Sunday, November 1, 2015

Wikipedia:Kogalymavia Flight 9268

Kogalymavia Flight 9268
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Kogalymavia Flight 9268

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kogalymavia Flight 9268
Airbus A321-231 MetroJet EI-ETJ.JPG
The aircraft on 5 August 2014 at Moscow Domodedovo International Airport.
Accident summary
Date 31 October 2015
Summary Crashed, under investigation[1]
Site Near Hasna, North Sinai Governorate, Egypt
30.1506°N 34.178°ECoordinates: 30.1506°N 34.178°E
Passengers 217[2]
Crew 7
Fatalities 224 (all)[3][4]
Aircraft type Airbus A321-231
Operator Kogalymavia
Registration EI-ETJ[5]
Flight origin Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
Destination Pulkovo Airport, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Kogalymavia Flight 9268 (7K9268/KGL9268[a]) was an international chartered passenger flight,[7] operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia (branded as Metrojet), which crashed in northern Sinai on 31 October 2015 at 04:13 UTC (06:13 EST)[8] following departure from Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, Egypt, en route to Pulkovo Airport, Saint Petersburg, Russia.[5][9][10]
The aircraft, an Airbus A321-231, was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members.[2][11] Of those mostly tourists aboard, the majority were Russian while 3 were Ukrainian.[12]
With the death toll of 224 people,[13] the crash of Flight 9268 is the deadliest in Egyptian territory, surpassing the 2004 crash of Flash Airlines Flight 604;[14] and has the highest number of Russian victims in an airliner crash, surpassing that of Aeroflot Flight 7425 in 1985.[15] It is also the deadliest air crash involving an aircraft from the Airbus A320 family, surpassing TAM Airlines Flight 3054;[15] and the deadliest air disaster to occur in 2015, surpassing Germanwings Flight 9525.

Contents

Aircraft

The aircraft in its first ever livery for Middle East Airlines
The aircraft at Manchester Airport in April 2011 during its operation with Onur Air
The aircraft that crashed was an 18-year-old Airbus A321-231, serial number 663, registered EI-ETJ.[16] It was delivered to Middle East Airlines in May 1997 with the registry as F-OHMP. It later served for Onur Air and Saudi Arabian Airlines as TC-OAE, until October 2011. In April 2012 Kolavia acquired the plane as EI-ETJ and transferred it to Kogalymavia in May.[17] The aircraft was powered by two IAE V2533 engines and configured to carry 220 passengers in an economy configuration.[18] At the time of the crash, it was owned by Amsterdam-based AerCap and leased to Kolavia.[19] The aircraft had accumulated 56,000 flight hours on nearly 21,000 flights.[16]
On 16 November 2001, while operating for Middle East Airlines as F-OHMP, the aircraft suffered a tailstrike landing in Cairo. It was repaired and went back into service with the airline in 2002.[20]

Crash

The route of the aircraft, the black dot indicates the origin of the flight, and the red dot indicates the crash site.
Flight 9268 left Sharm el-Sheikh airport at 03:50 UTC (5:50 EST)[8] for Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg, Russia with 217 passengers. The aircraft failed to make contact with Cyprus Air Traffic Control 23 minutes later.[21] Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed the flight had disappeared from radar.
The captain of the flight had reportedly told ATC that there was a technical fault[22] and had requested a route change, although there was no indication whether a change had occurred. Interfax reported that the aircraft requested an emergency landing at El Arish International Airport before disappearing.[23][24] Other sources deny that any such requests or distress signals were received prior to the disappearance.[25] The Egyptian Civilian Aviation Ministry issued a statement that indicated the flight was at an altitude of 31,000 ft (9,400 m) when it disappeared from radar screens after a steep descent of 5,000 ft (1,500 m). It had disappeared in a mountainous area in central Sinai with poor weather conditions making it difficult for rescue crews to get to the scene. The descent of 5,000 ft (1,500 m) occurred in one minute shortly before it disappeared 50 km (31 mi) north east of Nekhel.[26] Reuters quoted an unnamed security officer as saying that the aircraft had been completely destroyed.[27] Wreckage was said to be scattered over a wide area (some 20 square kilometres, or eight square miles) with the nose section found some five kilometres (three miles) from the tail, indicating that the aircraft had broken up during flight.[28]

