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Never mind what the Egyptians or the Russians have to say - lol. The Americans and the Brits have decided so it's panic stations.
No 10: 'Explosive Device' May Have Downed Plane
Hundreds
of Britons see flights from Sharm to the UK delayed as the Government
raises fresh concerns over the Egypt jet crash.
26
November, 2014
A
Russian jet that crashed in Egypt "may well have been brought
down by an explosive device", Downing Street has said.
The
Metrojet plane, which was travelling from Sharm el Sheikh to the
Russian city of St Petersburg, crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on
Saturday, killing all 224 people on board.
The
nature of the crash and the lack of an SOS have led to speculation
that the jet was brought down by a bomb or a missile.
Egypt
Plane Crash: What We Know So Far
The
UK Government said in a statement that while it cannot
"categorically" say why the plane crashed, "as more
information has come to light we have become concerned that the plane
may well have been brought down by an explosive device".
As
a result, a spokeswoman said all flights due to leave Sharm el Sheikh
for Britain this evening will be delayed as a "precautionary
measure" to allow a team of UK experts to assess what security
arrangements are in place at the airport.
It
is believed up to 20,000 Britons are in the Sharm el Sheikh area -
hundreds are affected by the delays.
A
security source has told Sky's Defence Correspondent Alistair Bunkall
that the intelligence that prompted the Government to take this
decision was not based on the wreckage of the plane.
It
came on the day a source close to the Egyptian team investigating the
black boxes said an explosion was looking more likely, but it is
unclear whether it was linked to fuel, engine trouble or a bomb.
A
Russian aviation source told the news agency two possibilities are
now being considered - something stowed inside the jet and a
technical fault.
Egypt's
Aviation Ministry has confirmed the cockpit voice recorder from the
plane is "partially damaged" and "a lot of work is
required in order to extract data from it".
Islamic
State again claimed responsibility for downing the plane on
Wednesday, saying it would eventually tell the world how it carried
out the attack.
David
Cameron chaired a meeting of the Government's COBRA emergency
committee on Wednesday evening to review the situation in Sharm el
Sheikh, having already spoken to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al
Sisi, who is in London on a previously scheduled visit.
The
security assessment at the airport is expected to be completed
tonight, the Number 10 spokeswoman said, adding there were no more
departures from the UK to Sharm el Sheikh on Wednesday and that they
are working closely with airlines.
Among
the Britons affected by the delays is tourist Mark Herbert, whose
Thomson flight was about to take off from Sharm to Manchester when
the captain said everyone had to get off the plane.
He
told Sky News security at the airport was "stricter" than
on previous trips, and added: "It's inconvenient but I'd rather
be safe."
A
Thomson flight to Manchester was set to take off at 6.35pm local
time, according to the website of Sharm el Sheikh airport.
Two
easyJet flights were also due to depart the resort's airport, one to
Luton at 6.45pm another to Gatwick at 7.05pm.
Around
330 easyJet passengers are affected, and they are being put up in
local hotels.
Ireland's
aviation authority has told airlines not to operate to or from Sharm
or over the Sinai Peninsula until further notice.
The
deputy head of the airport has said Britain has acted too hastily in
deciding to suspend flights to Sharm el Sheikh.
Hany
Ramsay said: "Other countries might soon follow them. They want
to hurt tourism and cause confusion."
Russian plane crash: U.S. intel suggests ISIS bomb brought down jet
CNN,
4 November, 2015
Days after authorities dismissed claims that ISIS brought down a Russian passenger jet, a U.S. intelligence analysis now suggests that the terror group or its affiliates planted a bomb on the plane.
The
latest U.S. intelligence suggests that the plane crash was most
likely caused by a bomb on the plane planted by ISIS or an ISIS
affiliate, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.
"There
is a definite feeling it was an explosive device planted in luggage
or somewhere on the plane," the official said, stressing that no
formal conclusion had been reached by the U.S. intelligence
community.
The
assessment was reached, the official said, by looking back at
intelligence reports that had been gathered before Saturday's plane
crash and intelligence gathered since then. The United States did not
have credible or verified intelligence of a specific threat before
the crash. However, the official said, "there had been
additional activity in Sinai that had caught our attention."
Another
U.S. official said the intelligence regarding ISIS is in part based
on monitoring of internal messages of the terrorist group. Those
messages are separate from public ISIS claims of responsibility, that
official said.
Britain,
Ireland suspend flights from Egyptian resort city
News
of the U.S. intelligence analysis comes hours after British Prime
Minister David Cameron's office said a bomb might have caused the
crash.
"While
the investigation is still ongoing, we cannot say categorically why
the Russian jet crashed," the Prime Minister's office said. "But
as more information has come to light, we have become concerned that
the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device."
Flights
due to leave Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the United Kingdom were
being delayed his office said, as a precautionary measure to allow
British aviation experts to assess security arrangements at the
city's airport, Cameron's office said in its statement.
Ireland
also said Wednesday that it was suspending all flights to and from
Sharm el-Sheikh until further notice, according to a statement from
the Irish Aviation Authority.
Egyptian
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry called the British decision to suspend
flights "somewhat premature," as the investigation is not
complete.
"We
can appreciate, of course, the sense of responsibility and desire to
provide protection to UK citizens. This is a desire that we equally
share," he told CNN shortly after the British government's
announcement. "But I think it is somewhat premature to make
declarations related to what might or might not have happened to the
aircraft before the investigation is completed and before there is a
definitive cause for this crash."
Militant
battleground
Sharm
el-Sheikh, where Flight 9268 began its journey, is a beach resort
dotted with palm trees at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.
The plane crashed about 300 kilometers (185 miles) farther north,
near a town called Housna, according to Egyptian authorities.
Sinai
has been a battleground between ISIS-affiliated militants and
Egyptian security forces in recent years. Hundreds have died in the
fighting.
The
militants appeared to claim responsibility for bringing down the
Russian passenger jet in a statement posted online Saturday, but
officials in Egypt and Russia have disputed that claim, saying
there's no evidence to support it.
ISIS
in Sinai is one of the most active of all the ISIS affiliates and has
bomb-making capabilities, according to U.S. intelligence. But if the
group did plant a bomb on the plane, it would represent an increase
in sophistication.
The
officials say ISIS has not proved to be nearly as advanced with
bomb-making capabilities as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a
group that U.S. national security officials believed were working on
nonmetallic bombs to be smuggled onto planes.
Egypt's
Interior Ministry said it wasn't stepping up security in Sharm
el-Sheikh or at the resort city's airport "because there is no
indication (the plane crash) was a terrorist operation."
But
the U.S. Embassy in Cairo has sent a security message to its
employees, instructing them not to travel anywhere in Sinai pending
the outcome of the crash investigation.
State Department grilled over Russia plane crash
Note the official version of this was made "private"
From the Guardian
Flights
between UK and Sharm el-Sheikh suspended as British foreign secretary
says there is ‘strong possibility’ plane was brought down by
onboard explosion
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