Stephen Lendman – On October 31, Kolavia Metrojet (commercial airliner) Flight 7K9268 crashed 23 minutes after takeoff from Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, heading for St. Petersburg, Russia – killing all 217 passengers and seven crew members aboard, including 25 children.
News reports called the crash the worst aviation disaster in Russian history. Putin declared Sunday a day of mourning for its victims.
A criminal investigation began by searching operator Kogalymavia’s offices, checking for possible violations of Russian airliner safety standards.
A separate investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash, most likely a technical failure. Russia’s Air Transport won’t speculate on what happened until more is known – including decoding the recovered black boxes, containing invaluable information.
A Sinai, Egypt based group connected to ISIS claimed responsibility, saying:
“Soldiers of the Caliphate were able to bring down a Russian plane above Sinai Province with at least 220 Russian crusaders aboard.” Continue reading →