Response

Eurocontrol's Air Flow Traffic Management (CFMU) issued a notice to all operators along the route shortly after the aircraft's disappearance that because of technical problems all flights would be tactically re-routed, although the notice was withdrawn shortly thereafter.[5]
Unnamed Egyptian authorities indicated that the first parts of the wreckage had been located.[5] Fifty ambulances were sent to the crash site[27] near Housna, 300 kilometres (190 mi) from Sharm el-Sheikh.[29] Unnamed Egyptian officials reported that the aircraft "split in two" and most bodies were found strapped to their seats. Initial reports indicated that voices of trapped passengers could be heard in a section of the crashed aircraft, suggesting some survivors.[30] At least 100 bodies were initially found, including at least five children.[3] All 224 passengers and crew died.[24] The Association of Tour Operators of Russia released the passenger manifest of all those thought to have been on the flight.[31]

Passengers and crew

Passengers by nationality
Nationality Passengers Crew Total
 Russia 214 7 221[32]
 Ukraine 3 0 3[33]
Total 217 7 224
Flight 9268 was carrying 217 passengers, including 17 children, and 7 crew members.[13] According to Egyptian officials, 214 of the passengers were Russian while 3 were Ukrainian.[34] Most of the passengers were tourists returning to Russia from holidays in Egypt’s Red Sea resorts.[12]
According to Kogalymavia, the flight's captain had over 12,000 hours of flight time, including 3,800 hours of this aircraft type.[5]

Investigation

Ayman al-Muqaddam was appointed to investigate the cause of the crash. In a statement, he indicated that the pilot had made contact with the civil aviation authorities and asked to land at the nearest airport. He suggested the aircraft may have been attempting an emergency landing at Al-Arish airport in north Sinai.[35] It crashed 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of the coastal city.[36]
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations was sending three of its aircraft to the crash site. The Investigative Committee also started a case against Kogalymavia under legislation regulating "violation of rules of flights and preparations."[37] Kogalymavia's employees were also questioned, along with those of the Brisco tour agency that had chartered the flight. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry promised to work closely with Russian officials and investigators to find the cause of the accident. The aircraft had successfully undergone technical checks before taking-off. Investigators would also view the security camera footage.[38] Soon after the crash, the Russian Investigative Committee announced that it would be conducting tests on fuel samples taken from the aircraft at its last fuel uplift in the Russian city of Samara.[39]
The aviation accident investigation agencies BEA (France) and BFU (Germany) will also participate in the investigation as representatives for the state of the aircraft's design and manufacture, respectively.[40] The BEA will send two investigators, accompanied by six representatives from Airbus, to Egypt on 1 November.[40] According to the BEA, they will join two investigators from the BFU and four investigators from the Interstate Aviation Committee, their Russian counterpart, representing the state of the aircraft's operator.[40]
Natalya Trukhacheva, the wife of co-pilot Sergei Trukhachev, disclosed in an interview with NTV that her husband had complained about the aircraft's technical state. She related that their daughter "called him up before he flew out. He complained before the flight that the technical condition of the aircraft left much to be desired."[41]
Both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were recovered from the crash site on 1 November. The Russian transport minister and a team of specialist investigators arrived in Cairo to assist the Egyptian authorities in determining the cause of the crash. Later that day, Russia's regional transport prosecutors determined that the quality of fuel on the crashed jet met required standards, a Russian news agency reported.[citation needed] Russian and Egyptian investigators began examining the black boxes of the crashed jet on that day. The examination will likely take place at the civil aviation ministry in Cairo, according to the source.[42]

