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December 25, 2015 The terrorist attack on board the A321 was carried out using an improvised explosive device based on S-4 plastic explosives. As the Kommersant newspaper reported on Friday, citing its own source close to the investigation, this fact significantly expands the list of potential criminals.
The source said that Russian special services have established the possible nature of the explosive device. C-4 plastic explosive was developed in the USA and is now produced in many countries. Thus, the list of those suspected of participating in the preparation of a terrorist attack will be significantly expanded, which means that the search for them will be more complicated.
11/17/2015 The FSB confirmed the version of an explosion on board the Airbus A321.
Information about this was received by the resource site after a meeting between the director of the FSB and Vladimir Putin. As it became known, in all likelihood, the power of the explosive device detonated on board the Russian passenger airliner that crashed on the Sinai Peninsula was about 1 kilogram of TNT equivalent, however, in reality, we can talk about a much smaller amount of explosives that could serve only the initiator of further destruction of the aircraft in the air.
The cause of the explosion on board the Russian A321 over Sinai was an unknown suitcase, which one of the loaders received from an employee at Sharm el-Sheikh airport. According to Egyptian security sources, the baggage scanning machine was left unattended for some time.
The terrible tragedy that occurred on October 31, 2015, and took the lives of 224 people, is fraught with a lot of questions, and despite the fact that the flight recorders found at the crash site of the Airbus A321 airliner have not yet been deciphered, experts have already advanced far more than one version of why the plane crash could have happened.
Terrorist act
Almost immediately after information appeared about the crash of a passenger airliner of the Kogalymavia airline (Metrojet), versions appeared about a terrorist act that occurred on board the plane. It is extremely difficult to guess who could have carried it out, since there are not so few radical groups around the world, but experts who adhere to this version believe that these could be militants of the Islamic State, whose positions were so mercilessly destroyed in Syria by the Aerospace Forces over the course of a month Russian Federation.
Almost immediately after the presentation of this version, skeptics appeared, noting that the version of a terrorist act on board an aircraft is unlikely for the reason that in the event of an explosion on board, and it is most likely worth considering precisely these circumstances, very large damage would certainly be discovered, including those affecting both passengers and interior decoration salon However, it is worth noting the fact that even a small explosion inside the cabin of the aircraft would have been enough to depressurize it, and given the fact that the plane was at a high altitude, with a 99% probability we can say that the plane would have been destroyed.
Destroying an airplane from the ground
One of the first versions to emerge was that the passenger airliner of the domestic airline Kogalymavia could have been destroyed from the ground. This version was discussed in great detail until photographs and videos from the scene of the passenger airliner crash were made public. The presented photos and video materials clearly show that there is no external, or at least visible, damage to the fuselage from being hit by a missile, which minimizes the likelihood of such circumstances occurring, but at the same time does not completely exclude them.
Technical malfunction of the airliner
The most common cause of almost any plane crash is a technical malfunction, and at the moment, this version is followed by the majority of specialists involved in the investigation of a plane crash. At the moment, experts are not willing to say what exactly the nature of the malfunction was, since a variety of versions are possible, however, it is worth assuming that it arose very fleetingly.
Initially, it was assumed that a failed aircraft engine could be to blame for everything, however, it is fair to note the fact that modern airliners are very well insured against falling in the event of failure of one of the engines, since even when using only one power plant, the aircraft can in no way overcome less than 200-300 kilometers.
In addition, taking into account official data, before departure from the Egyptian airport, the passenger airliner of the Kogalymavia company was fully operational, and no technical problems causing concern were previously observed with it.
It is also worth clarifying that in the event of any technical malfunction, the crew of the aircraft first of all reports this to the air traffic controller, however, according to official data, the pilot passenger plane did not make any requests or notifications regarding technical problems that arose on board the aircraft.
Sudden depressurization of the aircraft
The last, very plausible version voiced was the so-called explosive depressurization. Considering the fairly large scatter of debris from a passenger airliner, as well as the rapidity of the process, this version is completely justified; however, the circumstances of the incident remain unknown, since initiating the process of instantaneous depressurization requires either a large hole in the fuselage of a passenger airliner, or a sharp increase in pressure inside the passenger aircraft , which can be caused precisely by the detonation of explosives on board the airliner, which again suggests a version of either a terrorist act, or a version of the deliberate destruction of the plane from the ground.
