A year has passed since the terrible plane crash over Sinai, which claimed the lives of 224 people. This period became a very difficult test for the relatives of the victims. New photographs from the scene of the plane crash appeared in the media every now and then, and on social networks scammers tried to profit from the grief of others by posing as family members of the victims of the terrorist attack. After the death of their relatives, some went deep into themselves, others began to divide their children and living space, and still others still cannot bury their loved ones, because the bodies of six people have still not been identified. AiF.ru found out how the relatives of those killed over the Sinai live a year after the tragedy.
Those greeting us hoped until the very end that the plane would land in St. Petersburg. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova
“The last wish is to find the culprits”
A year after the Airbus A321 crashed over Sinai, the investigation into the deaths of 224 people continues. Those who planted the bomb on the plane have not yet been found, but recently experts were able to identify the specific place where the explosives were located: the terrorists hid TNT between baby carriages at the rear of the plane. New information about the progress of the investigation appears in the media almost every day, but most of the relatives of the victims do not follow this news: anyway, their loved ones cannot be brought back, and constant reminders of the tragedy only open up still fresh wounds.
Emergency Situations Ministry employees provided psychological assistance to the relatives of the flight passengers. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova
Petersburg woman Natalya Zavgorodnyaya, who lost her parents on October 31, 2015, devotes all her free time to helping abandoned animals. “Natasha threw herself into her work,” the girl’s friends say. “It helps take your mind off grief.” Natasha helps animals, looking for a new home for them. All publications and stories cause her even more pain.” Mother Alexey Gromov, who died along with his wife Tatiana and 10 month old daughter Darina, on the contrary, is closely monitoring the progress of the investigation. According to the woman, her life is over, but one last wish remains: that those responsible for the death of her children and granddaughter, “the most important passenger” of flight No. 9268, be punished.
Relatives of the plane's passengers tried to find information about the flight. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova
Compensation for the death of relatives
Currently, all families of the victims have received monetary compensation. The relatives were paid a million rubles each by the St. Petersburg authorities, and another million by the insurance company. True, to receive this money, some people had to spend a lot of time and nerves. It turned out that compensation is provided only for immediate relatives - children and parents. Compensation for the dead grandchildren, grandmothers or grandfathers had to be sought in court. I encountered this problem Shein family, who lost in a plane crash not only her adult children, but also three grandchildren. Now all financial issues have finally been settled.
About 70 families with whom I worked lawyer Igor Trunov, will receive an additional million dollars from the American leasing company International Lease Finance Corporation, the owner of the crashed Airbus. The matter did not come to court proceedings: the company has already confirmed its readiness to make payments. Most families did not turn to a well-known lawyer: for many, the three million rubles they had already received were enough. Besides, as we know, money cannot relieve grief.
After the terrible news, information about the flight was removed from Pulkovo electronic displays. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova
Return of the Prodigal Father
It was money relations that became a bone of contention in many families of the victims. So, after the disaster, the father of the deceased Alisa Vitalieva, who had not communicated with his daughter for many years, immediately appeared on the horizon. The girl's mother and his ex-wife Irina also died in the plane crash. When Denis and Irina Vitaliev divorced, the woman raised her daughter alone, and the ex-husband did not participate in the girl’s life in any way and did not pay alimony: he had a new family. However, Irina was calm about the girl’s future, because Alice was supposed to inherit the apartment of her grandmother, Irina’s mother. When the tragedy occurred, the girl’s father immediately rushed to St. Petersburg, received compensation in the amount of 3 million rubles for her death and told his ex-mother-in-law, Elena Stepanovna Voitenko that now, by law, he claims half of her apartment, since Alice will no longer inherit.
The 63-year-old pensioner was outraged by such impudence, but then she had no time to sort things out: the pain of losing her beloved daughter and granddaughter was too great. Meanwhile, Denis Vitaliev, realizing that the law was on his side, wrote an application for inheritance. Currently, the conflict between the former relatives remains open: they have to go through many trials. “He did not raise his daughter and did not help financially,” says Alisa’s grandmother. “And now I’ve written an application for inheritance, although I promised not to lay claim to my home.” He decided to take the last thing away from me!”
On October 31, 2015, emergency workers and an ambulance were on duty near the airport. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova
6 people are still not buried
Brother of Irina Vitalieva Alexander, unlike his careless son-in-law, did not try to take away anyone’s property, but organized a charitable foundation to help the relatives of those killed in the Flight 9268 disaster over Sinai. A St. Petersburg resident who lost his sister and niece found the strength to support other people. Alexander organizes memorial events in the city and is actively working to approve a monument to the victims of the terrorist attack.