Claims by Islamic State and refutation

Shortly after the crash, Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the incident, which occurred around an area of fighting between government forces and an IS affiliate, Sinai Province.[43] Islamic State claimed this was in revenge for Russian air strikes against militants in Syria, where IS controls territories, along with contiguous Iraqi territories. It is very unlikely that this militant group had access to surface-to-air missiles capable of hitting an aircraft at high altitude since MANPADS systems can rarely reach even half the cruising altitude of an airliner, even though they could not exclude the possibility of a bomb on board the flight.[44]
Mohamed Samir, a spokesman for the Egyptian Army, rebutted the claims, stating, "The Army sees no authenticity ... They can put out whatever statements they want but there is no proof at this point that terrorists were responsible for this plane crash. We will know the true reasons when the Civil Aviation Authority, in coordination with Russian authorities, completes its investigation."[45] Similarly, Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov summarily dismissed the claims as "fabrications" due to a lack of evidence from Egyptian civil aviation and security officials and Air Traffic data.[46]

Responses

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail confirmed that the aircraft had crashed[5] and cancelled his meetings upon hearing the news.[47] He was on his way to the crash site along with other ministers on a private jet, according to the Tourism Ministry.[27]
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, noted that the Russian embassy was following the events.[35] President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and an official investigation.[3] Putin also declared 1 November a national day of mourning in Russia.[48] Israel, which borders the Sinai peninsula, offered its assistance to Russia and Egypt with surveillance and search efforts.[3] On 1 November, it was reported that Russia grounded Airbus A321 jets flown by Kogalymavia. Interfax said the Russian transport regulator Rostransnadzor had told Kogalymavia to stop flying A321 aircraft until the causes of the crash were known. These report were contradicted as Kogalymavia representative as saying that the airline had not received the order from Rostransnadzor.[49] Airbus posted a note on Twitter promising more information when it is available.[27] They also released a statement on their website confirming the aircraft's MSN and engine configuration.[50]
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolences on 1 November to President Vladimir Putin. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who was in Seoul, South Korea to attend the sixth China-Japan-South Korea leaders' meeting, also sent a message of condolences to Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry extended condolences to Russia over the plane crash. He also offered to provide U.S. assistance. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also expressed condolences over the crash. Canada's newly elected Prime Minister-designate, Justin Trudeau expressed his condolences to the families and friends of victims of the crash.[51] Czech President Miloš Zeman sent his deepest condolences to the Russian people and expressed his support for affected families.[52]
Lufthansa, Emirates, and Air France–KLM announced they would avoid overflying the Sinai peninsula until the cause of the accident has been determined. The United States' Federal Aviation Administration had previously told carriers under its jurisdiction to operate above FL260 while flying over Sinai. Germany's Luftfahrt-Bundesamt had told its airlines the same thing.[5] Air Arabia and flyDubai also stopped their flights over the Sinai Peninsula in response to the crash. British Airways also stopped their flights in response to the crash. However, they later stated that they planned to continue flights over the Peninsula and had no plans to change its routes in the wake of the incident. EasyJet stated that they would not halt their flights over the Sinai Peninsula, but will actively review them.[53]

See also

Notes


  1. 7K is the IATA designator and KGL is the ICAO airline designator.[6]

References


  • "Wreckage of Russian passenger plane found in Sinai: Egypt govt". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  • External links


  • "Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt's Sinai, country's Prime Minister says". cnn. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Egypt plane crash live: Crew of Kogalymavia Flight 9268 'had complained about engine problems'". Independent. 31 October 2015.

  • "No survivor on Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt's Sinai, said country's Prime Minister says". Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Crash: Metrojet A321 over Sinai on Oct 31st 2015, disappeared from radar in climb over Sinai". The Aviation Herald.

  • "ICAO Airline Designators beginning with K". airlinecodes.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2015.

