Exactly a year ago, on October 31, 2015, there was the most massive air crash in Russia in terms of the number of victims. Then in the north of the Sinai Peninsula plane A321 Russian airline Kogalymavia. Onboard there were 217 passengers, including 24 children, and seven crew members. They all died. The Russian authorities have recognized the incident as a terrorist attack, but an international investigation has not yet been completed.
On October 31, the A321 aircraft of the Russian airline "Kogalymavia" performed chartered flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. The liner took off at 5:50 am and disappeared from radar 23 minutes later. On the same day, search teams of the Egyptian government discovered the wreckage of a destroyed plane near the city of Nehel in the north of the Sinai Peninsula. All 224 people on board were killed, including 219 Russians, four citizens of Ukraine and one native of Belarus.
Causes of the crash of A321
International investigation led by aviation authorities Egypt is not over yet. It is attended by representatives from Russia, France, Germany, Ireland and the United States.
The first that a terrorist attack could have occurred on board the A321, soon after the plane crash, began to report the Western media, citing their sources in the special services and officials. From these publications it followed that the US and British authorities considered the version of the terrorist attack the most likely. However, Moscow has long publicly distanced itself from her, calling the version of the terrorist attack premature and urging to wait for the official results of the investigation. And only on November 6, it was decided to suspend flights with Egypt until the reasons for the crash of the A321 were clarified and the Russians staying there were evacuated.
Officially, the terrorist attack of the FSB that took place over Sinai only two and a half weeks after the disaster, on November 17. According to the ministry, an improvised explosive device went off during the flight. Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Security Council to find the organizers of the crash "anywhere in the world" and destroy them.
However, the Egyptian authorities, even after these statements, continued to insist that the most probable cause the disaster became a technical problem. And only in February 2016, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi admitted that a terrorist attack had taken place on board the A321.
In September, the Kommersant newspaper, citing sources, reported that an international technical commission had established exact location explosion in an airplane. According to the newspaper, experts determined that the terrorists had mined the oversized baggage compartment in the rear of the plane, hiding an explosive device between baby carriages and wicker furniture carried by the tourists.
Russia and the CIA believe that the explosion on board was organized by Vilayat Sinai (until 2014 - Ansar Beit al-Maqdis), a cell of the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) banned in Russia. The group claimed responsibility for the A321 crash: On November 18, 2015, the Islamic State's propaganda magazine Dabik published a photograph of an improvised explosive device made from a can of Schweppes soda. As stated in the article, it was this device that was powered aboard the A321. In August 2016, the Egyptian military about the assassination of the leader of the "Vilayat Sinai" Abu Dua'a al-Ansari, suspected of organizing a terrorist attack.
Scandalous case
Relatives of those killed in the crash have repeatedly complained about the progress of the investigation and the process of payment of compensation. In December, lawyer Igor Trunov, on behalf of 35 relatives, filed a complaint against the inaction of the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, in the Basmanny Court. According to the lawyer, she expressed herself in the fact that the UK ignored two appeals from relatives. In one of them, they asked for the number of the criminal case, recognize them as victims and familiarize themselves with the materials of the investigation. Another complaint concerned Ingosstrakh. The appeal claimed that the company was fraudulently receiving statements from the relatives of the deceased, limiting their right to go to court in order to obtain compensation. Ingosstrakh itself categorically rejected these accusations. And the lawsuit against Bastrykin was rejected.
Consequences
After the crash of the Kogalymavia plane, Russia suspended flights with Egypt, and tour operators were prohibited from working in this direction. All year long they have been waiting for the resumption of communication with the country, which for many years has been one of the main resort destinations for Russians. According to the latest data, this may not happen until December or January.
To resume flights, the Egyptian side must fulfill a number of airport security requirements (their full list has not been officially made public). During the year, Russia repeatedly sent its specialists to Egypt for checks at the airports of Cairo, Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada, but each time there were violations. According to sources of the newspaper "Al-Watan", quoted by TASS, "a number of Russian structures refuse to discuss the issue of resuming flights with Egypt until the results of an official investigation appear."
