There Will Be No more Flights from Russia to Egypt ‘For a Long Time’.

There Will Be No more Flights from Russia to Egypt ‘For a Long Time’. (ES).

Flights between Russia and Egypt will be suspended for a “long time” after the recent Russian airplane crash in Egypt’s North Sinai that left 224 passengers dead.

“It’s for a long time. For how long, I can’t say, but I think for several months, at least,” said Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov to journalists, according to Interfax.

“To be honest, we stopped flights to Egypt, not knowing the final version (of the crash), but we did this as a preventative measure, as a precaution.”

Ivanov confirmed that flights would be suspended to all cities of Egypt where Russian planes fly to.

Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada and other Red Sea resort towns have traditionally been popular tourist destinations for Russians.

Russia’s latest statement comes after Moscow announced that the United Kingdom, had passed on “certain information” related to the airplane crash.

“We can confirm the transfer of certain data by the British side. Naturally I cannot tell you what exactly the data is because I do not possess this information,” said Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov to reporters on Monday.

However, both Russia and Egypt maintain that no conclusions have been reached into the cause of the crash despite allegations that the plane was downed by a bomb planted by ISIS.

In a press conference, Egyptian investigators said that all possibilities, including a bomb and mechanical failure, are being investigated.

The Russian airplane crash and its fallout is expected to severely harm Egypt’s ailing tourism industry, which employs up to four million Egyptians countrywide. Hmmm.....Because we are planning to deal with ISIS And consorts once and for all.

@MFS001 Interfax reported 2dy 1000z of Russian tourists taking non-direct flights 2 visit Egypt.They'll b back soon @EjmAlrai @moscow_ghost

— Hasan Sari (@HasanSari7) November 11, 2015

@HasanSari7 @EjmAlrai @moscow_ghost Yes i suppose they would, i suspect they mean no Russian direct flights to #Egypt.

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) November 11, 2015

💥 #Egypt's President Sisi from Sharm El-Sheikh: "My hope was we didn't jump to conclusions ahead of investigations results". #UK #Russia"

— Hasan Sari (@HasanSari7) November 11, 2015

💥 Sisi: I say to the investors in Sharm El-Sheikh, you have our full support". #Egypt"

— Hasan Sari (@HasanSari7) November 11, 2015

💥 So far today, Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport received nearly 50 internal and foreign flights. @MFS001 pic.twitter.com/v32q3MUcmj

— Hasan Sari (@HasanSari7) November 11, 2015

💥 VIDEO: Sisi makes surprise 1-hour visit to Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport. https://t.co/aMtT4ZHIQV #Egypt"

— Hasan Sari (@HasanSari7) November 11, 2015

Egyptian crash committee says: "too soon for conclusions".

Egyptian crash committee says: "too soon for conclusions". (DS).

Cockpit information from the Russian jet which crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula one week ago registered a noise in the last second of recording, the head of an investigation committee into the disaster said on Saturday.

But the committee head, Ayman al-Muqaddam, said experts were still gathering information and it was too soon to announce conclusions.

Western governments have said the crash of the Airbus A321, which killed all 224 passengers, may have been caused by a bomb and several countries have suspended flights to the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh from where the Russian plane took off.

Muqaddam said the crash occurred 23 minutes into the flight, when the auto-pilot was still engaged, and debris were scattered over a wide area extending for 13 km (8 miles) "which is consistent with an in-flight break-up".

"Initial observation of the aircraft wreckage does not yet allow for identifying the origin of the in-flight break-up," he told a news conference in Cairo.

The committee was analyzing the cockpit voice records, and a noise was heard in the last second of the recording, he added.

"A spectral analysis will be carried out by specialized labs in order to identify the nature of this noise."

Referring to media reports citing Western intelligence sources pointing to the possibility that the plane was brought down by a bomb, Muqaddam said no evidence related to those claims had been provided to his team.

"The committee is considering with great attention all possible scenarios for the cause of the accident and did not reach till the moment any conclusion in this regard."

Related:

Russian airline crash, has similarities to 2002 Flight 611 to Hong Kong crash.

Russia's Pres Putin agrees to suspend Russian flights to Egypt, until crash cause is known

Russia's President Putin agrees to suspend Russian flights to Egypt. (AlAhram).