  • "Technical issues before losing contact: Putin sends rescue teams to wreckage of Russian airliner 'split in two' with 224 on board". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Crash of Metrojet Flight 7K9268". Flightradar24.

  • "Информация по рейсу 7К-9268 Шарм-Эль-Шейх" (in Russian). 31 October 2015.

  • "Крушение российского лайнера в Египте.". RIA Novosti (in Russian).

  • Sawer, Patrick (31 October 2015). "Russian airliner crashes in Egypt's Sinai peninsula with 219 or 224 people on board". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • Dearden, Lizzie (31 October 2015). "Egypt plane crash: What we know so far about Metrojet flight 9268". The Independent. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Списки пассажиров КГЛ9268 предоставленные Росавиацией". EMERCOM (in Russian).

  • Al-Atrush, Samer; Antonova, Maria (2015-11-01). "Investigators probe deadly Russian plane crash in Egypt". AFP. Yahoo News. Retrieved 1 November 2015.

  • "Search & recovery operation underway in Egypt after Russian plane crashes killing all 224 on board". RT.com. 2015-10-31. Retrieved 1 November 2015.

  • "Metrojet A321-200 flight 7K-9268 accident over Sinai Peninsula" (Press release). Airbus group. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Metrojet Russia EI-ETJ (Airbus A321 – MSN 663) (Ex F-OHMP TC-OAE ) – Airfleets aviation". airfleets.net. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "EI-ETJ Metrojet Airbus A321-231 – cn 663". planespotters.net. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "MetroJet A321 crashes in Sinai while en route to St Petersburg". Flightglobal. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • Harro Ranter (16 November 2001). "ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A321-231 F-OHMP Cairo International Airport (CAI)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Russian airliner crashes in central Sinai – Egyptian PM". BBC News. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Sinai plane crash: 'No SOS call' before disaster". BBC News.

  • Mohammed, Yusri; Hassan, Ahmed Mohamed (31 October 2015). "Russian airliner with 224 aboard crashes in Egypt's Sinai, all killed". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • Thomas, Merna; Neil MacFarquhar (31 October 2015). "Russian Plane Crash in Sinai Peninsula Kills 224". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Crashed Russian Airliner Pilot Did Not Seek Traffic Control Help". Retrieved 1 November 2015.

  • "EI-ETJ – Aircraft info and flight history". FlightRadar24. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Updates: Russian airliner crashes in Egypt's Sinai peninsula". BBC News. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • Kramer, Andrew E. (November 1, 2015). "Russia Mourns as Officials Work to Determine Cause of Jet Crash". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2015.

  • "Russian plane crashes in Sinai, reportedly killing all 224 people on board". CNN. 31 October 2015.

  • "No survivors – Egyptian officials". Blog Post. The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Списки пассажиров и экипажа рейса 9268 «Когалымавиа»". atorus.ru (in Russian). ATOR. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Russian delegation arrives in Egypt to begin crash investigation". Channel NewsAsia.

  • "The Latest: Co-pilot's wife: He complained about plane". Yahoo News.

  • "Sinai plane crash: No survivors on Russian airliner KGL9268". CNN. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • Jessica Elgot. "Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt’s Sinai – latest". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • Mohammed, Yusri; Farouk, Ehab. "Russian airliner with 224 aboard crashes in Egypt's Sinai". Reuters. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Russian Emergencies Ministry sends rescuers to Egypt". en.mchs.ru. Retrieved 1 November 2015.