Experts note that most likely the main cause of the disaster will be named only after decoding the aircraft’s flight recorders, which, although they received some damage, are quite suitable for extracting information and data from them. It is expected that the first information from the flight recorders will be received by experts by the middle of this week.
Exactly a year ago, on October 31, 2015, the most massive plane crash in Russia in terms of the number of victims occurred. Then in the north of the Sinai Peninsula an A321 aircraft Russian airline"Kogalymavia". There were 217 passengers on board, including 24 children, and seven crew members. They all died. Russian authorities have recognized the incident as a terrorist attack, but the international investigation has not yet been completed.
On October 31, an A321 aircraft of the Russian airline Kogalymavia was performing chartered flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. The airliner took off at 5:50 am and disappeared from radar 23 minutes later. On the same day, Egyptian government search teams discovered the wreckage of a destroyed plane near the city of Nehel in the northern Sinai Peninsula. All 224 people on board died, including 219 Russians, four citizens of Ukraine and one native of Belarus.
Causes of the A321 crash
The international investigation, led by Egyptian aviation authorities, is not yet over. Representatives of Russia, France, Germany, Ireland and the USA take part in it.
Western media were the first to report that a terrorist attack could have occurred on board the A321, shortly after the plane crash, citing their sources in the intelligence services and officials. From these publications it followed that the US and British authorities considered the version of a terrorist attack to be the most likely. However, Moscow publicly distanced itself from it for a long time, calling the version of the terrorist attack premature and calling to wait for the official results of the investigation. And only on November 6, a decision was made to suspend air traffic with Egypt until the causes of the A321 crash were clarified and to evacuate the Russians there.
Officially, the FSB terrorist attack that occurred over Sinai only two and a half weeks after the disaster, on November 17. According to the department, an improvised explosive device went off during the flight. Vladimir Putin, at a meeting of the Security Council, find the organizers of the crash “anywhere on the planet” and destroy them.
However, even after these statements, the Egyptian authorities continued to insist that the most likely cause of the disaster was a technical problem. And only in February 2016, the country's President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi admitted that a terrorist attack had occurred on board the A321.
In September, the Kommersant newspaper, citing sources, reported that an international technical commission had established the exact location of the explosion on the plane. According to the publication, experts determined that the terrorists mined the oversized luggage compartment in the tail of the plane, hiding an explosive device between baby strollers and wicker furniture carried by tourists.
Russia and the CIA believe that the explosion on board was organized by Vilayat Sinai (until 2014, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis), a cell of a terrorist organization banned in Russia. Islamic State"(ISIS). The group claimed responsibility for the downing of A321: On November 18, 2015, the Islamic State's propaganda magazine, Dabiq, published a photo of an improvised explosive device made from a can of Schweppes soda. As stated in the article, this is the device that was activated on board the A321. In August 2016, the Egyptian military reported the murder of Wilayat Sinai leader Abu Duaa al-Ansari, suspected of organizing the terrorist attack.
Scandalous case
Relatives of those killed in the disaster have repeatedly complained about the progress of the investigation and the process of paying compensation. In December, lawyer Igor Trunov, on behalf of 35 relatives, filed a complaint with the Basmanny Court about the inaction of the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin. According to the lawyer, it was expressed in the fact that the Investigative Committee ignored two appeals from relatives. In one of them, they asked to be informed of the number of the criminal case, to be recognized as victims and to be acquainted with the investigation materials. Another complaint concerned Ingosstrakh. The appeal alleged that the company fraudulently obtains statements from relatives of the deceased that limit their right to go to court to obtain compensation. Ingosstrakh itself categorically rejected these accusations. And the claim against Bastrykin was rejected.
Consequences
After the crash of the Kogalymavia plane, Russia suspended air traffic with Egypt, and tour operators were prohibited from working in this direction. They have been waiting all year for the resumption of communications with the country, which for many years was one of the main resort destinations for Russians. According to the latest data, this may happen no earlier than December-January.
To resume flights, the Egyptian side needs to fulfill a number of airport security requirements (their full list has not been officially published). During the year, Russia repeatedly sent its specialists to Egypt for inspections at the airports of Cairo, Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada, but each time there were violations. According to sources from the Al-Watan newspaper, quoted by TASS, “a number of Russian structures refuse to discuss the issue of resuming air traffic with Egypt until the results of the official investigation appear.”
With the closure of air traffic, Egypt suffered significant losses. From the collapse of tourism, one of the country’s key industries (more than 11% of GDP until November 2015), Egypt’s budget, according to Reuters, lost more than three billion dollars.