According to the foundation, several families still cannot bury their loved ones: six of the dead have not yet been identified. Their remains are kept in the St. Petersburg crematorium all year, but are not subject to examination to establish their identity. People are patiently waiting for the newly discovered remains in Egypt, after being studied, to be transferred to St. Petersburg so that relatives can identify and bury their dead loved ones. If the identification procedure does not take place, the remains of six people will be buried in a mass grave.
Exactly one year after the tragedy, at 7:14 a.m. on October 31, a memorial service for the dead passengers of flight 9268 will be held in the Trinity Cathedral of St. Petersburg. On this day, their relatives will gather together again to remember those who can no longer be returned.
In memory of the victims of the Sinai disaster, 224 flying cranes were created in St. Petersburg. Photo: Charitable Foundation "Flight 9268"
On the morning of October 31, 2015, an A-321 plane en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg crashed on the Sinai Peninsula.
The worst plane crash in recent years. The airliner, owned by the Kogalymavia company, was flying from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to St. Petersburg. It crashed about 30 minutes after it took off.
How many people were on board the plane
There were 224 people on board at the time of the tragedy. Among them were seven members of the aircraft crew, as well as 29 children. Almost all of the dead are Russians.
How many children died?
The Airbus A321 crash killed 29 children.
Total number of victims in the plane crash in Egypt
All passengers and crew members, 224 people, died in the plane crash. The bodies of the victims were delivered to St. Petersburg; they will be sent to the city crematorium for the identification procedure.
Cause of plane crash: black boxes (video)
The decryption of the black boxes will be carried out in Egypt. The exact cause of the plane crash will be established only after a full examination of the flight recorder data.
The reasons for the plane crash in Egypt were a terrorist attack. Expert version (Video)
Relatives of the victims in the program on NTV (video)
Relatives of the victims, who lost several loved ones at once, came to the NTV program.
List of dead in Egypt 10/31/2015
The crew of the Airbus A321 aircraft of the KagalymAvia airline 7K9268:
1. Nemov Valery Yuryevich - PIC
2. Trukhachev Sergey Stanislavovich - 2nd pilot
3. Martsevich Valentina Petrovna - senior. flight attendant
4. Belomestnov Andrey Vitalievich - flight attendant
5. Olaru Irina Dmitrievna - flight attendant
6. Sviridov Stanislav Vasilievich - flight attendant
7. Filimonov Alexey Andreevich - flight attendant
List of passengers on the Airbus A321 aircraft of the KagalymAvia airline 7K9268:
Republic of Karelia
1. Semakov* Alexey Andreevich 10/08/1979
2. Semakova Oksana Aleksandrovna 09/23/1975
Arhangelsk region
3. Chernova Alexandra Alekseevna 03/02/1996
Leningrad region
4. Gromov Alexey Mikhailovich 06/01/1988
5. Gromova Tatyana Sergeevna 12/09/1988
6. Gromova Darina Alekseevna 12/26/2014
7. Bogdanov Dmitry Evgenievich 01/27/1969
8. Bogdanov Anton Dmitrievich 10/28/2005
9. Bogdanova Anastasia Dmitrievna 10/04/1993
10. Ivleva Maria Romanova 09/07/2000
11. Grechkina Tatyana Ivanovna 01/20/1952
12. Radlevich Alla Ivanovna 07/02/1959
13. Radlevich Alexander Mikhailovich 01/04/1956
14. Sayapina Natalya Vladimirovna 10/24/1975
15. Sayapin Alexey Viktorovich 09/23/1970
16. Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Laisheva 01/17/1991
17. Kuznetsova Natalya Vladimirovna 02/05/1986
18. Pavlova Irina Gennadievna 09/23/1963
19. Mikhailyukova Valentina Stepanovna 03/18/1955
20. Kharitonov Leonid Nikolaevich 04/05/1971
21. Kiselev Anatoly Sergeevich 08/21/1983
22. Khusainova Elena Ruslanovna 01/02/1967
23. Kharitonova Oksana Alekseevna 08/17/1971
