Russian Plane was 90% Bombed Down

Local Editor

Investigators of the Russian plane crash in Egypt are "90 percent sure" the noise heard in the final second of a cockpit recording was an explosion caused by a bomb, a member of the investigation team told Reuters on Sunday.

The Airbus [AIR.PA] A321 crashed 23 minutes after taking off from the Sharm al-Sheikh tourist resort on October 31, killing all 224 passengers and crew. "ISIS" militants fighting Egyptian security forces in Sinai said they brought it down.

"The indications and analysis so far of the sound on the black box indicate it was a bomb," said an Egyptian investigation team member. "We are 90 percent sure it was a bomb."

Investigations showed on Saturday that the plane appeared to have broken up in mid-air while it was being flown on auto-pilot, and that a noise had been heard in the last second of the cockpit recording.

Confirmation that militants brought down the airliner could have a devastating impact on Egypt's lucrative tourist industry.

It could also mark a new strategy by the terrorist "ISIS" group which holds large parts of Syria and Iraq.
Other possibilities include a fuel explosion, metal fatigue in the plane or lithium batteries overheating.

In a related context, Russia says it has flown 11,000 tourists home from Egypt and more will return in the coming days. Hence, dozens of special flights were put on for tourists wanting to go home.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team