Egyptian Military cars approach a plane’s tail at the wreckage of a passenger jet bound for St. Petersburg in Russia that crashed in Hassana, Egypt
Egypt’s president dismissed Islamic State’s claim that it brought down a Russian airliner on Egyptian soil over the weekend, as investigators tried to piece together clues to what caused the jet to explode, killing all 224 people aboard.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s comments marked the latest attempt by Egyptian officials to shift the narrative away from terrorism. The militant group has taken credit for the crash in the Sinai peninsula, where security forces have been battling its local affiliate for more than a year.
“Believe me, the situation in Sinai, especially in this limited area, is under our full control,” El-Sisi said in a BBC interview ahead of his visit to London. “Propaganda” linking it to the Islamic State “is one way to damage the stability and security of Egypt.”
Russian and Egyptian officials have said the Airbus A321 exploded in midair about 23 minutes after takeoff Saturday from the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, scattering debris over more than 20 kilometers.
Egyptian officials have given contradictory reports on whether the pilots radioed for help. The director-general for the carrier, Kogalymavia, Alexander Smirnov, told reporters on Monday that an unspecified “mechanical impact” on the aircraft may be “the only reasonable explanation.” Russian aviation officials in Cairo said it was too early to determine the cause.
Recordings of crew and dispatcher conversations show the flight was proceeding normally four minutes before the crash, followed by “uncharacteristic” sounds moments before it broke up midair, Interfax reported, citing unidentified individuals in Cairo. Investigators are also probing whether repairs done on the tail in 2001 may have played a role. Russian news agency Tass, citing an unidentified person in Cairo, said foreign objects not belonging to the plane were found at the scene.
Sabotage is another possible explanation. Airport and ground staff at Sharm El-Sheikh’s airport will be investigated, Civil Aviation Ministry spokesman Mohammed Rahma said in an e-mailed response to questions.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the crash both in a statement released hours afterward and in translation on Monday, offering no details of its purported operation.
Egyptian and Russian officials, as well as military analysts, have been skeptical that Islamic State possesses the type of advanced missile necessary to shoot the plane down. A US infrared satellite detected a heat flash over the peninsula at the same time the aircraft went down, CBSNews reported, speculating that a bomb or an exploding fuel tank or engine could have caused it.
Pending the results of the probe, several major airlines, including Lufthansa and KLM, said they would reroute flights away from Sinai. The US Embassy in Cairo, in a statement, warned its staff to avoid travel anywhere in Sinai until the investigation is over. Tarek El-Tablawy, Bloomberg
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