24. Kharitonova Anastasia Leonidovna 05.11.2001
25. Sergeeva Elena Vladimirovna 05/29/1953
26. Shurko Natalya Viktorovna 08/29/1971
27. Smirnov Yuri Nikolaevich 09/12/1960
28. Simanova Margarita Arkadyevna 04/26/1962
29. Shulginova Olga Viktorovna 10/13/1980
30. Smirnova Irina Leonidovna 04/30/1966
31. Tarasova Larisa Fedorovna 10/23/1954
32. Tarasov Alexander Petrovich 07/19/1953
33. Zueva Marina Sergeevna 02/12/1990
34. Vinogradskaya Evgenia Valerievna 11/26/1986
35. Fedorova Tatyana Aleksandrovna 12/08/1979
36. Dunaeva Nina Nikolaevna 06/08/1953
37. Kim Lyudmila Viktorovna 07/04/1975
38. Alexandrov Alexander Sergeevich 07/11/1976
39. Bashakova Nadezhda Aleksandrovna 11/15/1937
40. Bespalova Galina Nikolaevna 09/16/1949
41. Podlevskikh Maria Valentinovna 03/20/1975
42. Kalinina Olga Viktorovna 12/10/1973
43. Ivleva Marina Aleksandrovna 01/10/1971
44. Semenov Alexander Petrovich 05/10/1966
45. Zorkina Anna Valerievna 03/10/1984
46. Zorkina Anna Viktorovna 08/15/1986
Murmansk region
47. Kozlova Lyubov Vladimirovna 07/01/1963
Pskov region
48. Tikhomirov Alexey Nikolaevich 05/22/1981
49. Melnikova Elena Mikhailovna 10/27/1962
50. Pikaleva Irina Georgievna 03/15/1959
51. Vitalieva Alisa Denisovna 02/28/2001
52. Vitaleva Irina Sergeevna 02/05/1978
53. Kozhemyakova Ekaterina Nikolaevna 08/19/1982
54. Kopylov Alexander Mikhailovich
55. Gorbatenko Andrey Yurievich 07/14/1980
56. Murashova Ekaterina Sergeevna 05.11.1983
Novgorod region
57. Smolenkova Tatyana Vladislavovna 04/27/1952
58. Ishchenko Irina Nikolaevna 01/31/1953
59. Galanova Elena Evgenievna 10/23/1972
60. Rostenko Natalya Nikolaevna 01/08/1959
61. Vasilyeva Marina Nikolaevna 09/01/1958
62. Gomechko Lyudmila Nikolaevna 05/25/1958
63. Lushchenko Nina Vasilievna 07/08/1955
64. Mikhailov Igor Gennadievich 08/26/1978
65. Nikolaeva Ekaterina Ivanovna 03/21/1973
66. Yasmenko Tatyana Ivanovna 07/15/1983
67. Osipov Ilya Vladimirovich 02/04/1980
68. Osipov Zakhar Ilyich 05/06/2007
69. Mozgina Lyubov Nikolaevna 12/22/1975
70. Mozgina Alisa Maksimovna 05/14/2014
71. Zamolotova Galina Nikolaevna 01/09/1953
Saint Petersburg
72. Alekseev Alexey Sergeevich 12/07/1983
73. Gerasina Vera Alekseevna 09/16/2009
74. Girin Dmitry Vladimirovich 09/23/1983
75. Glidyaev Denis Nikolaevich 01/17/1982
76. Golenkov Vladimir Lvovich 03/26/1967
77. Kalinina Evgenia Ivanovna 05/05/1951
78. Yatskova Daria Alexandrovna 09/23/1995
79. Yavsin Evgeniy Valerievich 03/02/1994
80. Bogdanova Valeria Sergeevna 11/16/1990
81. Brulo Evgeniy Alexandrovich 11/21/1966
82. Golenkova Diana Eminovna 09/02/2011
83. Golenkova Victoria Yurievna 07/14/1970
84. Golubeva Nina Valerievna 01/21/1972
85. Dementich Tatyana Viktorovna 05/07/1951
86. Elena Borisovna Dudchenko 11/28/1968
87. Korenko Lyudmila Alekseevna 04/07/1954
88. Kondrashkova Marina Vladimirovna 11/12/1990
89. Gordin Leonid Valerievich 11/27/1986
90. Grigorieva Daria Yuryevna 12/29/1991
91. Grigorieva Ekaterina Sergeevna 07/02/2003
92. Vetlugina Natalya Mikhailovna 04/08/1979
93. Fedorov Fedor Dmitrievich 02/17/2010
94. Dushechkina Valeria Andreevna 05/10/2005
95. Krasnova Yulia Sergeevna 06/15/1992
96. Ogorodova Ksenia Aleksandrovna 02/09/1982
97. Nayok Maxim Sergeevich 04/08/1988
98. Danilenko Nadezhda Eduardovna 04/18/1990
99. Fedorova Elena Vladimirovna 01/07/1975
100. Orleanskaya Irina Andreevna 01/20/1988
101. Orleansky Dmitry Sergeevich 11/27/1984
102. Rodina Elena Nikolaevna 11/01/1980
103. Sagdatullina Natalia Anatolyevna 03/05/1964
104. Sakerina Vlada Andreevna 09/11/1992
105. Sakerin Ilya Alexandrovich 05/31/1990
106. Salakhbekov Daniyal Magomednabievich 05/16/2001
107. Salakhbekova Diana Magomednabievna 03/31/2006
108. Movchanov Vladislav Igorevich 07/29/1984
109. Miller Timur Maratovich 03/22/1982
110. Maksimova Maria Vladimirovna 01/01/1974
111. Maksimov Alexander Dmitrievich 10/07/2000
112. Vera Ivanovna Lapshina 09/01/1946
113. Kurkaedova Irina Vyacheslavovna 10/27/1955
114. Krylova Svetlana Viktorovna 05/06/1985