President Vladimir Putin ordered the suspension of all Russian passenger flights to Egypt on Friday until the cause of a deadly plane crash at the weekend was established.

Putin's decision was a response to the unexplained crash of an Airbus A321 operated by a Russian carrier on Saturday over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. All 224 people on board were killed.

The move, which follows decisions by Britain and Ireland to suspend flights to and from Sharm El-Sheikh, the Egyptian resort where the downed Russian airliner originated, is the first sign that Moscow is attaching credibility to the theory that Islamist militants somehow planted a bomb on the aircraft.

Putin acted after Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia's FSB security service, recommended that Russia suspend all passenger flights to Egypt until it knew exactly what caused the crash.

"The head of state agreed with these recommendations," Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

"V. Putin has tasked the government with working out a mechanism to realize the recommendations of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee and to ensure the return of Russian citizens to the motherland."

Putin had also ordered the government to open talks with Egyptian authorities to guarantee the safety of flights, said Peskov.

A Sinai-based group affiliated with Islamic State, the militants who have seized swathes of Iraq and Syria, has claimed responsibility for the crash, which, if confirmed, would make it the jihadist organisation's first attack on civil aviation.

But before Friday afternoon, the Kremlin had firmly said it was too early to say what caused the crash and that all theories, including the possibility of technical failure, should be examined by the official investigation.

Britain and Ireland have already suspended regular flights to Sharm El-Sheikh amid growing concerns over what caused the plane crash and the level of security at the resort's airport.

Egypt is one of the most popular holiday destinations for Russians and any decision to suspend flights would cause major logistical problems for Russia's airlines and stranded tourists.

Kremlin says suspension of Russian flights to Egypt does not mean airliner crash was terrorist attack https://t.co/EgrYVtmGpK

— Ahram Online (@ahramonline) November 6, 2015

Egyptian foreign ministry 'trying to confirm' that Russia suspended flights to Egypt https://t.co/P5VAOCYUl9 pic.twitter.com/iDOIzqy1fK

— Ahram Online (@ahramonline) November 6, 2015

Dutch Airline KLM Says Only Hand Luggage Allowed for Flights from Cairo to Amsterdam https://t.co/pTUSqrQxrv

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) November 6, 2015

Russian experts believe Airbus engine explosion might be root of crash.

Russian experts believe Airbus engine explosion might be root of crash. (RBTH).

On November 4 Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry al-Youm reported a new theory of the Russian plane crash, which took place in the Sinai Peninsula on October 31.

Citing "sources in the commission of inquiry," it said that the transcript of the "black boxes" offered evidence of an explosion in the engine.

Flight recorders did not record any emergency calls from the crew to dispatchers, however, according to Egyptian sources the "presence of a powerful explosion, simultaneous loss of all engine power, a fire in part of the fuselage and the destruction of part of the plane in the air” was evident.

The investigation team and technical commission working at the crash site – experts from Egypt and Russia and France and Germany as the countries producing the aircraft, as well as Ireland, where the plane was registered – still do not reject any of the initial theories.

A terrorist attack aboard the plane, a fatal piloting error or a technical failure that resulted in the destruction of the aircraft in the air are still considered possible explanations. The fact that debris spread over a vast area – 8x4 kilometers – also supports the reports that this Airbus A321 fell apart at a high altitude.

The UK government, which is not involved directly in investigating the causes of the crash, acknowledges the possibility of a terrorist act.


"While the investigation is still ongoing, we cannot say categorically why the Russian jet crashed," the British prime minister’s office said. "But as more information has come to light, we have become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device."

Russian experts close to the investigation of the crash believe that it is too early to make preliminary conclusions. They point out that the theory of the engine explosion does not look very convincing at this point.


According to them, the very design of the engine is such that a relatively small amount of fuel-air mixture could not "assure" a powerful explosion that could lead to the destruction of the aircraft's fuselage. If the flight recorder's data does indicate a problem with the engine, theories would likely turn to revolve around its destruction.

According to experts, in the case of a so-called non-localized destruction of a turbine its torn-off blades fly out with great speed and – moving towards the plane – could cut the liner's wing and fuselage like an angle grinder disc.

The so-called explosive depressurization of the fuselage then takes place, which leads to the complete destruction of the aircraft. The fact that the flight recorders did not record any complaints of pilots to the ground crew before the accident would be quite understandable if the explosive depressurization of the cabin occurred because they would not have had time to react. Read the full story here.

