[E247]Russia Promises Thorough Investigation into Plane Crash

Russia Promises Thorough Investigation into Plane Crash

From CRIENGLISH.com

The Kogalymavia airline[科加雷姆航空公司] flight came down just 23 minutes after taking off[起飞] from Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh[沙姆沙伊赫] for the Russian city of St. Petersburg[圣彼得堡].

It's believed the plane had 224 people on board, 7 of whom were crew members[机组成员]. The Russian embassy is still to confirm the exact figures although 214 are believed to be Russian with three Ukrainian nationals[乌克兰人/公民], most were tourists.

The Egyptian Prime Minister[埃及总理] said on Saturday there was "almost nil[几乎为零]" chance of any survivors.

At the same time, Sherif Ismail also dismissed[驳回] an IS claim that the plane was shot down by one of its affiliates[下属(组织)] operating in Sinai province.

"What will determine what happened is the analysis of the data in the black box and that of experts. However, up until this point, there are no indications[象征; 表明] that anything out of the ordinary[异常] happened on this aircraft. All we can say is that it happened due to technical problems[技术故障] and the team of experts are the ones who will be able to prove or deny this."

Russia's Transport Minister is also on record[公开发表的] saying that the claim "can't be considered accurate".

According to the Egyptian civilian aviation ministry[民用航空部], the plane was at an altitude of 9,450 metres when it disappeared from radar.

Security experts believe such an altitude would be beyond the range of shoulder-launched missiles known to be possessed by militants[武装分子] in Sinai.

The wreckage[残骸] was found in Hassana, a mountainous area 35 kilometres south of Arish city.

The plane's two black box recorders have also been found.

Initial media reports suggested that the charter flight[包机] may crash due to technical problems.

However Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal said according to their records, there were no reports of any faults on the plane at any stage.

"If the pilot doesn't report any faults on the plane, all that will be carried out is routine maintenance checks[日常保养检查] on the plane before take-off. There were no reports that the airplane had faults, the checks done before take-off did not reveal anything. Up until the crash happened, we were never informed of any faults in the plane, nor did we receive any SOS calls."

An investigation commission[调查委员会] was established under the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and includes Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, who had already headed to Egypt.

Meanwhile, a criminal case was opened into the incident by the Investigative Committee to check on the compliance of laws[遵守法律] on flight operating safety.

Aircraft manufacturer[飞机制造商] Airbus said in an online statement that the aircraft involved in the accident was produced in 1997 and operated by the Russia Metrojet Airline since 2012.

President Putin has declared today a national day of mourning[全国哀悼日] because of the crash.

Egyptian authorities are currently preparing to receive the families of the victims.

As the cause of the incident is still being investigated, two major airlines, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM have decided to review their routes over the Sinai province.