Tragedy at Sinai. The crash of the Kogalymavia A321 aircraft was the largest in the history of Russian aviation. Getting closer to the truth

The A321 plane crash over Sinai, which occurred on October 31, 2015, became the most major disaster on the territory of Egypt and the largest tragedy in aircraft crashes. The Airbus A321-231 aircraft, owned by the Kogalymavia company, was used by the tour operator Briscoe and carried tourists on flight 9268 Sharm al-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. The crash killed 224 people

Flight details

Airplane

Airbus A321-231 was produced in 1997. The vessel was then handed over to the owner, the leasing corporation ILFC, which leased it to MEA (Lebanon). The airliner was assigned the number F-0HMP, its capacity was 149 people. In Lebanon it was used for 6 years and was returned to ILFC in 2003.

Fact. During its use at MEA, one failure occurred - when landing in Egypt, the pilots raised the nose of the aircraft too high, and the tail touched the runway. After this, the aircraft was repaired.

In 2003, the aircraft was again leased to Onur Air Corporation (Türkiye). The ship's board was modernized, its capacity increased to 220 people. In 2007, the airliner was subleasing to Saudi Arabian Airlines ( Saudi Arabia), and in 2010 - Cham Wings (Syria). In 2012, the airliner was leased to Kogalymavia LLC.

According to the leasing company, the aircraft was maintained at a level that complied with the standards, and technical control and inspections were carried out on time. On October 26, 2015, a weekly technical inspection was carried out, and on March 18, 2014, the aircraft underwent factory control. Over all the years of use, the airliner has exhausted 46-48% of its nominal life of scheduled flights.

Crew and passengers

The ship was staffed by a Russian crew, including:

2 experienced pilots,
5 flight attendants.

Among the passengers who were on board the plane at the time of the disaster were 192 people. adults and 25 children. The oldest of them was 77 years old, the youngest girl was 10 months old. All people died in the crash. Photos of the dead were posted on several official websites.

List of passengers killed over Sinai

Most of the victims of the disaster lived in the northwestern regions of the Russian Federation; there were also 4 citizens of Ukraine and 2 from Belarus on the plane.

The list of those killed in the plane crash included:

A. Kopylov – deputy head of the Pskov city administration,
D. Gromova (10 months), whose photo became a symbol of the plane crash.

Chronology of events

Preceding circumstances

On October 30, 2015, Airbus A321-231 made 2 normal flights on the planned routes: Sharm al-Sheikh-Samara-Sharm al-Sheikh. The final disembarkation of passengers at the airport was completed at 15:30, and representatives of the crew who carried it out had no complaints about the condition of the equipment. The vessel underwent scheduled maintenance, and on the morning of October 31, 2015, a new crew took over (V. Nemov and S. Trukhachev), and preparations began for subsequent voyages - Sharm al-Sheikh-St. Petersburg-Sharm al-Sheikh.

The Kogalymavia company was a member of the international united holding company specializing in tourism - TH&C, which also included the Brisco company, which ordered a flight from Egypt to the Northern capital.

Catastrophe

At 5:50 local time in Egypt (6:50 Moscow time), the plane took off from Sharm al-Sheikh airport, headed north along the shore of the bay and gradually rose to 6.4 km. After 12 minutes of flight, the plane turned left to bypass the Sinai Peninsula and reach the Mediterranean, the pilots intended to gain an altitude of 9.75 km.

In the 23rd minute of the flight, the airliner picked up a speed of 755 km/h and climbed 9.4 km when the situation left the normal mode. The ship began to fall at a speed of 1.8 km/min. At 04:13 GES, the flight recorder recording was interrupted due to extraneous noise. After 24 minutes of flight, the plane crashed in Sinai and was instantly destroyed.

Search services found remains of the disaster among mountain ranges peninsula 50 km from the city of Nehel. The wreckage of the plane and fragments of the bodies of the dead were scattered within a radius of 13 km, in the territory with total area 30 km.

Reaction

President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin expressed words of condolences to the loved ones and relatives of the victims of the tragedy. To the Head of Government D.A. Medvedev was charged with creating a commission to investigate the causes of the plane crash. V. Putin called for finding and eliminating the terrorists responsible for the tragedy.

Condolences were expressed to the loved ones and relatives of the victims, as well as to all Russians:

presidents and prime ministers of more than 50 countries,
Pope,
general secretaries,
heads of religious communities of the Russian Federation.

“Hotlines” were opened for relatives of the deceased passengers: by telephone one could find out all the information about the injured loved ones.

