Russian plane crash

Russian plane crash: What we know

 

 

The Airbus A321, operated by the Russian airline Kogalymavia, took off from Sharm el-Sheikh airport at 05:58 (03:58 GMT) on 31 October.

At 06:14 Egyptian time (04:14 GMT), the plane failed to make scheduled contact with air traffic control based in Larnaca, Cyprus.

The plane disappeared from radar screens six minutes later while flying over central Sinai. Egyptian authorities said no SOS calls were received by air traffic controllers.

Russia's Interfax news agency cited a source in Cairo as saying "uncharacteristic" sounds were picked up by the cockpit voice recorder before the plane disappeared from radar screens. "The recordings suggest that an emergency situation occurred on board unexpectedly and took the crew by surprise," the source said.

Data released by the flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed that just before the radar signal was lost, the aircraft reached an altitude of more than 33,000ft (10,060m), and then started to descend with a vertical speed of about 6,000ft a minute. The plane's forward speed meanwhile dropped to around 170km/h (105mph), slower than the speed necessary to continue safe flight.

Egyptian military aircraft subsequently located the wreckage of the plane in the Hasana area, 95km (59 miles) south of the Mediterranean coastal town of el-Arish.

Russian officials said the wreckage was scattered across a 20 sq km (7.7-sq mile) area, meaning that the plane broke up in mid-air before falling to earth.

Russia said on 17 November that a "terror act" was responsible for the crash and that "traces of foreign explosives" were found on debris of the Airbus.

UK security service investigators say they suspect someone with access to the aircraft's baggage compartment inserted an explosive device inside or on top of the luggage just before the plane took off.

A US official told AP on 4 November that US intelligence agencies also had preliminary evidence that suggested a bomb planted by the local affiliate of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) brought down the plane.

Militants from that affiliate, known as Sinai Province, said they brought down the plane shortly after it crashed, with a spokesman claiming this was "in response to Russian air strikes that killed hundreds of Muslims on Syrian land". But he did not provide evidence, asserting: "We are not obliged to disclose the mechanism of its demise."

Egyptian officials have said it is too early to draw conclusions on the cause. Both of the plane's "black boxes" have been recovered as part of the investigation.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34687990

Structure of the lead:

  Who- 224 people on board

  When- on 31 October

  What- a Russian passenger plane that was brought down by a bomb

  Why- not given

  Where- Russian

  How- not given

Keywords:

1.      uncharacteristic 異常

2.      cockpit 座艙

3.      scattered 零落

4.      inserted 插入

5.      preliminary 初步

6.      jihadist 聖戰