  • "The Latest: Russians search Metrojet office after crash". Yahoo.news.com. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Russian plane crash in Sinai". BBC News. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Accident in the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) to the Airbus A321-231, registered EI-ETJ, flight 7K-9268, on Saturday 31 October 2015" (Press release). Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile. 2015-10-31. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • Brian Rohan; Hamza Hendawi (31 October 2015). "Officials Search for Cause of Plane Crash Over Egypt's Sinai". Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt: ABC News/Associated Press. Retrieved 1 November 2015. Natalya Trukhacheva, identified as the wife of co-pilot Sergei Trukachev, said in an interview with Russian state-controlled NTV that her husband had complained about the plane's condition. She said a daughter "called him up before he flew out. He complained before the flight that the technical condition of the aircraft left much to be desired." One Egyptian official, Ayman al-Muqadem of the government's Aviation Incidents Committee, said that before the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers, the pilot had radioed and said the aircraft was experiencing technical problems and that he intended to try and land at the nearest airport.

  • "Russian delegation arrives in Egypt to begin plane crash investigation". ITV. Retrieved 1 November 2015.

  • "Updates: Russian airliner crashes in Egypt's Sinai peninsula". BBC News. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "IS claims downing in Sinai of Russian plane carrying 224". Yahoo.news.com. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Russia, Egypt deny Daesh downed plane". PressTV. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "IS claim 'a fabrication'". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Russian Airliner With 224 on Board Crashes in Egypt". Sputnik. 31 October 2015.

  • Bush, Jason (31 October 2015). "Russia's Putin declares day of mourning after airliner crash in Egypt". Reuters. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Kogalymavia told to halt A321 flights after crash". RTE.ie. Retrieved 1 November 2015.

  • "METROJET A321-200 FLIGHT 7K-9268 ACCIDENT OVER SINAI PENINSULA". Airbus. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

  • "Spotlight: World leaders extend condolences over Russian plane crash in Egypt". Xinhua.net. Retrieved 1 November 2015.

  • "Prezident republiky kondoluje ruskému lidu" (in Czech). Prague Castle. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  • end quote from:
  • Kogalymavia Flight 9268
     

  • ISIS Claims to have shot down Russian Plane

    Claims by Islamic State and refutation

    Shortly after the crash, Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the incident, which occurred around an area of fighting between government forces and an IS affiliate, Sinai Province.[43] Islamic State claimed this was in revenge for Russian air strikes against militants in Syria, where IS controls territories, along with contiguous Iraqi territories. It is very unlikely that this militant group had access to surface-to-air missiles capable of hitting an aircraft at high altitude since MANPADS systems can rarely reach even half the cruising altitude of an airliner, even though they could not exclude the possibility of a bomb on board the flight.[44]
    Mohamed Samir, a spokesman for the Egyptian Army, rebutted the claims, stating, "The Army sees no authenticity ... They can put out whatever statements they want but there is no proof at this point that terrorists were responsible for this plane crash. We will know the true reasons when the Civil Aviation Authority, in coordination with Russian authorities, completes its investigation."[45] Similarly, Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov summarily dismissed the claims as "fabrications" due to a lack of evidence from Egyptian civil aviation and security officials and Air Traffic data.[46]
    end partial quote from:
    Kogalymavia Flight 9268
    My thought is that ISIS may have brought down this plane either by a missile, anti-aircraft fire or by a bomb placed on the plane by a suicide bomber or in the luggage on the plane. 
     
    However, it is in the interests of Russia, Iran, NATO and the U.S. not to release this information if it is true because the Russian people might force Putin to leave Syria if it came to be known publicly. And the world wants ISIS gone now by any means necessary.
     
    So, what I'm saying here is we are in wartime rules now regarding stuff like this worldwide.

    Was Russian Plane Shot down like Airliner in Ukraine?

    Because of Russia's entry into Syria with their armed forces it would make sense that ISIS sympathizers in the Sinai might try to shoot down a Russian Plane. But, if it is true expect this to be covered up by the Russians and even NATO and the Americans might try to deep six this story if this is what happened.