The crash of a Russian Airbus and the subsequent cessation of flights in Arab Republic led to problems for Kogalymavia itself and the associated tour operator Brisco, which was the customer of flight 9268. The case to declare the carrier bankrupt has been dragging on since the spring of 2015, the next meeting will take place on November 10. In March, Rosaviatsia limited Kogalymavia’s operator’s certificate and deprived it of access to 13 international destinations.
The organizer of the flight, tour operator Brisco, suspended operations on August 2 until it repaid 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.”
On October 31, 2015, the Russian airliner A321 crashed as a result of a terrorist attack in Egypt.
Exactly one year ago, October 31, 2015, over Sinai Peninsula. The disaster, which became the largest in the history of Soviet and Russian aviation, claimed the lives of 224 people.
Most of them are residents of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region. A year after the tragedy, not all the relatives of the victims were able to bury their loved ones. Until now, St. Petersburg residents are waiting for official and final results of the investigation into the disaster from the Egyptian side. And they literally learn to live again.
On October 30, Airbus 321-231 of Kogalymavia airlines safely completed two flights on the route Sharm el-Sheikh - Samara - Sharm el-Sheikh.
The handing over crew, PIC Dmitry Zhigalkovich, and co-pilot Yuri Yushkoinne do not make any comments about the aircraft.
Already in the early morning of October 31, the plane will have two more regular flights: Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg - Sharm el-Sheikh. The following crew is already on board: experienced 48-year-old Valery Nemov, who has flown over 12,000 hours, and 45-year-old co-pilot Sergei Trukhachev, a former military pilot who served in the Chechen campaign.
217 passengers will be waiting for them on board, most of them are St. Petersburg residents, many returning home with their entire families from a long-awaited vacation in Egypt.
At 03:50:06 local time (06:50 Moscow time), flight 7K-9268 takes off from Sharm el-Sheikh, after which, following the air corridor along the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba, it begins to climb.
The plane, bypassing the Sinai Peninsula, will have to arrive in St. Petersburg at 12:10 local time, on a regular Saturday afternoon in October, among dozens of other domestic and international flights listed on the Pulkovo board. But neither then, nor after several delays that were displayed on the board, the long-awaited flight 9268 never returned to its homeland.
A few days after the disaster in the skies over Egypt, Flightradar will release data on the last flight of the A321 over the Sinai. According to the report published on the website, the plane took off safely and began to gain altitude, moving parallel to the coast.
A few minutes after the liner turned deeper into the peninsula, its altitude began to drop sharply by 6,000 feet. Communication with the plane is lost.
The first media reports that the Kogalymavia Airbus plane disappeared from radar began to appear only at 10:18 Moscow time.
Short news reports vary significantly: according to the information they contain, there were from 207 to 224 people on board.
Some reports say the plane went missing near Larnaca in Cyprus.
“Flight 9268 Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg, operated by Airbus 321 Kogalymavia, took off at 6:21 Moscow time and disappeared from radar screens after 23 minutes, there were 217 passengers and seven crew members on board,” the report said. Rosaviatsia.
Moments count - two minutes later news appears from Arab media, reporting that a Russian plane crashed in the central part of the Sinai Peninsula.
But the data is still scarce and not supported by official confirmation. Hope remains. At 10:42 Reuters and Sky News publish the first reports refuting the plane crash. Publication sources claim that the crew of the missing plane made contact in Turkey. Flightradar does not confirm the fall either, specifying that the airliner sharply decreased in altitude before disappearing from the radar.
The Federal Air Transport Agency reports that they are trying to contact the flight that disappeared from radar. At 11:44 on the Pulkovo online board there is still information that the flight’s arrival from Sharm el-Sheikh is delayed (from 12:10 to 12:20).
In Pulkovo, where by that time the arrival information had disappeared from the board, the headquarters began operational work. emergency situations, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation is preparing two aircraft to be sent to Egypt. Later, the department decides to send five special aircraft to Egypt.
Search teams discovered the crash site among the mountains of the Sinai Peninsula. The wreckage of the airliner was scattered over 13 kilometers.
The search operation took place in difficult conditions: North Sinai is a closed zone, and for a year now the Egyptian army has been conducting a large-scale operation there against militants of an extremist group associated with ISIS. It was the Egyptian military, patrolling the territory, who were the first to discover the wreckage of the airliner.