115. Krotov Alexander Alekseevich 04/12/1979
116. Osipova Natalya Anatolyevna 02/21/1962
117. Panina* Alexandra Petrovna 03/30/1990
118. Panina Tatyana Leonidovna 12/30/1959
119. Pavlova Olga Alexandrovna 09/24/1973
120. Kovaleva Irina Aleksandrovna 09/02/1967
121. Kononirova Elena Valerievna 01/16/1985
122. Mokievskaya Tatyana Vasilievna 05/23/1988
123. Moiseeva Elena Vladimirovna 04/18/1976
124. Moiseeva Alena Andreevna 08/22/2010
125. Ponomareva Nadezhda Vladimirovna 01/17/1974
126. Gingerbread Evgeniy Andreevich 02/03/2004
127. Kurbatova Tatyana Vladimirovna 08/29/1967
128. Kulikova Yulia Vitalievna 01/16/1990
129. Pukhkaeva Elena Anatolyevna 04/26/1963
130. Krylova Kristina Mikhailovna 11/18/2005
131. Krylov Mikhail Yurievich 04.01. 1982
132. Kochkin Anton Yurievich 01/29/1967
133. Khmelevsky Dmitry Valerievich 07/10/1989
134. Savelyev Pavel Vladimirovich 07/06/1975
135. Yavsina Elizaveta Aleksandrovna 08/12/1970
136. Illarionova Alexandra Ivanovna 08/14/1987
137. Schiller Daria Viktorovna 07/23/1983
138. Shikhina Ekaterina Valerievna 03/31/1990
139. Sheina Olga Aleksandrovna 05/10/1985
140. Sheina Anastasia Yurievna 03/07/2012
141. Shein Yuri Vyacheslavovich 04/01/1977
142. Sharova Irina Mikhailovna 07/22/1977
143. Sergeeva Sofia Petrovna 03/14/1953
144. Sergeev Gennady Alekseevich 03.11.1955
145. Sergeev Alexey Vladimirovich 03/19/1951
146. Timoshenko Andrey Nikolaevich 05/20/1975
147. Ivanova Iraida Aleksandrovna 05/22/1938
148. Ivanyuk Galina Vladimirovna 12/28/1957
149. Voskresenskaya* Elvira Aleksandrovna 02/08/1987
150. Gavrikov Alexander Viktorovich 01/04/1980
151. Volzhenkova Anna Vladimirovna 05/02/1987
152. Vinnik Alexander Olegovich 02/06/2012
153. Skorodumova Lyudmila Yuryevna 09/19/1953
154. Skorodumov Viktor Alexandrovich 08/11/1951
155. Shulginov Kirill Evgenievich 05/04/2012
156. Shulginov Evgeny Vladimirovich 02/08/1979
157. Vinnik Dmitry Olegovich 09/06/2013
158. Smirnova Vera Vasilievna 09/16/1941
159. Vinnik Mariana
160. Terekhina Galina Fedorovna 11/14/1959
161. Zhimalenkov Miron Sergeevich 07/27/2013
162. Zhimalenkova Elena Vladimirovna 02/16/1986
163. Tishinskaya Anna Andreevna 10/02/1988
164. Solovyova Tatyana Mikhailovna 06/10/1957
165. Sologubova Evgenia Aleksandrovna 01/12/1990
166. Sokolova Irina Sergeevna 05/20/1986
167. Vetlugin Alexander Arkadevich 07/26/1980
168. Gaydamak Alina Nikolaevna 04/30/1988
169. Volkova Yulia Nikolaevna 04/28/1967
170. Volkov Nikolay Nikolaevich 12/12/1982
171. Volyanskaya Ekaterina Valentinovna 07/22/1992
172. Vishnev Artem Napolenovich 10/26/1988
173. Evgrafova Evgenia Andreevna 06/07/1988
174. Fedorkov Mikhail Andreevich 09/07/1988
176. Gerasina Yulia Borisovna 05/29/1973
177. Zhimalenkov Sergey Evgenievich 08/13/1983
178. Gaydamak Elena Vyacheslavovna 06/08/1965
179. Volkova Marina Vladimirovna 11/14/1965
180. Akimov Mikhail Evgenievich 05/30/1973
181. Amosov Andrey Vladimirovich 12/08/1964
182. Anikeeva Margarita Yakovleva 09/14/1949
183. Anisimov Viktor Anatolyevich 05/07/1962
184. Baglaev Pavel Vladimirovich 12/12/1960
185. Butkevich Alexander Konstantinovich 08/27/1955
186. Danilova Natalya Sergeevna 08/24/1987
187. Prusakova Svetlana Nikolaevna 12/20/1957
188. Pyatochenko Nelya Vladimirovna 01/20/1963
189. Mnatsakanov Leonid Vartanovich 11/07/1975
190. Statskaya Anastasia Vasilievna 04/27/1992
191. Kantserova Valeria Valerievna 02/21/1983
192. Pilip Alexandra Fedorovna 01/21/1968
193. Pulyanov Roman Anatolyevich 11/13/1985
194. Dobritsa Rimma Askhatovna 08/07/1971
195. Dobritsa Andrey Vladimirovich 02/18/1971
196. Sevryukova Victoria Alekseevna 01/22/1991
197. Jorgen Elena Vladimirovna 10/04/1971
198. Tikhomirova Anastasia Andreevna 06/03/1987
199. Brulo Maria Vyacheslavovna 01/28/1967
200. Domestic Elena Alexandrovna 11/15/1990
201. Kirillova Olga Vladimovich
Tambov region (Tambov)
202. Klochkov Alexey Yurievich 07/01/1989
203. Klochkova Svetlana Sergeevna 01/25/1989
Tyumen region (Tyumen)