    Questions swirl over Russian plane crash in Sinai that killed all 224 aboard

    CNN - ‎1 hour ago‎
    Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (CNN) The remains of Russian tourists killed in a passenger jet crash in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula are expected to start arriving back in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday as questions swirl over what caused the disaster.
    Egypt's top prosecutor declares Russian plane crash site off-limits as probe ...
    Kogalymavia Flight 9268

    Questions swirl over Russian plane crash in Sinai that killed all 224 aboard

    Story highlights

    • Fuselage disintegrated in midair, Russian media quote aviation official as saying
    • Egyptian official says there was nothing abnormal before plane dropped off radar
    • Russian and Egyptian authorities dismiss apparent claim of responsibility from militants
    Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (CNN)The remains of Russian tourists killed in a passenger jet crash in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula are expected to start arriving back in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday as questions swirl over what caused the disaster.
    All 224 people aboard Kogalymavia Flight 9268 died in the Saturday morning crash that left debris strewn across a remote area of a region plagued by a violent Islamic insurgency.
    The airliner broke into pieces in midair, Russia's state-run media quoted an aviation official as saying, but there were no additional details.
    "Disintegration of the fuselage took place in the air, and the fragments are scattered around a large area (about 20 square kilometers)," Viktor Sorochenko, executive director of Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee, told journalists, according to reports.
    Footage from the scene showed mangled wreckage and piles of belongings from the plane spilled over a largely flat, barren landscape.
    Many of the passengers on the Airbus A321-200 aircraft, which crashed en route from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, were reported by Russian state media to be returning from vacation. Russian officials said there were 25 children aboard the plane.
    At Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, where the aircraft was supposed to end its journey, mourners paid their respects to victims at a makeshift memorial. People brought red or white carnations and stuffed toys. A table held a dozen candles. Relatives who had waited desperately for news of loved ones broke down in tears.
    Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared Sunday a day of mourning.

    'It suddenly disappeared'

    It remains unclear what caused Flight 9268 to suddenly drop off radar, in clear weather after only 23 minutes in the air, and hurtle to the ground.
    Speaking to high-ranking army officers in Cairo on Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi asked them to observe a moment of silence before urging the public not to jump to conclusions. Determining what happened will require a lengthy investigation, he said.
    "These are complicated matters that require advanced technologies and wide investigations that might go on for months," he said.
    The crash is most likely the result of a technical failure, Egyptian Airports Co. chief Adel Al-Mahjoob told CNN Arabic on Saturday, although he noted that the plane passed a routine check before it took off.
    Russian media outlets said that the pilot reported technical problems and requested a landing at the nearest airport before the plane went missing, but Egyptian authorities disputed that claim.
    Air traffic control recordings don't show any distress calls, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamel said at a news conference.
    "There was nothing abnormal before the plane crash," he said. "It suddenly disappeared from the radar."

    'Little that can or should go wrong'

    CNN aviation correspondent Richard Quest said it was "unusual" for an aircraft to go down after around 20 minutes in the sky.
    Quest: Airbus A320 the 'backbone' of European fleets

    Quest: Airbus A320 the 'backbone' of European fleets 02:44
    "At this point, a plane is on autopilot. It's reaching its initial cruising altitude, and there is little that can or should go wrong," he wrote in an analysis.
    Investigators are likely to get a better understanding of what happened from the aircraft's so-called black boxes -- the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder -- which have been recovered and transported to Cairo for analysis.
    The data recorder stores a vast array of information about the flight, such as air speed, altitude, engine performance and wing positions. The voice recorder captures sounds on the flight deck that can include conversations between the pilots and warning noises from the aircraft.