The plane crashed in the En-Nahal mountain range, a deserted, waterless and deserted place. According to clarified and officially confirmed information, there were 224 people on board the plane, including seven crew members.
According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, among the passengers on the plane there were 192 adults and 25 children. They all died.
“Dear Amalia, 28 years ago you gave the world a wonderful boy. Every mother dreams of such a son and a girl dreams of such a reliable and loving man nearby. A year ago they published photographs of all the dead, I immediately remembered Armen’s face, it attracts the eye with its kind and pure smile, this is the face of a purposeful and very decent young man. I didn’t know him, but I’m incredibly sorry for Armen. Such boys were obliged to live and give the world beautiful children. But, unfortunately, another world, black and evil, took his life. Strength and health to you. Thank you for such a son. It’s an incredible pity... In loving memory of Armen and a heavenly birthday. (Tatyana Svetlova, St. Petersburg)," - such letters, a year after the tragedy, continue to be received by the relatives of those killed in the terrible plane crash over Sinai.
On October 26, a few days before the plane crash, Armen Vishnev, a native of the city of Pushkin, who served in the Federal Customs Service, turned 27 years old. Armen flew to Egypt to rest, in one of latest messages he asked his mother not to be bored, because the separation would not be long, he promised to bring a magnet or, as a joke, even a whole camel.
A year after the tragedy, Amalia carefully preserves all the photographs and messages of her son. Concerned residents of other regions of Russia and dozens of other loved ones of the victims of the plane crash help her to honor the memory and overcome the grief of loss. The tragedy united more than 36 thousand people online. Through the efforts of St. Petersburg residents, the Flight 9268 charitable foundation was created, which now provides support to people who lost loved ones in the disaster over Sinai.
“The main goal for which we have united is to perpetuate the memory of our relatives in those things that we are able to accomplish: creating a memorial and temple, preserving the memories of our loved ones, helping the families of the victims who need financial, legal and psychological support . Our foundation is not just an attempt to rally around a common cause. It is a protest against terrorism, murder, cruelty and injustice. A long journey begins with a small step. And we take this step all together - this is precisely the goal set by the people whose lives The tragedy was divided into before and after the disaster,” the foundation says.
The foundation’s group on social networks has long become a kind of spontaneous book of memory, where you can find out the latest information about the progress of the investigation into the tragedy, again see photos of all those who did not return home from the ill-fated flight, and also provide all possible assistance to family and friends.
And it’s not just about money: any support is valuable, because even after a year, practice shows: time does not heal, and a long investigation and difficult bureaucratic procedures associated with the payment of compensation only aggravate the already ongoing pain of loss.
The tragedy cut short the lives of entire families: Olga and Yuri Shein and three of their children died in the disaster. The whole country from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok was shocked to the core by the love story of Alexandra Chernova and Evgeny Yavsin who were on board the A321: Evgeny specially saved money to take Sasha to Egypt and propose to her there. And dozens of other life-long stories that were so unfairly and suddenly ended on that ill-fated October morning.
Most of the passengers of the crashed A321 were residents of the North-West of Russia, mainly from St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Novgorod and Pskov regions. Also on board were four citizens of Ukraine and one citizen of Belarus. The youngest passenger, Darina Gromova, was only 10 months old; her photograph, posted by her mother on social networks shortly before the disaster and subsequently published by many world publications, became an unspoken symbol of the tragedy.
A year after the plane crash, not all the relatives of the victims of the A321 crash were able to bury their relatives: six of those killed in the crash over Sinai have still not been identified. According to the chairman of the council charitable foundation"Flight 9268" of Irina Zakharova, the remains, which are now stored in the crematorium on Shafirovsky Prospekt, are not subject to examination. However, families still have hope of receiving fragments of the bodies of their dead relatives: in Egypt, after the completion of the main stage of the investigation, new remains were discovered, they are now being studied.
The report of the international commission investigating the crash of the Russian A321 over the Sinai has not yet been made public: on the preliminary results of its work (and this is a year after the investigation), according to a source in the Ministry civil aviation Egypt, experts will tell you “within 60 days.”
“Certain technical analyzes are currently being carried out, after which a preliminary report will be made public,” a representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Aviation told the media on October 26.
Let us remind you that representatives from six countries are taking part in the investigation into the causes of the disaster: Egypt, Russia, as well as specialists from France, Germany, Ireland and the USA. Its progress in accordance with the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is supervised by the Egyptian aviation authorities.