Russian airline crash, has similarities to 2002 Flight 611 to Hong Kong crash.

Russian airline crash, has similarities to 2002 Flight 611 to Hong Kong crash.

At 14:38 Taipei Delivery cleared Flight 611 to Hong Kong: "Dynasty six one one cleared to Hong Kong Airport via Jessy one departure after Jessy direct to Chali Makung alpha one maintain flight level two six zero expect flight level three five zero at Makung squawk two six six one". The gate closed around 14:50, ten minutes after the scheduled departure time and the crew requested ground start and pushback from stand B2. At 14:57 pushback was completed and the aircraft taxied to runway 06. Ten minutes later the aircraft had taxied into position and was cleared for take off. While climbing through 1600 feet the crew contacted Taipei Approach and received clearance to climb to and maintain FL260 and proceed direct to Chali. At 15.16, while climbing through FL187, Dynasty 611 contacted Taipei Control. The Flight was cleared to climb and maintain FL350 and proceed from Chali direct to Kadlo. Some 13 minutes later, while approaching 35,000 feet, the aircraft disappeared off radar screens. Wreckage and bodies were found at sea, about 45km Northeast off the Penghu islands. The flight probably disintegrated at high altitude since other debris was found near Changhua, about 45 kilometers from the crash site.

FINDINGS RELATED TO PROBABLE CAUSES:

1. Based on the recordings of CVR and FDR, radar data, the dado panel open-close positions, the wreckage distribution, and the wreckage examinations, the in-flight breakup of CI611, as it approached its cruising altitude, was highly likely due to the structural failure in the aft lower lobe section of the fuselage.

2. In February 7 1980, the accident aircraft suffered a *tail strike occurrence in Hong Kong. The aircraft was ferried back to Taiwan on the same day un-pressurized and a temporary repair was conducted the day after. A permanent repair was conducted on May 23 through 26, 1980.

3. The permanent repair of the tail strike was not accomplished in accordance with the Boeing SRM, in that the area of damaged skin in Section 46 was not removed (trimmed) and the repair doubler did not extend sufficiently beyond the entire damaged area to restore the structural strength.

4. Evidence of fatigue damage was found in the lower aft fuselage centered about STA 2100, between stringers S-48L and S-49L, under the repair doubler near its edge and outside the outer row of securing rivets. Multiple Site Damage (MSD), including a 15.1-inch through thickness main fatigue crack and some small fatigue cracks were confirmed. The 15.1-inch crack and most of the MSD cracks initiated from the scratching damage associated with the 1980 tail strike incident.

6. Maintenance inspection of B-18255 did not detect the ineffective 1980 structural repair and the fatigue cracks that were developing under the repair doubler. However, the time that the fatigue cracks propagated through the skin thickness could not be determined.

Russian airline reveals holiday jet crash could only have been caused by a 'mechanical impact' (DM)

Fears were growing today that a bomb could have destroyed the Russian holiday jet that crashed in Egypt killing all 224 people on board.

The Airbus A321 broke up mid-air shortly after takeoff from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, scattering wreckage over a wide area in Sinai.

Terrorism and aviation experts believe a bomb may have been responsible, pointing to the fact there was no distress call and that the fuselage skin had peeled outwards possibly due to a 'force acting outwards from within'.

A top official at Russian airline Metrojet also blamed 'external activity' for the disaster, insisting the jet was in 'excellent' condition and that the pilots 'totally' lost control of the aircraft.

Alexander Smirnov, the deputy general director of Metrojet’s parent company Kogalymavia, told reporters in Moscow today that the cause of the crash 'could only have been a mechanical impact on the plane' in the air.

'The plane was in excellent condition. We rule out a technical fault and any mistake by the crew,' he said.

The airline said its plane dropped 186mph in speed and around 5,000 feet in altitude one minute before it crashed into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Kogalymavia's deputy general director for engineering, Andrei Averyanov, said a 2001 incident when the plane's *tail section struck the tarmac on landing was fully repaired and could not have been a factor in the crash.

He said the aircraft's engines had undergone routine inspection in Moscow on October 26 which found no problems and he said in the five flights before the crash, the crew recorded no technical problems in the aircraft's log book. Read the full story here.