The scandalous French magazine Charlie Hebdo published three cartoons on its pages illustrating the plane crash, which caused sharp negative criticism from the Russian leadership and the public. The illustrations were called "blasphemous", "cruel" and "mocking towards the victims of the tragedy."

Fact. Representatives of the French Foreign Ministry responded that all journalists have the right to freely express personal opinions, but they do not always coincide with the position of the country's official leaders.

On November 20, 2015, the UN Security Council issued a statement condemning the terrorist attacks, including the disaster over Sinai.

Mourning

November 1, 2015 became a day of mourning for Russians. IN Northern capital three days of mourning took place, Leningrad region- four days.

Investigation into the causes of the Sinai tragedy

The investigation into the plane crash was carried out jointly by several countries, including Egypt and the Russian Federation, as well as representatives of Airbus and IASA.

On November 1, 2015, the investigation began: analysis of the information contained in the on-board recording devices, which practically survived, and examination of the remains of the victims. In Russia, a case was initiated under articles 263 and 238 of the Criminal Code of Russia.

The fact that the remains of the airliner were found in a large area of about 30 km allowed us to conclude that the tragedy occurred at a high altitude.

On November 7, 2015, the official leadership of Egypt spoke about the results of the decoding, from which it followed that extraneous loud sounds were heard at the end of the recording. At the end of the flight, an altitude of 9.415 km and a speed of about 520 km/h were recorded; the ship was moving under the guidance of an automatic pilot, who needed to gain altitude.

At that time, several versions of the causes of the plane crash were voiced:

wear and tear of aircraft equipment;
fuel tank ignition;
damage to the aircraft's lithium battery.

On November 16, 2015, information was received that the plane crashed due to a terrorist act - an IED located at the rear of the airbus with a total capacity of 1 kg of TNT went off. This conclusion was made after residues of explosive substances not made in Russia were found on fragments of the plane, personal belongings and bodies of the victims.

Fact. On November 17, 2015, a public announcement was posted that a cash reward of $50 million would be paid for assistance in capturing the terrorists responsible for the plane crash.

Analysis of the remains of the aircraft showed that the IED went off in the rear of the ship, in rows 30-32.

On December 14, 2015, a special commission organized by the Egyptian leadership announced the completion of the investigation into the plane crash and the readiness of the report on it. It indicated that in the process of analyzing the causes of the tragedy, nothing was found indicating a terrorist attack. This is explained by the fact that in the opposite case, the indirect cause of the disaster would have been a flaw in the Egyptian airport security service.

At the beginning of 2016, the current head of Egypt admitted that the airliner crashed as a result of a terrorist attack.

Cause of the disaster

On November 3, 2015, it became known from sources in the US defense department that an American satellite noticed a bright flash corresponding to the location and time of the Airbus A321 accident. No evidence of being hit by the missile was recorded, as a temperature trace would have been observed. Ignition in the air indicated that the tragedy could not have occurred during landing.

A few days after the plane crash, one of the terrorist groups within ISIS announced its involvement in the incident. However, the official leadership of Egypt cited equipment malfunction as the alleged cause of the tragedy.

A number of media representatives, Russian and Egyptian heads of transport departments rejected the explosion hypothesis, calling it propaganda.

On November 5, 2015, the intelligence services of the United States and Great Britain supported the unofficial version of terrorist act based on information intercepted from ISIS militants about a bomb being planted on a plane.

According to the assumptions of foreign intelligence services, expressed by various media, the IED was installed by terrorists subordinate to ISIS in the luggage compartment just before departure.

11/16/2015 at the Council of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin's version of the explosion of a homemade device was confirmed by the head of the Russian FSB A. Bortnikov.

On September 13, 2016, a special commission determined exactly where the bomb was located: in the department oversized luggage at the tail of the plane. To install the IED, the militants used the help of an employee of the Sharm al-Sheikh airport: just before the flight, a package with an explosive was planted, after which it was covered with strollers and suitcases.

Consequences of the disaster

After the tragedy, many aviation companies, including Kogalymavia, stopped flying over Sinai until the exact causes of the crash were clarified.

From 4 to 6 November 2015 Governments of Great Britain, Ireland, Russia, Germany and others European countries suspended regular air traffic over the Sinai Peninsula.

11/16/2015 V.V. Putin announced that Russia will continue to look for the causes of the disaster; it is necessary to join forces and punish those responsible for the tragedy.

Fact. After the disaster in Egypt, an order was issued to intensify air strikes against the terrorist organization ISIS.

Conclusion

The plane crash over the Sinai Peninsula became the largest in Russian history. passenger aviation. On October 23, 2017, a monument to those who died over the Sinai was erected in St. Petersburg. On October 31, 2017, a memorial to the victims was laid in Vsevolozhsk.

