Metrojet Flight 9268

 Metrojet Flight 9268

File:Airbus A321-231 MetroJet EI-ETJ.JPG
Coordinates	30.1506°N 34.178°E / 30.1506; 34.178 Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed.
Deaths	Unknown"Unknown" is not a number.
Injured (non-fatal)	Unknown"Unknown" is not a number.
Survivors	Unknown"Unknown" is not a number.
Interest of	Julian Bray

Kogalymavia Flight 9268 operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia (also known as Kolavia and Metrojet) crashed in central Sinai 23 minutes after its departure from Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport on 31 October 2015 at 4:12 GMT (6:12 Moscow time).

The aircraft, an Airbus A321, was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members.

All those on board were Russians, mostly tourists, returning to St Petersburg.

Aircraft

The Airbus A321 was owned and leased from Dublin-based AerCap and was 18 years old at the time of the incident. The aircraft was initally purchased by Vietnam Airlines but, never taken up, it was delivered to Lebanon's Middle East Airlines in May 1997. It was transferred to Kolavia in March 2012 and then to Metrojet in May. The aircaft was powered by two IAE V2533 engines and configured to carry 220 passengers in an economy configuration.

Crash

Kolavia/Metrojet A321 EI-ETJ Flight 7K9268 left Sharm El Sheik airport at 06:51 for Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg, Russia with 217 passengers, including 17 children, and seven crew members on board. All those aboard were Russians, according to the Russian embassy. The aircraft failed to make contact with Cyprus Air Traffic Control 23 minutes later. Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed the flight disappeared from radar. Initially, the head of Egypt's civil aviation accident body, Ayman al-Muqaddam, said: "The...Russian airline had told us that the Russian plane we lost contact with is safe and that it has contacted Turkish air traffic control and is passing through Turkish skies now." Flightradar24 also posted on Twitter: "It's NOT confirmed that this flight has crashed. It descended 5000 feet before Flightradar24 coverage was lost."

The captain of the flight reportedly told ATC that there was a technical fault and had requested a route change, although there was no indication whether a change had occurred. The Egyptian Civilian Aviation Ministry issued a statement that indicated the fight was at an altitude of 31,000 feet when it disappeared from radar screens after a reported "steep descent" up to 5,000 feet. It had disappeared in a mountainous area in central Sinai with poor weather conditions making it difficult for rescue crews to get to the scene. An unnamed security source said that any survivors and the bodies of those who died would be flown to Cairo. The descent of 5,000 feet occurred in one minute shortly before it disappeared. Reuters quoted an unnamed security officer as saying that the aircraft has been completely destroyed and most passengers were likely to have died. Flightradar24 shows the aircraft climbing to 33,500 feet before suddenly descending to 28,375 feet approximately 50 kilometres north east of Nekhel on the Sinai Peninsula, after which its position was no longer tracked. Unnamed Egyptian authorities indicated that the first parts of the wreckage had been located. Fifty ambulances were sent to the crash site. Unnamed Egyptian officials reported that the plane "split in two" and most bodies were found strapped to their seats. However, they reported that voices of trapped passengers could be heard in a section of the crashed plane.

Eurocontrol's Air Flow Traffic Management (CFMU) issued a note to all operators along the route shortly after the aircraft's disappearance that due to technical problems all flights would be tactically re-routed, although the notice was redacted shortly thereafter.

Investigation

Ayman al-Muqaddam, who was appointed to investigate the cause of the crash, said that the pilot had made contact with the civil aviation authorities and asked to land at the nearest airport. He suggested the plane may have been attempting an emergency landing at Al-Arish’s airport in north Sinai. It crashed 35 kilometres south of the coastal city. Though the Sinai insurgency has been ongoing for a number of years, there were no reports the plane had been shot down, according to Egyptian security sources.

Reactions

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail confirmed the aircraft has crashed and cancelled his meetings upon hearing the news. He was on his way to the crash site along with other ministers on a private jet, according to the Tourism Ministry.

Airbus posted a note on Twitter that read: "We are aware of the media reports. Efforts are now going towards assessing the situation. We'll provide more information as soon as available."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the emergency ministry to dispatch rescue teams to Egypt, where the Russian passenger plane with 224 on board crashed on Saturday:

“The head of state has given orders to send emergency ministry teams to Egypt immediately to work at the plane crash site,” a Kremlin statement said. Putin also ordered the government to launch a special commission “due to the catastrophe of Kogalymavia company plane in Egypt,” the statement said.

An emergency ministry meeting shown on Russian television announced that teams of rescue workers along with the emergency minister, Vladimir Puchkov, will fly out to Egypt at 1300 GMT. Russia’s transport minister Maksim Sokolov and the head of Russia’s air transport agency Alexander Neradko are also leaving for the site, Russian agencies quoted the ministry’s representative as saying.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had launched a criminal probe into any possible violation of air safety rules, a standard procedure when air crashes involving Russian planes occur. It is also sending investigators to the scene.

Russia’s air transport agency Rosaviatsia said that the plane, an Airbus 321, was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew when it disappeared from the radar after taking off for St Petersburg from the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.