204. Tomina Elena Vladimirovna 09/01/1969
Krasnoyarsk region
205. Plowman Anna Mikhailovna 07/11/1990
Smolensk region
206. Buleva Yulia Vyacheslavovna 07/15/1990
Altai Territory (Barnaul)
207. Maslennikova Yulia Yuryevna 03/05/1988
Perm (Volga Federal District)
208. Cossack Lyubov Vasilievna 06.11.1957
Udmurt republic
209. Shishkina Maria Andreevna 09/21/1987
Republic of Belarus
210. Seredinsky Roman Anatolyevich 06/05/1987
Republic of Ukraine
211. Sachuk Vladimir Viktorovich 06/17/1989
212. Usatova Irina Vladimirovna 02/13/1972
213. Usatov Kirill 03/15/1999
214. Movchanova Lilia 06/14/1991
Location not determined
215. Vasilyeva Lilia
216. Grigorieva Natalya
217. Ulyanov Roman Anatolyevich
Exactly two years have passed since the death of 224 people over Sinai. The vast majority of those killed were Russian citizens. The FSB of the Russian Federation, and after it the Egyptian authorities, recognized the tragic incident as a terrorist attack. However, its perpetrators have not yet been found. It remains unclear who ordered this terrible crime.
Exactly two years ago, on October 31, 2015, the most massive plane crash in terms of the number of deaths occurred in the entire history of Russia.
On this day, an Airbus A321-231 airliner of the Russian airline Kogalymavia took off from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and headed for St. Petersburg. The crew of the airliner was operating a charter flight and was taking Russian tourists home after a vacation.
The plane climbed calmly along the Gulf of Aqaba and would soon cross the Sinai Peninsula to enter European airspace. However, at the 23rd minute of the flight, communication between ground services and the aircraft was interrupted.
It soon became clear that the Airbus A321-231 crashed to the ground in the central part of the Sinai Peninsula and was completely destroyed.
The wreckage of the aircraft was scattered over 13 km. All 224 people on board the plane were killed.
At the time of the death of the airliner, there were seven crew members and 217 passengers. Of these, four were Ukrainians, one was Belarusian, and the rest were Russian citizens. Among them was Alexander Kopylov, deputy head of Pskov and deputy of the local legislative assembly.
According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, the oldest passenger was 77 years old, and the youngest victim of the tragedy was 10-month-old Darina Gromova.
Shortly before the tragic incident, her mother Tatyana published a photo of the child on a page on the VKontakte social network. The photo shows the girl standing on the windowsill of an airport window with her back to the viewer. She looks at the planes on the ground.
Tatyana Gromova captioned the photo: “The most important passenger.” This photograph was later circulated by many Russian and world media and became a symbol of the Sinai disaster.
Darina's mother and father also died as a result of the plane crash.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as the leaders of many countries in Europe and the world, expressed condolences to the victims. The day after the plane crashed, mourning was declared in Russia.
However, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published three cartoons on the topic of the disaster, which caused a negative reaction from the Russian Foreign Ministry and the State Duma. In response, the French Foreign Ministry stated that “in France, journalists freely express their opinions,” while “it does not always coincide with the official position of the French authorities.”
“There were no questions about the car”
Soon after the incident, various versions of what happened began to be put forward.
Almost immediately, the hypothesis that the plane crashed due to a pilot error was dismissed. The crashed Airbus was controlled by experienced pilots, and the crew commander, 48-year-old Valery Nemov, had flown over 12 thousand hours, of which more than 3860 were on the Airbus A321.
