What caused the Sinai plane crash? Black-box analysis begins in Cairo

USA intelligence says the strong “heat flash” it detected at the time of the crash is not indicative of a missile strike, The Independent says in a separate article, citing NBC News.

British military analyst Paul Beaver said he thought the crash was most likely caused by a bomb on board, saying he was certain IS does not possess a missile system – such as the Russian BUK – capable of hitting the plane.

The Russian airliner which crashed in Egypt on Satuday killing everyone on board was not caused by technical fault or human error, according to Alexander Smirnov, deputy general director of Kogalymavia airlines.

Metrojet, a Russian airline, said the Airbus 321 came down due to “external” factors and that “no technical failures” could account for its apparent break-up in mid-air.

Analysis of the plane’s “black boxes”, which could solve the mystery of what happened to the doomed jet, is expected to begin on Tuesday, according to Egyptian officials. He said, however, that he “wouldn’t rule it out” when questioned about the Islamic State’s (IS, also known as ISIL or ISIS) ability to shoot down an airplane.

Still no answer about what brought down a Russian airliner in the Egyptian desert.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had declared Sunday a day of mourning, said on Monday the crash was a great tragedy.

Russia’s top aviation officials have said that the plane broke apart in mid-air, and the head of the Russian air transport agency Alexander Neradko on Sunday said it appeared the aircraft disintegrated at high altitude.

He said it was too early to say what had caused the crash.

The black box recordings reveal the pilots had no time to send a distress signal.

The Airbus A321 plunged to the ground Saturday 23 minutes after taking off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh on a flight to St Petersburg.

On Tuesday morning, a St Petersburg official said the first nine bodies of victims in the crash have been officially identified, and their families informed.

“In such cases, leave it to specialists to determine the cause of the plane crash because it is a subject of an extensive and complicated technical study”, said President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi from Cairo.

More than 100 body parts and 140 bodies were flown to St. Petersburg on three government planes.