With the closure of flights, Egypt suffered significant losses. From the collapse of tourism - one of the key industries for the country (more than 11% of GDP until November 2015) - the budget of Egypt, according to Reuters, has lost more than three billion dollars.
The crash of the Russian airbus and the subsequent termination of flights to the Arab Republic led to problems for Kogalymavia itself and the associated tour operator Brisco, who ordered flight 9268. Since spring 2015, the case on declaring the carrier bankrupt has been dragging on, the next meeting will be held on November 10. In March, the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) limited the Kogalymavia operator's certificate and revoked its admissions to 13 international destinations.
The organizer of the flight, the tour operator Brisco, suspended work on August 2 until it pays off debts to clients and agencies. As reported on the Brisco website, after the closure of flights to Egypt and Turkey, the company suffered "colossal financial and economic losses."
MOSCOW, October 31. / TASS-DOSSIER /. On October 31, 2015, a passenger plane Airbus A321 of the Russian airline "Kogalymavia" (brand Metrojet, "Metrojet", which was flying on the route Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) - St. Petersburg, disappeared from radar 23 minutes after takeoff.
Since the beginning of the operation of the Airbus A320 with aircraft of this type (including modifications A319 and A321), there have been 13 accidents (excluding the incident on October 31, 2015), which led to the death of 1 thousand 101 people on board.
On June 26, 1988, an Airbus A320-111 passenger plane crashed Air France ( registration number F-GFKC), performing a demonstration flight over Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg airport (France). Due to malfunctions of the altimeter and pilot error, the car, when flying at low altitude, touched the tops of trees and fell into the forest. Three of the 136 passengers on board were killed.
On February 14, 1990, an Indian Airlines Airbus A320-231 (registration number VT-EPN), flying 605 from Bombay (now Mumbai), crashed while landing at Bangalore Airport (India). The pilots did not notice that the plane was descending too quickly until the landing gear struck the concrete fence of the golf club near the airport. The liner fell near the runway. 92 people out of 146 on board were killed.
January 20, 1992 passenger liner Airbus A320-111 (registration number F-GGED) of the French airline Air Inter, flying 148 on the Lyon-Strasbourg route, crashed into Mount Saint-Odile, 19.5 km from Strasbourg airport. 87 of the 96 people on board were killed. As a result of the investigation, it turned out that the disaster was due to a number of factors, including the complexity of the on-board control system and unfavorable weather conditions.
On September 14, 1993, at the Warsaw Okecie International Airport (now - named after Frederic Chopin), a passenger aircraft A320-211 (registration number D-AIPN) of the German Lufthansa Airlines flying 2904 from Frankfurt am Main. In conditions strong wind and the downpour, the crew of the liner landed the car just 770 m from the end of the runway, the aircraft did not have time to brake, crashed into the fences and caught fire. One passenger and a captain-mentor were killed, the remaining 68 people on board were injured.
March 22, 1998 passenger airliner Airbus A320-214 (registration number RP-C3222) of the Philippine Air Lines, operating domestic flight number 137 from Manila to Bacolod, when landing, he could not perform the standard braking. The reason was the pilot's mistake, who turned off the reverse of one of the engines. The plane drove off the runway and crashed into wooden apartment buildings outside the airport. None of the 130 people on board the plane died, but three people on the ground were killed.
On 23 August 2000, a passenger plane A320-212 (registration number A40-EK) of the Bahrain airline Gulf Air, flying 072 from Cairo to Manama, Bahrain, fell into the waters of the Persian Gulf near international airport Bahrain on about. Muharraq. The crash occurred during a missed approach following an unsuccessful landing approach caused by pilot error. All passengers and crew members were killed - 143 people.
On May 3, 2006, a passenger airliner Airbus A320-211 (registration number EK-32009) of the Armenian company Armavia ("Armavia") crashed. The plane made flight 967 from Yerevan to Sochi. When landing at the destination airport in adverse weather conditions, the crew received a go-around command. While performing the turn, the crew turned off the autopilot, after which the plane went into climb mode, lost speed and fell into the Black Sea. All 113 people on board were killed.
