Investigators 90 Percent Sure Russian Plane Was Downed Using A Bomb: Reports
Following the recovery and further analysis of the black box of the crashed Russian plane in Egypt, investigators are “90 percent sure” that the plane was brought down using a bomb. According to Reuters, a noise was heard in the final second of the cockpit recording, which they claim was the sound of the exploding bomb. The report cites a member of the investigation team who revealed some details regarding the crash to Reuters on Sunday.
It was a week ago that the Russian Airbus A321, carrying 224 passengers and crew members, crash-landed near the Sinai Peninsula just 24 minutes after it took off from the resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh. Hours after the plane crash, the ISIS had claimed responsibility for the crash and claimed that they had brought down the plane.
Meanwhile, the member of the investigation team chose to remain anonymous citing the sensitive nature of his revelation.
“The indications and analysis so far of the sound on the black box indicate it was a bomb. We are 90 percent sure it was a bomb.”
According to Ayman al-Muqaddam, the lead investigator of the Russian plane crash, the plane was on autopilot when it was blown apart. He had on Saturday announced that the plane had broken up in mid air with no signs of distress or unusual noise from the cockpit. This clearly pointed towards the fact that the crash was instantaneous and happened within a few seconds. Apart from the bomb theory, another facet that investigators are looking for other factors that could have caused an explosion in mid air. These include the possibility of a fuel explosion, metal fatigue leading to rapid decompression of the cabin and lithium batteries overheating and exploding. However, he added that since the debris was found scattered over an area of 13 kms (8 miles), it was almost certain that it could have been only caused by an “in-flight break up.”
“What happened in Sharm al-Sheikh last week, and to a lesser extent with the… (Germanwings) aircraft, are game changers for our industry. They have to be addressed at industry level because no doubt the countries — U.S., Europe — I would think will make some fairly stringent, draconian demands on the way aviation works with security.”
Meanwhile, Egypt is worried about the ramifications of a possible revelation that the Russian plane was, indeed, brought down by an ISIS bomb. Such a development could have serious implications on its tourism industry. In fact, several countries and airlines have already suspended operations to Sharm al-Sheikh and other destinations across Egypt. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond also recently stated that British flights to Egypt could be further affected depending on the findings of the investigators. In an interview to the BBC, he said as follows.
“If this turns out to be a device planted by an ISIL operative or by somebody inspired by ISIL, then clearly we will have to look again at the level of security we expect to see in airports in areas where ISIL is active.”
Meanwhile, the Egyptian arm of ISIS that claimed responsibility for the attack added that they would soon give more information on how exactly the attack was carried out. They had earlier made it clear that the plane was downed because of Russia’s ongoing military strikes against the ISIS in Syria.
Meanwhile, an estimated 80,000 Russian tourists still remain in Egypt after the country decided to stop all flights from Russia into Egypt. A total of 11,000 Russians did, however, make it safely back to Russia.
[Image via Wikimedia Commons]