From the day terrible plane crash over the Sinai, which claimed the lives of 224 people, a year has passed. This period became a very difficult test for the relatives of the victims. New photographs from the scene of the plane crash appeared in the media every now and then, and on social networks scammers tried to profit from the grief of others by posing as family members of the victims of the terrorist attack. After the death of their relatives, some went deep into themselves, others began to divide their children and living space, and still others still cannot bury their loved ones, because the bodies of six people have still not been identified. AiF.ru found out how the relatives of those killed over the Sinai live a year after the tragedy.

Those greeting us hoped until the very end that the plane would land in St. Petersburg. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova

“The last wish is to find the culprits”

A year after the Airbus A321 crashed over Sinai, the investigation into the deaths of 224 people continues. Those who planted the bomb on the plane have not yet been found, but recently experts were able to identify the specific place where the explosives were located: the terrorists hid TNT between baby carriages at the rear of the plane. New information about the progress of the investigation appears in the media mass media almost every day, but most relatives of the victims do not follow this news: anyway, you can’t bring your loved ones back, and constant reminders of the tragedy only open up still fresh wounds.

Emergency Situations Ministry employees provided psychological assistance to the relatives of the flight passengers. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova

Petersburg woman Natalya Zavgorodnyaya, who lost her parents on October 31, 2015, dedicates everything free time helping abandoned animals. “Natasha threw herself into her work,” say the girl’s friends. “It helps take your mind off grief.” Natasha helps animals, looking for a new home for them. All publications and stories cause her even more pain.” Mother Alexey Gromov, who died along with his wife Tatiana and 10 month old daughter Darina, on the contrary, is closely monitoring the progress of the investigation. According to the woman, her life is over, but one last wish remains: that those responsible for the death of her children and granddaughter, “the most important passenger” of flight No. 9268, be punished.

Relatives of the plane's passengers tried to find information about the flight. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova

Compensation for the death of relatives

Currently, all families of the victims have received monetary compensation. The relatives were paid a million rubles each by the St. Petersburg authorities, and another million by the insurance company. True, to receive this money, some people had to spend a lot of time and nerves. It turned out that compensation is provided only for immediate relatives - children and parents. Compensation for the dead grandchildren, grandmothers or grandfathers had to be sought in court. I encountered this problem Shein family, who lost in a plane crash not only her adult children, but also three grandchildren. Now all financial issues have finally been settled.

About 70 families with whom I worked lawyer Igor Trunov, will receive an additional million dollars from the American leasing company International Lease Finance Corporation, the owner of the crashed Airbus. The matter did not come to court proceedings: the company has already confirmed its readiness to make payments. Most families did not turn to a well-known lawyer: for many, the three million rubles they had already received were enough. Besides, as we know, money cannot relieve grief.

After the terrible news, information about the flight was removed from Pulkovo electronic displays. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova

Return of the Prodigal Father

It was money relations that became a bone of contention in many families of the victims. So, after the disaster, the father of the deceased Alisa Vitalieva, who had not communicated with his daughter for many years, immediately appeared on the horizon. The girl's mother and his ex-wife Irina also died in the plane crash. When Denis and Irina Vitaliev divorced, the woman raised her daughter alone, and the ex-husband did not participate in the girl’s life in any way and did not pay alimony: he had a new family. However, Irina was calm about the girl’s future, because Alice was supposed to inherit the apartment of her grandmother, Irina’s mother. When the tragedy occurred, the girl’s father immediately rushed to St. Petersburg, received compensation in the amount of 3 million rubles for her death and told his ex-mother-in-law, Elena Stepanovna Voitenko, that now, by law, he claims half of her apartment, since Alice will no longer inherit.

The 63-year-old pensioner was outraged by such impudence, but then she had no time to sort things out: the pain of losing her beloved daughter and granddaughter was too great. Meanwhile, Denis Vitaliev, realizing that the law was on his side, wrote an application for inheritance. Currently, the conflict between the former relatives remains open: they have to go through many trials. “He did not raise his daughter and did not help financially,” says Alisa’s grandmother. “And now I’ve written an application for inheritance, although I promised not to lay claim to my home.” He decided to take the last thing away from me!”

On October 31, 2015, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and an ambulance were on duty near the airport. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova

6 people are still not buried

Brother of Irina Vitalieva Alexander, unlike his careless son-in-law, did not try to take away anyone’s property, but organized a charitable foundation to help the relatives of those killed in the Flight 9268 disaster over Sinai. A St. Petersburg resident who lost his sister and niece found the strength to support other people. Alexander organizes memorial events in the city and is actively working to approve a monument to the victims of the terrorist attack.

