For Egypt, A-321 crash is not a terrorist attack

“The technical investigative committee has so far not found anything indicating any illegal intervention or terrorist action”, the ministry said.

The Cairo-led committee consists of Egyptian, Russian, French and German experts and several other airline consultants.

Ayman el-Muqadam, Egypt’s chief investigator, said his team has not come across any evidence to suggest that the downed jet that crashed killing all 224 people on board was due to a “terrorist act”.

Sinai Province, the Egyptian branch of Islamic State, said it had planted a bomb on the plane in retaliation for Moscow’s support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In October, the plane was traveling from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to St. Petersburg, Russia when it crashed in Sinai.

European investigators who analyzed the two flight recorders from the Metrojet plane have reportedly said an explosion that wasn’t accidental brought the plane down. He notes that during the investigation, crews searched for wreckage in an area extending more than 10 miles from the crash site, during which time all parties in the investigation had the chance to examine the wreckage, according to ABC News.

The Egyptian government has dismissed statements made by the USA and Britain which back the Russian assertion of a terrorist attack, saying that only an official probe can reach such a conclusion.

Russian Federation declined to comment on Egypt’s statement.

The crash hit Egypt’s tourism industry, a cornerstone of the economy. Was the crash the direct result of a terrorist attack, or was it a human/technical failure?

In addition, it was said that the worldwide commission for the investigation of the crash of the Russian airplane was studying information about the pilots, the technical condition of the aircraft and its latest routes.