July 17, 2007 when landing at the airport Sao Paulo the Airbus A320-233 (registration number PR-MBK) of the Brazilian airline TAM Airlines crashed on domestic flight 3054 from Porto Alegre. After landing, the plane could not brake on a slippery runway, flew out of it, crashed into a hangar with aviation fuel and burned down. All 187 people on board and 12 others on the ground were killed. The cause of the disaster was that the thrust of one of the engines was in takeoff mode during landing. The commission was unable to determine if it was a pilot error or a technical malfunction.
On May 30, 2008, a passenger aircraft Airbus A320-233 (registration number EI-TAF) of the Salvadoran company TACA International Airlines, flying 390 from San Salvador to Tegucigalpa (Honduras), when landing at the destination airport, rolled off the runway onto the city street and received significant damage. Three people were killed on board and two in a car on the ground. Among dead passengers the plane was Nicaraguan economist Harry Brautigam, president of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE), who died of a heart attack.
On November 27, 2008, a passenger aircraft Airbus A320-232 (registration number D-AXLA) of XL Airways Germany, performing technical flight number 888T near the French airport Perpignan-Rivaltes, fell into the sea near settlement Canet-en-Roussillon. All seven people on board were killed. Investigation revealed that the disaster was caused by water entering the angle of attack sensors during maintenance. Failure of sensors led to the loss of control of the aircraft by the crew.
On July 28, 2010, Pakistani Airblue's Airbus A321-231 (registration number AP-BJB) on domestic flight 202 from Karachi to Islamabad crashed in northern Islamabad amid heavy fog and monsoon rain. All 152 people on board were killed. Cause of the collapse of steel weather and uncoordinated crew actions.
December 28, 2014 December 28, 2014 Indonesia AirAsia Airbus A320-216 (registration number PK-AXC) on flight QZ8501 from Surabaya (Indonesia) to Singapore disappeared from radar while over the Java Sea in the area between the islands Kalimantan (Borneo) and Belitung (Indonesia). Onboard there were 155 passengers and seven crew members. On January 3, 2015, during a search operation at the bottom of the sea, the wreckage of the liner was found; in the period from January to March, 106 bodies of the dead were found in the crash zone.
On March 24, 2015, a passenger aircraft Airbus A320-211 (registration number D-AIPX) of the German airline Germanwings, operating regular flight 4U 9525 / GWI18G en route Barcelona (Spain) - Dusseldorf (Germany), crashed into a mountain slope and completely collapsed in the Alps of Haute Provence (France). Onboard there were 144 passengers and 6 crew members, all of whom were killed. The crash was the result of the deliberate actions of the liner's co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz.
Why did the plane of the airline Kogalymavia (Metrojet) flight 7K 9268 Airbus A321-231 r / n EI-ETJ s / n 663 crash? So far, no one knows the answer, and the results of the investigation may appear only in a few months.
Googled for over an hour. I downloaded all available photos of this particular aircraft from Jetphotos.net. Also found in other sources photos before the crash.
A slight blackening on the tapered part of the tail caught my attention. These two photos seem to have been taken on the last day or a few days before the disaster (from another site):
Close-up blackening:
Close-up blackening:
Then I looked at all the photos of this plane in reverse order to 2012. There is no blackening in the photo dated September 2, 2015:
Flipped through in reverse order. Everything is clean. True, and there are few photos. Only September and August 2015. Then it was repainted. The photo from September 26, 2014 shows a different coloring and everything is clear.
Everything is clean in this color. There are 8 photos in total. There is only slight darkening. I flipped to the previous painting, the last photo was from October 6, 2013 and the black conical part of the fuselage immediately caught my eye:
Close-up:
Photo dated September 14, 2013:
Close-up:
More or less clean fuselage only in the very first photo dated May 31, 2012:
Then, in all the photos until October 6, 2013, it was getting darker and darker. And then repainted.