According to the foundation, several families still cannot bury their loved ones: six of the dead have not yet been identified. Their remains are kept in the St. Petersburg crematorium all year, but are not subject to examination to establish their identity. People are patiently waiting for the newly discovered remains in Egypt, after being studied, to be transferred to St. Petersburg so that relatives can identify and bury their dead loved ones. If the identification procedure does not take place, the remains of six people will be buried in a mass grave.

Exactly one year after the tragedy, at 7:14 a.m. on October 31, a memorial service for dead passengers flight 9268. On this day, their relatives will gather together again to remember those who can no longer be returned.

In memory of the victims of the Sinai disaster, 224 flying cranes were created in St. Petersburg. Photo: Charitable Foundation "Flight 9268"

Exactly two years have passed since the death of 224 people over Sinai. The vast majority of those killed were Russian citizens. The FSB of the Russian Federation, and after it the Egyptian authorities, recognized the tragic incident as a terrorist attack. However, its perpetrators have not yet been found. It remains unclear who ordered this terrible crime.

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 the Russian airline Kogalymavia took off from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and headed for St. Petersburg. The airliner's crew performed chartered flight and drove Russian tourists home after rest.

It soon became clear that the Airbus A321-231 crashed to the ground in the central part Sinai Peninsula and completely collapsed.

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 Alexander Kopylov, deputy head of Pskov and 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 10-month-old Darina Gromova.

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.

Tatyana Gromova captioned the photo: “The most main passenger" This photograph was later circulated by many Russian and world media and became a symbol of the Sinai disaster.

Darina's mother and father also died as a result of the plane crash.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, 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 satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published three cartoons on the topic of the disaster, which caused a negative reaction from the Russian Foreign Ministry and the State Duma. 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 route Beirut - Cairo and during landing at the airport in the Egyptian capital, the pilots raised his nose too high, as a result of which the tail dropped 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 Kagalymavia, 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 Egypt, Russian Interstate Aviation Committee, 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.

In the meantime investigative committee The Russian Federation 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").

On November 16, the head of the FSB of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bortnikov, said that 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.

This became clear after traces of an explosive not made in Russia were found on the wreckage of the plane and the belongings of passengers.

And the next day, Russian security forces turned to the Russian and international community for assistance in identifying the terrorists. A reward of $50 million has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the criminals.

Egyptian law enforcement officials did not recognize the tragedy as a terrorist attack for some time; they did so only in February 2016.

Be that as it may, already in November 2015, the Russian authorities decided to completely interrupt air traffic from this Arab country until the situation in the aviation security sector is normalized.

At the same time, the remaining Russian tourists at that time were taken out of Egypt upon the expiration of tourist vouchers, but they were only allowed to take on board the planes hand luggage, and the luggage was delivered separately, on special flights of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

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, Turkish Airlines 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 Kagalymavia employees in the incident over Sinai is not confirmed by facts, in the spring of 2016 the Federal Air Transport Agency banned internal and international flights this airline.

According to the most frequently voiced version, the Sinai branch of the terrorist organization ISIS * “Wilayat Sinai” (both organizations are banned in Russia) is behind the terrorist attack. 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 Bayt al-Maqdis (an ISIS cell) could be behind the terrorist attack. The US CIA also announced her trace in the tragedy.

Be that as it may, after the death of the plane, 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 the targets of ISIS 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 the famous sculptor Zurab Tsereteli has already promised to do for free.

Vladimir Vashchenko

* terrorist group banned in the Russian Federation

Exactly two years ago, on October 31, 2015, the most massive air crash in terms of the number of deaths occurred in the entire 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 operating a charter flight and was taking Russian tourists home after a vacation.

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.

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. The crashed Airbus was controlled by experienced pilots, and the crew commander, 48-year-old Valery Nemov, had flown 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. The Russian airline, in turn, has already been operating under the Metrojet brand since May 1, 2012.

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

An investigation into the causes of the tragedy was launched by several large structures from around the world, since Egypt is a very popular tourist destination among citizens of many countries. The investigation was carried out by the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Russian Civil Aviation Safety Investigation and Analysis Bureau of France, the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation, the Irish Air Accident Investigation Department, 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 this country. Already on November 1, the previously found “black boxes” from the lost airliner 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 the subway” and “Production, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products, performance of work or provision of services that do not meet security 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

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 “” (both organizations are banned in Russia) was behind the terrorist attack. 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.

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.