However, details of the aircraft’s operation soon became known, and it turned out that it was far from new. It was released in the spring of 1997 and made its first flight on May 9. After this, the aircraft was transferred to the American company International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), which by May 27 leased it to the Lebanese airline Middle East Airlines (MEA), which had owned it for six years.
On June 2, 2003, already under tail number TC-OAE, the airliner was leased to the Turkish airline Onur Air. This structure later sub-leased the aircraft to Saudi Arabian Airlines, and from July 30 to September 29, 2010 to Syrian Cham Wings Airlines. By the spring of 2012, the TC-OAE board returned to ILFC, and by March 30, 2012, it was leased to the Russian Kogalymavia.
On April 30 of the same 2012, it was bought from ILFC by the Dutch airline AerCap, which re-delivered this airliner to the Russian Kogalymavia. The Russian airline, in turn, has already been operating under the Metrojet brand since May 1, 2012.
During the long service of the aircraft, an unpleasant incident occurred from a safety point of view. On November 16, 2001, he was flying passenger flight ME 306 on the route Beirut - Cairo and during landing at the airport in the Egyptian capital, the pilots raised his nose too high, as a result of which the tail dropped so low that it hit the ground.
None of the 88 people on board the plane (81 passengers and 7 crew members) were injured then, and the airliner itself returned to passenger routes after undergoing repairs. This information was confirmed by representatives of Kagalymavia, assuring that the aircraft passed all the necessary checks and technical tests on time.
On the eve of departure, the ill-fated flight underwent maintenance, and the receiving crew had no questions about the car.
Interrupted message
An investigation into the causes of the tragedy was launched by several large structures from around the world, since Egypt is a very popular tourist destination among citizens of many countries.
The investigation was carried out by the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee, the French Bureau of Civil Aviation Safety Investigation and Analysis, the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation, the Irish Air Accident Investigation Department, and the US National Transportation Safety Board.
At the same time, in accordance with international law, general management was carried out by Egyptian investigators, since the incident occurred in the airspace of this country. Already on the first of November, the previously found “black boxes” from the lost liner were deciphered.
Meanwhile, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened criminal cases under Articles 263 and 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation of traffic safety rules and operation of railway, air, sea and inland water transport and the subway” and “Production, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products, execution works or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements").
On November 16, the head of the FSB of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bortnikov, said that the disaster occurred as a result of a terrorist attack - a homemade explosive device with a capacity of up to 1 kg of TNT went off.
This became clear after traces of an explosive not made in Russia were found on the wreckage of the plane and the belongings of passengers.
And the next day, Russian security forces turned to the Russian and international community for assistance in identifying the terrorists. A reward of $50 million has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the criminals.
Egyptian law enforcement officials did not recognize the tragedy as a terrorist attack for some time; they did so only in February 2016.
Be that as it may, already in November 2015, the Russian authorities decided to completely interrupt air traffic with this Arab country until the situation in the field of aviation security is normalized.
At the same time, the remaining Russian tourists at that time were taken out of Egypt upon the end of their tourist packages, but only hand luggage was allowed on board the planes, and luggage was delivered separately, on special flights of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The UK and German airlines also interrupted flights with the Egyptian state, and France, the Netherlands and Belgium warned their citizens against flying to Sharm el-Sheikh. In addition, Turkish Airlines announced the cancellation of night flights to Sharm el-Sheikh.
Customers not identified
Meanwhile, the victims in the disaster case filed a class action lawsuit against the tour operator, Kogalymavia airline and insurance companies for a total amount of about €1.4 billion. This is the first example of a class action lawsuit for such a serious amount in Russian history.
And although the involvement of Kagalymavia employees in the incident over Sinai is not confirmed by facts, in the spring of 2016, the Federal Air Transport Agency banned domestic and international flights of this airline.
According to the most frequently voiced version, the Sinai branch of the terrorist organization ISIS * “Wilayat Sinai” (both organizations are banned in Russia) is behind the terrorist attack. Its members accepted responsibility for this crime shortly after the fact.
However, there are other points of view. A number of experts believe that the Qatari organization Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (an ISIS cell) could be behind the terrorist attack. The US CIA also announced her trace in the tragedy.
Be that as it may, after the death of the plane, Russian aviation began to intensify air strikes against targets of various Islamist organizations in Syria. For the first time, Russian strategic aviation was involved in raids on the targets of ISIS and other extremists.
However, the names of the specific perpetrators of the terrorist attack have not yet been established.
And on October 28, 2017, a monument to the victims of the disaster was unveiled at the Serafimovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg.
In addition, among St. Petersburg residents there is an idea to erect a monument to 10-month-old Darina Gromova, which the famous sculptor Zurab Tsereteli has already promised to do for free.