Now about the nature of the scattering of debris. I don't follow the news very much. But I saw these photos on social networks:
Separately rolled conical part with blackening on top:
The rear of the aircraft with a broken vertical stabilizer, no tapered part:
It became interesting if there is any blackening on other similar "Airbuses". I googled, looked at the photos - other airlines have all white and clean planes in the tail section, including other similar planes at Kogalymavia.
In addition, it was this plane that landed on the fifth point in 2001, slightly hit its tail while landing. Then he was still owned by another airline. After that incident, the plane was repaired. But negative consequences could be ...
I began to look for descriptions of the design of aircraft. In this tapered end there is an auxiliary power unit (APU), or in English Auxiliary power unit (APU). It is needed to start the main engines and to provide power in parking lots. At the end of the cone there is a nozzle. Those. there is an electrician and fuel.
It is a small gas turbine engine powered by an electric or hydraulic accumulator. Generates the alternating current necessary to start large engines (fuel pumps, spark for fuel), builds up pressure in the hydraulic system, and ensures the operation of the pneumatic system. To start the main engines, pneumatic cranking of the turbine is required.
Not used during flight. But in the event of a failure of one of the engines, it can be used to provide additional energy to various aircraft systems.
This is how the Boeing 737 APU looks like:
From the following videos, it can be seen that the conical part with the APU, the tail, and separately the place of the fall of the main part of the aircraft, with the imprint of the wings, are scattered separately.
Video from the height of the crash site of the Kogalymavia 7K9268 Airbus A321, Sinai, Egypt 10/31/2015
Place Airbus crashes A321 shown from the air
Diagram of a similar aircraft A320-200:
Most likely, for some reason, the tapered part was first torn off, then the horizontal stabilizer. Elevators are located on the horizontal stabilizer. Perhaps that is why the plane began to descend sharply, and then again try to gain altitude.
The photographs with the fallen tail show holes in the attachment points of the horizontal stabilizer. There was an explosive depressurization of the cabin, the previously deformed tail was torn off. The plane instantly became uncontrollable. All the electrics were cut off. I have already seen something similar in one of the episodes "A Second Before the Catastrophe". This can also explain that communication with the plane was cut off suddenly.
Also in the photos with the tail dropped, the rudder on the vertical stabilizer is missing.
Overheating of the aircraft body in this place could lead to the separation of the conical part from the APU. And blackening is just a consequence of overheating. In addition, the plane was constantly repainted.
P.S. Photos of APU on A321:
Unsuccessful launch of APU on A321:
A320 aircraft APU doors operation
P.P.S. There are also interesting search results for "black soot on apu".
On October 31, 2015, the Russian plane Airbus A321 of the airline "Kogalymavia" (Metrojet), performing flight 9268 Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg, on Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
There were 224 people on board, including 217 passengers (58 men, 134 women and 25 children - of which 212 people were citizens Russian Federation, four people - citizens of Ukraine, one citizen of Belarus) and seven crew members.
The plane flew mostly residents of St. Petersburg. Residents of neighboring regions also returned to Russia - Leningrad region, Novgorod, Pskov, Karelia, several people from other subjects of the Federation. All on board were killed. The catastrophe became the largest in the history of Russian and Soviet aviation.
The plane Airbus-A321 of the airline "Kogalymavia" (Metrojet), in which the tour operator Brisco, took off from Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) to St. Petersburg on October 31 at 06.51 Moscow time and disappeared from the radar screens 23 minutes later. According to the Egyptian government civil aviation, the liner followed at an altitude of 9.4 kilometers, then dropped sharply by 1.5 kilometers, after which it disappeared from the radar.
The fate of the aircraft has not been reported for a long time. The liner disappeared from the radar screens in the Cyprus region, therefore, for half an hour, they could not determine the exact location of the possible crash.
For searches Russian aircraft was military aviation Egypt. The Israel Defense Forces are serving Egypt by dispatching a reconnaissance aircraft to participate in a search operation.
Debris A321 was found in the center of the Sinai Peninsula in the mountains between the areas of El-Kantal and El-Laxim near the city of Al-Hasna. To identify the aircraft, the emergency services of Egypt were sent to the place of detection, where a large-scale search and rescue operation was carried out.