One of the first versions of the disaster was the assumption that the Russian plane could have been shot down by a missile fired by militants operating in the North Sinai region. However, this assumption was almost immediately refuted by experts as untenable. For a long time, experts worked on another probable cause crash of the Kogalymavia airliner - a version of technical problems. This was announced on the day of the crash by the operational services of Egypt following a preliminary inspection of the wreckage of the plane. At the initial stage of the investigation, Russian experts were also inclined towards this version.
Representatives of Kogalymavia (Metrojet trademark) were the first to refute it: already on November 2, the airline’s press secretary, Alexander Smirnov, ruled out a technical malfunction and pilot error as the causes of the disaster and announced an “external influence” on the airliner. He stressed that the aircraft, which the airline owned under lease, was 100% ready to fly and that its crew was “very experienced.” The company representative supported his speech with certificates received by the airline at the beginning of 2015. He also stated that the plane's engine was checked on October 26, five days before the crash.
On November 7, the IAC reported that until the recording on the recorders stopped, the flight was proceeding as normal; no information about failures of the aircraft’s systems and components was recorded.
At a meeting in the Kremlin on November 16, the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, officially announced for the first time that the cause of the crash was a terrorist attack. Versions about third-party interference with links to various sources were previously published in foreign and Russian media.
"We can definitely say that this is terrorist attack. According to our experts, a home-made explosive device with a power of up to 1 kg in TNT equivalent went off on board the aircraft during the flight, which resulted in the aircraft falling apart in the air, which explains the scattering of parts of the aircraft fuselage over a long distance,” Bortnikov said, adding that Traces of foreign-made explosives were found on the wreckage and belongings.
Bortnikov explained that the conclusions were made by specialists after a thorough examination of personal belongings, luggage of passengers and parts of the crashed airliner.
It was initially believed that the explosive device was planted under the passenger seat of 30A or 31A. However, in September 2016, data from the commission were made public, according to which the explosion occurred in the tail section, in the compartment for oversized luggage. A timed bomb was hidden among the baby strollers. Experts came to this conclusion after analyzing the layout of the collected fragments of the A321 in the hangar at Cairo airport. Due to the explosion, the plane lost its tail section, after which it went into an uncontrolled dive.
The investigation into the tragedy is progressing very slowly, and all the circumstances of what happened are still unknown.
Responsibility for the crash Russian plane The Egyptian cell of the Islamic State group banned in Russia almost immediately took over. Airport employees could have brought an explosive device on board - numerous evidence of the poor level of security in air harbor immediately after the tragedy, the Internet was flooded: many tourists said that for a small bribe they calmly carried bags with things through all the security cordons, and no one inspected them.
However, the Egyptian side for a long time insisted on the version of a technical malfunction, refusing to acknowledge the possibility of a terrorist attack on board the liner.
In December 2015, the Technical Investigation Committee issued a statement saying that Cairo had found no indications of terrorist involvement in the Airbus 321 crash.
It was only in February 2016 that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi admitted for the first time that the cause of the crash of a Russian plane in the skies over Sinai was a terrorist attack. The head of state stated this at the presentation of a report on the country’s development until 2030.
On August 30, 2016, it was announced that Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani, who was allegedly the organizer of the terrorist attack, had been killed in Aleppo, Syria.
Air traffic with Egypt, which was stopped immediately after the A321 crash, has not yet been restored. In accordance with the official commentary of the Russian Ministry of Transport, the situation will not change until all concerns in the field of aviation security are eliminated.
“Making a decision on the resumption of air traffic between Russia and Egypt is possible only after all the problems in the field of aviation and transport security have been eliminated. It is worth noting that the Egyptian side has made significant progress in resolving these issues and the interaction between the two countries is quite constructive,” the department noted 25 October.
In just a year, the “Garden of Memory” memorial, which will be located on Rumbolovskaya Mountain in Vsevolozhsk, will be completed and fresh flowers will bloom here. A corridor of slabs on which, in accordance with the design of the monument, will be the names of all those killed in the A321 plane crash, as well as metal structures in the form of pipes on which the wind will play, will be seen by anyone driving along the Road of Life.
On Monday, October 31st, at St. Isaac's Cathedral A memorial service will be held for the victims of the A321 crash in the skies over the Sinai Peninsula. In memory of those who never returned home to their family and friends, the cathedral bell will ring 224 times.
