Too early to reach conclusion on Russian plane downed in Sinai - Egypt investigator

The Empire has already decided exactly what has happened,

long before investigators have completed their work.

Unclear 'noise' recorded before A321 crash, its nature to be determined – Egypt’s investigators

RT,
7 November, 2015

The Russian A321’s black box recorded an unclear noise before crashing in Sinai, the head of Egypt’s investigation committee has confirmed. However, spectral analysis is required to determine its nature.

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The head of the Investigations Committee, Captain Ayman Mokadem, said the nature of debris scatter suggests an in-flight break up, but it is still too early to draw conclusions on the causes of the crash. While both flight data recorders have been found, the investigators are still studying them.

Mokadem confirmed that some “noise” can be heard on the recording right before the crash. He still said its nature is unclear and a spectral analysis will be carried out to identify it.

An international team of investigators are at the scene still “collecting information,” he said.

 

Bel Trew - بل ترو‏@Beltrew

Ayman el Mokadem says there are 47 investigators into Metrojet crash - 29 from egypt, 7 russia, France 6, Germany 2 - Ireland 3 #egyptcrash

According to the flight data recorders, the incident occurred 23 minutes and 14 seconds after takeoff at an altitude of 30,888 feet in climbing mode, at a speed of 281 knots-autopilot engaged, he said. 

The investigators have listened to the audio from the cockpit voice recorder and are currently in the phase of writing the transcript, he dded.

Access to the crash site has been impeded by bad weather since Tuesday, he said. An investigation team consisting of 58 experts plan to return to the site as soon as weather conditions improve in the next few days.

The investigation has established that the pattern of the debris scattered over a wide area of more than 13 kilometers, while not all parts of the plane have yet been found, he dded.

Initial observations do not yet allow the identification of the origin of the break up, Mokadem said.

"We did not reach until this moment any conclusions,” he said.

With no official statements made on the cause of the crash, there has been media speculation that a bomb explosion on board downed the aircraft. On Friday, several French media cited unnamed officials allegedly close to the investigation as saying that that a sound similar to that of an explosion could be heard on the recording.

The Egyptian head of the investigation told reporters on Saturday that he cannot confirm these reports.

Meanwhile, during the week there have been several US media reports which cited intelligence officials speaking on the causes of the crash. On Tuesday, media reported that a US infrared satellite had detected a heat flash in the same vicinity, indicating that an explosion may have occurred on board.

READ MORE: Cherry-picking facts may lead Sinai crash probe down MH17 lane – Russian aviation agency chief

The committee does not have such evidence, said the Egyptian official, urging the public to provide any information that would aid the investigation.

The Airbus A321, which belonged to Russian Kogalymavia, which uses the brand name Metrojet, crashed in Sinai after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh airport on October 31. All 217 passengers and seven crewmembers on board died in the disaster, making it the deadliest incident of this kind in Russian aviation history. 

There was no distress call prior to the crash.

Sinai crash investigation: Facts vs speculations known so far

The Powers-that-be in the West have made up their mind what happened. Never mind the doubts. Never mind having to go through a process. Never mind that events like Lockerbie are still being talked about 35 years later.

Here is CNN taking a whole 30 minutes to talk about it.

EGYPTIANS OFFICIAL : NOISE HEARD IN FINAL SECOND OF RECORDING FROM CRASHED RUSSIAN JET

Meanwhile this is worth reproducing in full because it is the official view from Pravda-on-the-Potomac. From the point-of-view of the decaying Empire the Russians and the Egyptians are simply not to be trusted with an accident that affects them directly (and not the Americans).

Russian and Egyptian officials are not to be trusted over airline crash

Washington Post,

7 November, 2015

By Editorial Board November 6 at 8:43 PM

THE CRASH of a Russian airliner in the Sinai Peninsula last week posed an immediate test for Russia, whose citizens made up most of the 224 killed, and for Egypt, which is responsible for security at the beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where the flight originated. So it says much about the autocratic regimes that control the two countries that the first word that the destruction of the aircraft might have been a terrorist attack — and the first measures to protect the tens of thousands of tourists still in the Sinai — came from the government of Britain.

Prime Minister David Cameron, saying it was “more likely than not” that “a terrorist bomb” had destroyed the airliner, suspended regular British flights to Sharm el-Sheikh while taking steps to bring home some 20,000 British tourists stranded there. The governments of Vladi­mir Putin in Moscow and Abdel Fatah al-Sissi in Cairo reacted indignantly. While Mr. Putin suspended Russian flights on Friday, his spokesman was still insisting there was no reason to conclude that there had been an act of terrorism. When not issuing his own denials, Egypt’s transport minister was obstructing the British evacuation effort, reducing the number of London flights from 29 to eight .

While Western governments worried about protecting their citizens, the Sissi and Putin regimes were focused on defending themselves. Both rulers have sold themselves as warriors courageously taking on the Islamic State and its affiliates; both are using that fight as a pretext to accomplish other ends, such as repressing peaceful domestic opponents and distracting attention from declining living standards. On the actual battlefield, both are failing: Mr. Sissi has been unable to pacify the Sinai in two years of scorched-earth operations, while Mr. Putin’s offensive against rebels fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria has quickly bogged down.

As U.S. officials underlined, there are strong indications but so far no conclusive evidence that the plane was bombed. Yet to concede that the Islamic State might have penetrated Egyptian security at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport, and that Mr. Putin’s Syrian ad­ven­ture could have prompted the worst civil air attack in Russia’s history, would be not just an embarrassment but a potentially grievous political wound. So the two regimes are turning to familiar tactics: bluster and obfuscation. Mr. Sissi told the BBC that suggestions of terrorism must be intended “to damage the stability and security of Egypt and the image of Egypt.” Russian officials, who still deny the overwhelming evidence that a Russian anti-aircraft missile downed a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine last year, are insisting that it will take months to draw any conclusions. .

The state media controlled by Messrs. Putin and Sissi have a nasty habit of blaming all disasters on the United States, no matter how far-fetched the theory required. So we won’t be surprised if Russians and Egyptians are told the CIA is somehow responsible for the tragedy in the Sinai. Those seeking a more rational conclusion must consider this somber point: The Egyptian and Russian regimes are far less adept at fighting terrorism than they are at lying.

And the Guardian

Calls for new era of airport security after Sinai terror

Fears focus on screening of baggage handlers as aviation experts demand new global response

In case you thought that Russia has done a 180 degree turn as reported by western media the Russians themselves are still not convinced.

Source: Russian side has no proof of explosion onboard Russian plane that crashed in Egypt

"It is too early to say that the nature of these noises is identified, moreover, to say that they indicate an explosion," the source said

MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/. The Russian side so far has no evidence confirming that the crash of the Russian plane in Egypt was caused by an explosion onboard, a source in the Russian mission at the special commission of the Egyptian aviation authorities probing into the crash said on Friday.

"Russian specialists will request the French investigators and the Egyptian commission to provide confirmation of the onboard explosion identification," the source said. "As of now, we can speak only about certain noises recorded by the cockpit voice recorder."

"It is too early to say that the nature of these noises is identified, moreover, to say that they indicate an explosion," the source said.

"We have no such data. We will ask the French and the Egyptians to provide concrete proof of their theories," he said.

And who in western capitals would bother to see if the Egyptians have a view. This is from al-Ahram

Too early to reach conclusion on Russian plane downed in Sinai - Egypt investigator

It is still too soon to determine what caused the crash of a Russian airliner in Sinai last week, the Egyptian head of the committee investigating the crash said at a news conference in Cairo on Saturday afternoon