In agreement with Cairo, a grouping of forces and means of the Russian unified state system prevention and elimination emergencies(RSChS) in the amount of more than one thousand people and 250 pieces of equipment, of which more than 660 people and 100 pieces of equipment are from the EMERCOM of Russia, as well as psychologists of the EMERCOM of Russia.
On-site search operations were organized with the use of unmanned aircraft and space monitoring data, more than 40 square kilometers of territory were surveyed.
On the day of the plane crash, two A321 onboard emergency recorders were found in Cairo - voice and parametric.
In connection with the crash of a Russian plane in Egypt, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the declaration of mourning in the country on November 1, 2015. The authorities of St. Petersburg until November 3, and the Leningrad region - until November 4.
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation on the fact of the plane crash of a Russian plane in Egypt was first under the article "Violation of the rules of flights and preparation for them", then another one under the article "Performing work or rendering services that do not meet safety requirements." Later they were in one production.
On behalf of the President, the Russian government in connection with the disaster, headed by the Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov. The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) was led by executive director committee of Viktor Sorochenko.
Cairo immediately after the disaster, all interested countries about the opportunity to take part in the investigation of the tragedy. A special one was created, it included specialists from five countries: Russia, Egypt, France (the state of the aircraft developer), Germany (the state of the aircraft manufacturer) and Ireland (the state of registration). Ayman al-Mukaddam was appointed head of the commission to investigate the disaster.
On November 1, 2015, Egyptian Attorney General Nabil Ahmed Sadek is investigating the causes of the crash with a Russian plane in the Sinai Peninsula. According to the Russian ambassador to Cairo, Sergei Kirpichenko, Russia and Egypt have, according to which Russian specialists have access to almost everywhere they want to go as part of the investigation of the A321 crash.
A group of investigators and criminologists of the central office of the Investigative Committee of Russia, in agreement with the competent authorities and together with representatives of the Republic of Egypt, in accordance with the norms of national and international law, participated in the inspection of the site of the plane crash in Egypt.
The head of the FSB of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bortnikov, during a meeting in the Kremlin on the results of the investigation into the causes of the crash of the Russian plane, said that as a result of the study of personal belongings, luggage and parts of the plane, wrecked in Egypt, traces of foreign-made explosives were identified. It happened like a terrorist attack.
In turn Egyptian authorities... Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri said that this criminal case considers the attack as one of the versions.
In March 2016, the International Commission to Investigate the crash of the Russian A321 aircraft announced that it had transferred it from the Investigative Committee of Russia to the General Prosecutor's Office of Egypt to complete legal procedures. The commission itself, despite the transfer of the case to the investigative bodies of the state security of the country, will continue the technical examination of the wreckage of the liner.
In mid-April, Attorney General of Egypt Nabil Sadek about the crash of a Russian plane to the Supreme Prosecutor's Office state security country. The decision of the head of the supervisory department, it was noted in the text of the statement, was made on the basis of the data of the report of the Investigative Committee of Russia, "which indicates the suspicion of a criminal trace."
In June, CIA Director John Brennan, speaking in the US Senate, announced that American intelligence was involved in the explosion on the Russian A321 passenger plane of the Egyptian group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist movement banned in many countries (IS), and on August 4, the Egyptian Ministry of Defense announced the elimination of the leader of this terrorist group.
On August 28, the crash investigation commission began "laying out" the fragments of the aircraft structure in the aircraft hangar in the city of Cairo, where they were delivered from the crash site. after its completion, the point from which the destruction of the liner hull began was determined.
According to media reports, when analyzing the layout of the collected fragments of the A321 in the hangar of the Cairo airport, experts that the terrorists placed an explosive device in the tail of the vessel, the explosion caused the tail section to separate and an uncontrolled dive. According to them, Russia has almost completed a report on the causes of the disaster, unequivocally pointing out the terrorist trail: a powerful explosive device with a clockwork mechanism was used, which provoked a strong blast wave and fire.