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 Yurievich - 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
October 31, 2015, flight Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg. Someone looks through photos on their phone, imagining how they will tell their family and friends about their vacation. Married couples calm down children who are acting too violently in the morning - and are probably afraid to fly. Departure was on schedule, we headed straight into the sky. The very next day, the media circulated a photo of the “main passenger” - ten-month-old Darina Gromova. This photo will become a kind of symbol of the fateful flight Airbus 321, from which none of the 224 people returned alive.
"Flight in normal mode"
The plane took off safely and began to climb at 6:50 Moscow time. Everything is going as normal, when suddenly after 23 minutes the dispatchers lose contact with the crew.
Meanwhile, St. Petersburg Pulkovo Airport reports that the flight is delayed “for technical reasons.” Time is postponed once, rescheduled twice... In Russia, they try not to think about the worst and nervously wait for messages from relatives: about an emergency landing, or about anything, as long as they write. When the flowers had already begun to fade, and the message about the next flight postponement was on the board, the relatives’ nerves could not stand it: calls began pouring in to the Kogalymavia airline and the tour operator Brisco. “We’re figuring everything out,” “Don’t worry,” people in different authorities heard.
And then came the news that flashed through everyone’s head, but they refused to believe. It was not immediately known that everyone had died. One of the rescuers who immediately moved to the scene after the crash reported that he heard the voices of passengers coming from under the wreckage of the liner. Within minutes it became clear: I hadn’t heard, it seemed.
Main passenger
A photograph of ten-month-old Darina Gromova from Gatchina, taken at Pulkovo airport, seemed to have gone around all the well-known Russian media and was circulated on social networks. The photograph became one of the symbols of that terrible tragedy.
Son, Alexey, wanted to be a pilot. Only I didn’t allow it,” Darina’s grandmother Elena later told Life.
Alexey's father was a military pilot for 30 years. The young man himself graduated from a technical specialty and went to work for an IT company. Here he met Tatyana. The young people got married a little more than a year before the tragedy. The young man’s social network page, which is still accessible, contains many photos of the couple in love, taken on their wedding day.
Tatyana called her daughter “the main passenger.” Before the flight from Pulkovo, she photographed a girl who was pressing her hands against the glass and posted the picture on social networks.
Darina’s grandmother suggested that parents not take their child on the flight: he would be scared and would not tolerate it well. But they didn’t listen: the child needed to bask in the sun.
"I won't live without her"
October 31st was a tragedy for thousands of people. Svetlana Dudochkina’s husband, Anatoly, was unable to fly with his wife on vacation that time. The couple had been to Egypt more than once, so the woman knew quite well how to behave at the resort. His warning seemed even more strange.
It was the first time she went on vacation without me. I told her that if something happens, I won’t survive without her. “I don’t want to live anymore, I’m not interested,” Anatoly said after the crash.
The woman went on vacation in the company of her daughter and two young grandchildren. But the daughter decided to stay another day or two, since there was an opportunity to rest longer. As a result, only Svetlana of the whole family boarded the fateful flight.
Birthday gift
On October 27, the common-law wife of the then deputy head of Pskov, Alexandra Kopylova, celebrated her birthday. He bought trips for himself and his beloved, Elena Melnikova. They didn’t want to let me go from work, but the deputy head of the city persuaded me to do it. He argued that the reason was too weighty.
The man met his future common-law wife at work. The fact is that Elena is the head of the personnel department in the Pskov City Duma. Alexander’s wife died several years earlier, Elena was divorced. They had been together for about a year at that point.
All the time on vacation, Elena talked on social networks about how they had a very good rest - swimming, sunbathing and generally having a blast. I went online for the last time three hours before the fateful flight.
“A little more and I’ll leave aviation”
Senior flight attendant, 38-year-old Valentina Martsevich, who devoted 12 years to the sky, planned to retire from aviation in the near future. I wanted peace of mind and made plans for a calm family life. Valentina's husband, Maxim, is the commander of the aircraft. At that moment he was on a China Airlines flight.
Valentina herself is from Anapa, she was working at the Krasnodar airport when she met her future husband. Soon they moved to Moscow together. He is always on the flight, she is on the next flight. Tired of seeing my husband and family in fits and starts.
On October 5, her birthday, she flew home to hug her mother. Friends later recalled that she behaved quite strangely: she spoke strangely, smiled strangely, and took a lot of pictures.
While returning to Moscow, shortly before the fateful flight, the woman got scared for the first time in her life while boarding. She told her friends how the plane was shaking and she was afraid that the pilots would not land the plane successfully.
