Initial report on crash of Russian jet in central Sinai finalized

The special investigation committee into the crash of the Russian airliner on October 31 in central Sinai announced that it has finalized the initial report on the causes of the crash and sent it to specialized authorities.

Head of the Investigation Committee Captain Ayman Al-Moqadem said "The committee has finalized the initial report on the jet crash in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)'s convention and it has been sent to the accredited representatives of the countries which have the right to join the investigation as well as ICAO.

The report included 19 items which set the initial information that was available to the investigation committee members till the date of its issuance and any of such information are to be later scrutinized in the coming stages of the investigation, he added.

The report asserted that search for the wreckage of the plane extended to some 16 kilometers away from the main crash scene, he said, noting that members of the forensic medicine team received special reports on the bodies and such reports will be compared with the reports prepared by the Russian side to determine the identities of the dead after their relatives conduct their DNA tests.

The committee used DNA experts from CAIRO University Engineering Faculty in photographing the plane wreckage with a 3D cameras to register the shape and condition of the wreckage, Moqadem said.

Work by the DNA experts continued for 30 hours along with an expert team from the Research and Metals Center who inspected the scene of the crash in anticipation of a second stage of analysis of the wreckage that would be carried to Cairo for further inspection, the chief of the committee explained.

The team has worked over 30 hours to dismantle as many as 38 computers on the plane as well as two computers of the plane's engines at the scene before being carried to Cairo for meticulous inspection.

Records of the plane's flight have showed that the plane's course, five days ahead of the crash, was only between Russian and Egyptian airports and that the plane's flight which immediately preceded its crash took off from Samara airport in Russia to Sharm El Sheikh.

The wreckage team has worked over 250 hours to photograph, inspect and categorize the wreckage that spread all over the location of its crash to be later used in the later stages of the analysis of the plane.

Representatives of all countries participating in the investigation were allowed, under international legislations, to inspect the wreckage and exchange information on the circumstances of the accident.

As many as 15 flights by the Egyptian Air Force helicopters were used to carry the team to the crash site to work on the necessary inspection needed, he explained.

Coordination with the Armed Forces is going on to use their potentials to carry the wreckage parts to Cairo to be assembled in order to launch new stages of the investigation.

The technical investigation committee has not so far received any details on the presence of illegal action or terrorist attack behind the crash and the committee would continue its work as per the technical aspects.

Sources: MENA