not identified

Meanwhile, the victims in the disaster case filed a class action lawsuit against the tour operator, Kogalymavia airline and insurance companies for a total amount of about €1.4 billion. This is the first example of a class action lawsuit for such a serious amount in Russian history.

And although the involvement of Kogalymavia employees in the incident over Sinai is not confirmed by facts, in the spring of 2016 it banned domestic and international flights of this airline.

According to the most frequently voiced version, the Sinai division of the terrorist group was behind the terrorist attack (both organizations are banned in Russia). Its members accepted responsibility for this crime shortly after the fact.

However, there are other points of view. A number of experts believe that the Qatari organization Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (a cell of the Islamic State banned in Russia) could be behind the terrorist attack. The United States also announced its trace in the tragedy.

Be that as it may, after the plane crashed Russian aviation began to intensify air strikes against targets of various Islamist organizations in Syria. For the first time, Russian strategic aviation was involved in raids on IS targets and other extremists.

However, the names of the specific perpetrators of the terrorist attack have not yet been established.

And on October 28, 2017, a monument to the victims of the disaster was unveiled at the Serafimovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg. In addition, among St. Petersburg residents there is an idea to erect a monument to 10-month-old Darina Gromova, which a famous sculptor has already promised to make for free.