"Fluffy, I'm waiting"
Flight attendant Marina Okhotnikova was supposed to meet her steward husband Andrei Belomestnov at Domodedovo on November 1. The plan looked like this: Andrey lands in Pulkovo, rests, and then goes to Moscow as a passenger. 20 minutes after its arrival in the capital, it lands. The young people were planning an unforgettable weekend.
The couple had a tradition: all four years that they were together, Andrei sent his beloved SMS during such “intersections” with the same text: “Fluffy, I’m already waiting for you.” This time there was no message. Andrei was supposed to turn 30 in November...
Versions
Experts considered four main versions of the plane crash: a technical malfunction, a pilot error, that the plane was shot down, and an explosion.
Technical problem
The first version that investigators began to consider was a technical malfunction. Allegedly the liner had defects. For example, 14 years before the tragedy, in November 2001, at Cairo airport, the airliner landed unsuccessfully and hit the ground with its tail. At that time it was still owned by Middle East Airlines. After the incident, the aircraft was repaired and sold. After that he was chartered various airlines until, finally, it “settled” in Kogalymavia in 2012.
You can say whatever you want about this airline, but any aircraft of any carrier undergoes inspection before a new flight. In addition, the boards undergo technical checks. So, the engines of the airliner were examined five days before the tragedy. And it is unlikely that the experts would have missed such a significant malfunction that could have caused the plane to crash. This point of view was confirmed by the airline. In addition, experienced pilots have repeatedly said that none of the crew members would risk their own lives, but would simply refuse to fly if in doubt.
Another fact speaks against the version of a malfunction: on the eve of the crash, the Airbus was flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to Samara and back. After that, it underwent maintenance at the Egyptian airport; no critical problems were recorded.
A week after the tragedy, IAC representatives said that until the recording of the recorders stopped, the flight proceeded as normal; information about failures of the aircraft’s systems and components was not recorded on the parametric recorder.
Crew error
This version became the second. Allegedly, the pilots could panic and behave incorrectly in a critical situation. This version was denied by the Federal Air Transport Agency on the same day. PIC Valery Nemov was originally a military pilot, and after his retirement (the man was 48 years old) he retrained as a civil aviation pilot in training center AmurAir in Turkey. His total flight experience is 3,682 hours, of which 1,100 hours were as an aircraft commander.
The co-pilot, 45-year-old Sergei Trukhachev, had 5,641 flight hours under his belt - more than the PIC. He underwent special training in the Czech Republic to fly the A321.
The Kogalymavia pilots themselves ruled out the possibility of an error: they posted a letter on the Internet just a few hours after the tragedy, where they claimed that there could be no error.
Shot down
Shortly after the crash, ISIS militants claimed responsibility for the plane crash. They even published a video where the aircraft was allegedly shot down. It soon turned out that the video was nothing more than a fake, and no one shot down the Russian airliner.
After a preliminary inspection of the wreckage of the plane, it became clear to experts that no one had fired at it.
The plane broke up in the air. Initially, the tail section was torn off, and then the entire airliner began to disintegrate. The wreckage of the aircraft was located at a distance of about 40 km from each other, the tail and nose were at a distance of 5 km.
Terrorist attack
This version is a priority. The media began to write that there was a bomb on board a few hours after the tragedy. Within a month, the fact of the explosion was confirmed by Russian experts. Thus, on November 16, 2015, the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, at a meeting in the Kremlin, officially announced for the first time that what happened was a terrorist attack.
It was initially assumed that the bomb was planted between the passenger seats in the 30th row. However, later experts came to the conclusion that an improvised explosive device with a capacity of up to 1 kg in TNT equivalent was located in the tail section, next to the baby strollers. A timer installed in the bomb counted down how many more minutes the 224 people would live. After the explosion, the tail section of the airliner was torn off, and it went into an uncontrolled dive.
For a long time, Egyptian officials did not officially recognize the incident as a terrorist attack (according to one version, for fear of multimillion-dollar lawsuits from relatives of the victims). Cairo called for waiting for the official results of the investigation, which, by the way, are still missing. However, in February 2017, the representative of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid, somewhat admitted that a terrorist attack had occurred on board.
Dozens or even hundreds of people became victims of terrorist operations, including as a result of the crash of a Russian airliner in the Sinai, he said.
* The organization is banned in Russia by decision of the Supreme Court.