Vladimir Vashchenko
* terrorist group banned in the Russian Federation
The biggest disaster in the history of our civil aviation occurred this morning. 224 people - passengers and crew of the flight Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg - crashed in Egypt, on the Sinai Peninsula. People were flying back from vacation with their families. 27 children among the dead. The Egyptian Prime Minister said that 129 bodies have been found so far. Experts are working on a "black box".
This is the first evidence of a plane crash in Sinai - photographs published by an Egyptian television channel. The first - for the whole day. Before this, there was not a single photograph, not a single video recording, even the shortest one. Towards evening, the first military helicopters carrying the remains of disaster victims from Sinai landed at the Egyptian Air Force Kabrit air base, a little over a hundred kilometers from Cairo. Ambulances - a long line of cars with lights flashing - transport them from the airbase to the Cairo morgue. Before nightfall, the bodies of almost all the dead were delivered to the Egyptian capital. From there they will be sent to Russia, to St. Petersburg.
“Since this tragic incident, our countries have been working in close contact. The President and the government of Egypt expressed condolences in this regard and offered to do everything possible to, firstly, conduct a joint investigation, and secondly, help in transporting the bodies of our citizens to their homeland ", said the Russian Ambassador to Egypt Sergei Kirpichenko.
Airbus Flight 9268 flew for only 23 minutes. Much longer - several hours after it disappeared from radar - conflicting information about the fate of the liner came. It was not immediately possible to create a more or less clear picture of what happened in the skies over Sinai.
Sharm el-Sheikh airport, 5 hours 51 minutes local time (6.51 Moscow time). The Kogalymavia airbus, a charter airline also known under the Metrojet brand, has taken off and is heading for St. Petersburg. There were almost no empty seats left. An experienced crew commander - 12 thousand flight hours, a third of which were on an Airbus 321. Almost immediately after takeoff, he discovered some problems on board, contacted the ground, reported the malfunctions, and asked for permission to land at the nearest airfield. At this point the session ended, and the Airbus did not make contact again. By 7:14 am Moscow time, the plane was lost by radar.
"At 7.14 I was supposed to establish a communication session with Larnaca, the Republic of Cyprus. Radio communication did not take place with the plane, it was lost. The aircraft's mark also disappeared from the radio radars of air traffic control services. There were 217 passengers and 7 crew members on board the plane, mostly citizens Russia," said Sergei Izvolsky, press secretary of the Federal Air Transport Agency.
Of the 217 passengers, 27 were children. Families were returning from a holiday in Sharm.
Judging by data from the Internet resource Flytradar, the last thing the earth recorded was that the plane dropped about two kilometers in altitude a minute before disappearing from the screens. The speed also dropped sharply: from almost 750 kilometers per hour, first to 350, and then to 170 kilometers per hour! This is the last thing the transponder transmitted, and these numbers are beyond critical. A large airliner simply cannot stay in the air at such a low speed. Moreover, according to witnesses who observed the crash of the Airbus, its engine seemed to be on fire.
The plane had already crashed - it fell in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, 35 kilometers from the city of El-Arish, and the press and news agencies continued to pour out contradictory messages. Someone immediately declared the plane crashed. Then information came that he allegedly got in touch again. Then all the confusing references to Egyptian dispatchers appeared, who allegedly claimed that they had handed over the Airbus to their Turkish colleagues. But this information was not confirmed either.
Closer to noon, it became clear that the plane did not leave Egyptian airspace. The prime minister of this country canceled all trips, called an emergency meeting and announced that the plane had crashed after all. A state of emergency has been declared in Sinai. And finally, in the afternoon, it was officially announced: the wreckage had been found.
“We have sent a working group of the Ministry of Civil Aviation to the scene of the crash. It will conduct an investigation, this is a standard procedure. Of course, we are in constant contact with the Russian ambassador,” said Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail.
Those who were the first to see the crash site with their own eyes conveyed news that finally buried hope: the liner was completely destroyed, there was no chance of finding survivors. After another half hour, rescuers began to remove the bodies of the dead from the rubble. Search efforts were complicated by the difficult mountainous terrain and the fact that the fallen airliner was literally scattered around the area.
An Egyptian security officer described a terrible scene to Reuters: "I am witnessing a tragic scene. There are many dead bodies lying on the ground, many of them fastened with seat belts in their seats. The plane is split into two parts. The first - a small tail part - is burned, the second - the large front part crashed into the rock. We have already recovered 100 bodies, the rest are still under the rubble. We heard dozens of phones that belonged to the dead ringing, our officers collected them in a bag."
The crashed Airbus 321 was in operation for about 19 years - this is quite acceptable in civil aviation; another question is how the plane was maintained. This particular aircraft served for several years in airlines in the countries of the Middle East region: Lebanon, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria. The Russian Kogalymavia acquired it in 2012.
Experts are looking into the causes of the tragedy, but photographs of the people remain. Photos of those who flew from Egypt, returned from vacation on flight 9268 and, before takeoff, managed to leave publications on social networks with the following caption, for example: “Hello, Peter, goodbye, Egypt. We are flying home.”