    Militants' claim of responsibility dismissed

    The Sinai Peninsula, where Flight 9268 crashed, is home to ISIS-affiliated militants who are locked in a deadly conflict with Egyptian security forces. They appeared to claim responsibility for bringing down the Russian passenger jet in a statement posted online Saturday, but officials in Egypt and Russia dismissed it.
    Aviation expert: Major failure aboard aircraft

    Aviation expert: Major failure aboard aircraft 03:31
    Mahjoob, the airport official, said there was no evidence of a terrorist attack. And Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said the claim that terrorists brought down the plane by using an anti-aircraft missile "cannot be considered reliable," according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
    The Egyptian military said militants in Sinai have shoulder-fired anti-aircraft weapons that only shoot as high as 14,000 feet, far short of the more than 30,000 feet at which Flight 9268 was flying when it dropped off radar.
    To reach such an altitude would require missiles using special launch pads and radar systems operated by engineers, the military said.
    It added that many of the victims of the crash were found with their seatbelts on, suggesting the pilot had asked them to buckle up because of a problem with the aircraft.
    Nonetheless, Air France, the German air carrier Lufthansa and the UAE airlines Etihad, Emirates, AirArabia and flydubai have decided to reroute aircraft scheduled to fly over Sinai.
    "We will keep that measure in place as long as we are not sure of the circumstances and the reasons of the Metrojet crash," Lufthansa spokeswoman Bettina Rittberger said. Metrojet is the name by which the Russian airline, Kogalymavia, is commonly known.
    Etihad said in a statement that it was "complying with instructions by the Egyptian authorities to avoid certain areas of airspace over the Sinai peninsula," which would affect only a handful of flights.

    Russians promised broad role in investigation

    Russian emergency ministry officials were on the ground at the crash site in northern Sinai on Sunday, Russian state media reported.
    Egypt: No foul play suspected in Russian jet crash

    Egypt: No foul play suspected in Russian jet crash 02:40
    Sisi, the Egyptian President, has promised Putin to allow "the broadest possible participation of Russian experts in the investigation," according to the Kremlin. Putin has also ordered Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to open an investigation into the crash, it said.
    The Egyptian government said Sunday that 163 bodies have so far been transported to morgues and hospitals in Cairo while the search continues for others at the site. Russian government aircraft were expected to start transporting them to St. Petersburg.
    The Airbus A321-200 that crashed Saturday was built in 1997 and Metrojet had been operating it since 2012, Airbus said in a statement. The aircraft had clocked up around 56,000 flight hours over the course of nearly 21,000 flights, it said.
    There were 217 passengers and seven crew members on board, most of them believed to be Russian. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin tweeted that four victims were Ukrainian citizens.
    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.

    Questions swirl over Russian plane crash in Sinai that killed all 224 aboard

     

    Squatty Potty (or a stool you make at home)

    My daughter bought me something like this but I had it set next to the toilet in one of the bathrooms in our house. So, when I saw the humorous Squatty potty video with a unicorn using it, I remembered it and thought about using it. I found it about 10 to 20 times better and more efficient than not using one.

    My father had taught me as a boy to often squat on the toilet instead of sitting on it. But, you have to be coordinated to do this and have to have really good knees which I did up until a year or two ago. Even in the woods I find it is harder than when I was young doing this. So, often if I'm in the wilds and have to go I will lean against a tree which also works. But, if you have piles (hemorroids) or whatever, you will find it is much easier to use a device like this.

    Also, you could make something like this with a small piece of plywood and maybe some sawed off 2 by 4s to or anything else you wanted to including old books that were stacked that you aren't going to read anymore depending upon who and where you are here on earth and it might help you a lot in your life.

    However, drinking enough water during the day and eating apples and not too much cheese also helps a lot. Good Luck!

    Remember to "Fall Back" here in the U.S.

    It's an hour earlier than you might think so if you got to church an hour before everyone else you already know this. But, last night at I think 2 am is when we all are supposed to go from Daylight Savings time to regular Time once again here in the U.S.

    I wouldn't have known or the people in my house as we waited for Trick or Treaters if I hadn't turned on NBC Nightly News to here that it was time to fall back. Most clocks in your house you are going to need to change physically back one hour. However, most phones will adjust by themselves, especially Smart phones generally. So, if you aren't sure about the time go online to Google or somewhere like that and just type in "Time" to get an accurate setting for your specific Time Zone.