Investigation into the case of the crash of the Russian A321 over the Sinai Peninsula. On October 24, it became known that a commission of inquiry, formed by the Egyptian Attorney General's Office, sent twelve wreckage of the liner to a scientific laboratory for alloys for detailed research.
After the disaster, there were flights to Egypt from the Russian Federation and a tourist flow. Russia announced the need to ensure security at Egyptian airports to resume air traffic between the countries. Flights to this country have also been suspended by a number of European airlines. The Egyptian authorities are making great efforts to improve security measures at resort areas and airports, wanting to restore tourist flow. In the months that have passed since the tragedy, many foreign expert delegations have visited the security inspection of Egyptian airports in Cairo, Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
On the morning of October 31, a plane crash occurred on the territory of the Sinai Peninsula, which claimed the lives of 224 people. 30 minutes after take-off, the Kogalymavia Airbus А321 airliner disappeared from the radar while it was making a flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. The plane began to rapidly lose altitude and, according to preliminary information, collapsed before falling.
The Sinai plane crash was the largest in terms of the number of casualties in the history of Russian and Soviet aviation. Before that, the tragedy that occurred near Uchkuduk on July 10, 1985 headed the sad list. Then the Tu-154 disaster claimed the lives of 200 people.
What happened on Saturday in the Sinai Peninsula? While experts are dealing with the contents of the "black boxes" of the crashed liner, the first versions of what happened are already emerging.
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Engine failure
The most popular version is aircraft engine failure. According to some reports, a few minutes before the crash, the pilots contacted the dispatchers and requested permission for an emergency landing due to the failure of one of the engines, according to others - nothing like this happened. Egyptian officials adhere to the second option: no one contacted the ground, the flight took place as usual.
The Egyptian press cites the words of one of local residents, who allegedly saw how one of the turbines caught fire in the air.
However, this version also has weak points. For the plane to crash, several engines had to fail. In other words, the failure of one engine could not lead to a plane crash.
Airplane damage on another flight
The second version - the plane was damaged in some other flight and they were simply not noticed in time. And if they noticed, then the plane was poorly "patched". The crashed airliner was 18 years old, during such a period of operation during flights, emergency situations... So, 14 years ago, when landing in Cairo, the plane hit its tail hard, after which it was under repair for a long time.
Plane crashes due to poor-quality repairs or negligent inspection of aircraft are not the greatest rarity. So, on August 12, 1985, the Boeing-747 plane crash near Tokyo claimed the lives of 520 people. It turned out that the cause of the tragedy was poorly carried out repairs: the workers had poorly welded the pressure bulkhead, which fell off during the flight along with the elevators.
The plane became practically uncontrollable, the pilots kept the airliner in the air for another half hour, managing to control the airliner by decreasing and increasing the thrust of the engines. However, then the plane crashed into the mountain.
According to an Egyptian technician who examined the Airbus A321 before departure, it was perfectly serviceable.
The plane was shot down
The latest of the most popular versions. The plane could have been shot down by militants of the Islamic State terrorist group banned in Russia. Currently, a bloody war is going on in the Sinai Peninsula between the troops of the Egyptian government and the Islamic State.
It is possible that the militants fired a rocket that shot down the plane. However, against this version speaks the lack of the appropriate means of IS, because the liners fly at an altitude of about 9-10 thousand meters. It is possible to shoot down the liner only with the help of the missile system.
However, on the eve there was information that the plane did not have time to gain the height of the echelon, which means it could well become a target for MANPADS. IS has already published a video showing how a certain plane was shot down by a rocket, but there are great doubts about the authenticity of the record.
Some conclusions can be drawn after an official investigation by the IAC and decryption of the "black boxes". As part of the investigation into the crash of the Airbus A321, investigators seized documents on the maintenance of the vessel. In Samara, samples of fuel were withdrawn from the place of the last refueling of the aircraft, said the official representative of the TFR Vladimir Markin.
"Investigative Committee of Russia will check all possible versions that could lead to a tragedy, including about technical malfunction aircraft, "- said Markin.