Exactly a year ago, on October 31, 2015, the A321 plane of the Russian airline Kogalymavia, flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, disappeared from radar 23 minutes after takeoff. There were 224 people on board: 217 passengers, mostly tourists from Russia, and seven crew members; none of them survived. About the consequences of the largest disaster in the history of Russian aviation and the progress of its investigation - in the RBC photo gallery.
October 31, 2015. The wreckage of the airliner was found near the airport in the city of El Arish on the Sinai Peninsula. Among the first versions of the disaster were a technical malfunction, external influence and an explosion on board.
The International Aviation Committee (IAC) said the spread of debris from the A321 indicated the plane broke up in mid-air. Following this, the Kogalymavia management said that this could only happen as a result of external influence.
November 1, 2015. The bodies of those killed in the A321 crash began to be delivered to St. Petersburg, and within five days the identification of the victims by external signs was completed. A month later, all identified remains were given to the relatives of the victims; it was decided to bury all unidentified remains in a mass grave in one of the St. Petersburg cemeteries.
In the photo: the bodies of those killed in the plane crash over Sinai were delivered to St. Petersburg
25 children aged from two to 17 years died in the disaster. On November 1, national mourning was declared in Russia. In St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, where most of the victims were from, mourning was extended for several days.
In the photo: a spontaneous memorial in the arrivals area of Pulkovo airport
November 3, 2015. The head of the Ministry of Labor, Maxim Topilin, reported to Vladimir Putin that the families of those killed in the plane crash will receive 2 million rubles from the state. In addition, the administration of St. Petersburg decided to pay them 500 thousand rubles each.
In the photo: a relative of one of those killed during a funeral at the Bogoslovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg
November 8, 2015. The commission to investigate the causes of the A321 plane crash has released the results of a preliminary analysis of the recordings of both “black boxes”. The recording of the parametric recorder did not contain information about the failure of the aircraft's systems and components, and it was interrupted as the airliner climbed to an altitude of 9,400 m. A day later, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the possibility of a terrorist attack could not be ruled out, including because of this, a decision was made to evacuating tourists and banning flights.
November 8, 2015. The Associated Press, citing employees of the Sharm el-Sheikh airport, reported serious systematic violations of airport security rules, non-functioning scanners and bribes of airport employees in the baggage inspection area. In particular, the agency wrote, there was practically no inspection of vehicles delivering food and fuel to the planes.
In the photo: Sharm el-Sheikh airport security near the passenger check-in counters
Photo: Alexey Nikolsky/press service of the President of the Russian Federation/TASS
November 17, 2015. The head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, at a meeting with Vladimir Putin, said that an explosive device with a capacity of up to 1 kg of TNT was detonated on board the A321, and traces of foreign-made explosives were found on the wreckage of the aircraft. The President ordered the Russian special services to find and destroy those responsible for the crash of the airliner.
In the photo: Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, President Vladimir Putin, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov (from left to right) during a minute of silence at the beginning of a meeting on the results of the investigation into the causes of the crash A321
November 18, 2015. The Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia distributed a photograph of an alleged explosive device planted on board the A321. In the photo, a can of Schweppes Gold soft drink lies against a blue background, and next to it is a suspected detonator. The Islamic State statement said that it was possible to install a bomb on board a Russian plane using a loophole in the security service at Sharm el-Sheikh airport.
November 20, 2015. The Federal Tourism Agency announced the completion of the evacuation program for Russian tourists from Egypt. It was reported that at the time of the tragedy their number was about 45 thousand people. At the end of the first quarter of 2016, revenues of the Egyptian tourism industry fell by 66%.
In the photo: the territory of one of the hotels in Sharm el-Sheikh in early November 2015
January 9, 2016. It became known that an EgyptAir technician, whose cousin joined the Islamic State terrorist group banned in Russia, is suspected of involvement in the A321 crash. The technician was detained along with two police officers working at Sharm el-Sheikh airport and a baggage handler who may have helped him get the bomb on board.
September 13, 2016. Experts in Egypt have identified the location of the bomb that led to the crash of the A321 plane in the skies over Sinai: it was planted in the oversized baggage compartment at the rear of the plane. It also turned out that the terrorists hired an airport service employee to plant the bomb: the package with explosives was brought into the compartment first, after which it was stuffed with baby strollers and furniture, securely hidden from prying eyes.
October 16, 2016. The Egyptian authorities said that the joint work of the Egyptian and Russian sides on the issue of resuming flights continues and they have hope for a quick resolution of the issue. The Egyptian side promised to eliminate all shortcomings identified by Russian experts in the security systems of local airports by winter, but Russian tour operators assume that flights will be resumed no earlier than spring 2017.
