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Posted on 10/31/2015 2:35:11 PM PDT by Lorianne
A Russian airliner has crashed in central Sinai killing all 224 people on board, Egyptian officials have said.
The Airbus A-321 had just left the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, bound for the Russian city of St Petersburg.
Wreckage was found in the Hasana area and bodies removed, along with the plane's "black box". An official described a "tragic scene" with bodies of victims still strapped to seats.
Egypt's prime minister said no "irregular" activities were to blame.
Sinai has an active militant network, and on Saturday afternoon, jihadis allied to the so-called Islamic State made a claim on social media that they brought down flight KGL9268.
But Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov told Interfax news agency that "such reports cannot be considered true". No evidence had been seen that indicated the plane was targeted, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
I'll have to go listen again; I didn't know there was an "emergency call"...
Thanks for the feedback and the link!
Not to worry, it's happened to all of us at one time or another.
It may be a bomb in the left rear lavatory. The Italian DC9 off of Sicily around 1979 and the US flight in the early 60s, Chicago to KC, that blew up from the dynamite bomb over Iowa were placed in the latrines.
Look at the photo in your post again. Look at the amount of debris that appears “flowing” toward the rear of the aircraft (wires, conduits, plastic snagged on door, door panel. etc.
The plane appears to be missing the rear pressure bulkhead, along with both horizontal stabilizers. The APU looks to be gone as well, it is aft of the pressure bulkhead.
This plane suffered a damaging tail strike several years ago. Failure years later from repaired tail strike damage brought down JAL flt 123 in 1985. And China Airlines Flight 611 in 2002. Both broke apart at altitude with no warning.
There have been other aircraft losses due to destructive decompression.
Here is one of the last pics of the plane so you can identify the parts shown in the crash photos:
http://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/images/102938/92/1029389212.jpg
Forgot to mention, it was the rear pressure bulkhead that failed first on the 2 examples I mentioned.
That's why it helps to have several sets of eyes looking at things like this... Thanks!
When I blow the damage view from the left side up, it looks like there might be a bit of "sooting" visible on the left side where the floor break occurred. Your lavatory scenario makes that more plausible.
Thanks again!
Aviation safety net has a chart showing the vertical speed. Looks like the A321 was climbing around 500 fps when the diaster hit. The next 30 seconds of up and down movement is astonishing. Looks like the crew were fighting like crazy to control the plane. Possibly severed elevator controls.
I sure hope this was accidental and not a case of mass murder. The world has way too much of that.
Me too.
The nationality of the passengers, location of accident, and recent increase in pressure by Russia on terrorists in the area all make a pure accident look less likely.
The truth will be out in a few days.
Fed Ex Plane. The Asiana 777 didn’t flip over on it’s back and it doesn’t have Fed Ex Painted on the side.
Just because I brought it up:
Continental Flight 11———May 22, 1962-——Boeing 707——Dynamite bomb in a lavatory by suicidal asshole.
Remember the Arrow Air flight out of Egypt that had all the 101 Airborne Division paratroopers on it. Lots of folks thought that was -—suspicious.
Security at US airports is lax. Even worse in th middle east (except Israel).
If you have airport employees, cops, military, etc., that share beliefs with those who will strap bombs and detonate them for the cause, anything can get “overlooked”.
On the other-hand, a report from the airport where this aircraft overnighted says maintenance was ongoing all night, and it wasn’t signed off as “Approved for Return to Service” until shortly before the flight. Routine overnight checks, or something else?
Would like to be a fly on the wall at Airbus HQ. You know they are hoping this is not a fault of the aircraft.
Still it could be. I can imagine how the Boeing folks who worked on that JAL 747 felt with it going down with the huge pax load.
Meanwhile, I'll search for it... '-)
I haven’t found who did the tail repair several years ago, my guess is it was Airbus.
I have also seen this model airplane is a real pig to fly at full gross weight, and bad technique can lead to another tail strike on departure. Not a good thing to damage a repaired area again..
The one that went down in Gander, Newfoundland? My son was in the 101st then, and spent a month wearing a black armband and serving on funeral details. Lost lots of friends; truly a traumatic time...
And all the Flightradar24 data for the last minute of the flight -- including groundspeed and altitude plots are available here.
After 04/06:12:57, the ground speed dropped precipitously from 408 knots to 62 knots in 16 (sixteen) seconds. That thing went from a plane in flight to a porpoising, tumbling, falling -- and probably disintegrating -- mass of rubble in a quarter of a minute.
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I'm going to to say prayers of sympathy for those poor folks (and, probably have nightmares) tonight...
Not the same a/c. The KGL9268 tail section detached, and shows no sign of fire or smoke.
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