On October 31st, 2015 an Airbus A321 operating as Metrojet flight 7K9268 departed Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt bound for St. Petersburg, Russia.
The flight departed at 351 UTC carrying 217 passengers and seven crew.
The flight proceeded on Autopilot towards it’s cruising altitude of 32,000 feet.
At 4.13 UTC the aircraft suddenly began to descend rapidly, then ascended rapidly before breaking
into pieces and plunging to the Sinai desert killing all on board.
The international media reported the plane had gone missing, before briefly reporting the flight had reached Turkish airspace safely.
Egyptian aviation official says lost plane is safe | Reuters
It was also claimed that the plane had experienced mechanical problems and sought clearance to land at the nearest airport.
From the Wall Street Journal:
“Egypt’s flagship state-run newspaper, Al Ahram, quoted an Egyptian aviation official as saying the plane’s pilot had requested to land at the nearest airport after an unspecified mechanical problem shortly after taking off at 5:50 a.m. local time.’
From the New York Times.
‘Earlier news reports in Egypt, citing officials, said the pilot had radioed that he was having
technical difficulties and wanted to make an emergency landing. “
The leader of the Egyptian investigation Captain Ayman al Moqadem was cited as the source for the false claim about mechanical problems in Al Ahram
“Ayman El-Mokadem, who is heading a government committee to determine the cause of the crash, said that the pilot sensed a technical failure and reported it to air traffic controllers, requesting to land at the nearest airport.
El-Mokadem added that the plane seems to have crashed during the attempt to shift directions in order to land at Al-Arish Airport in North Sinai.’
Ayman al Moqadem has told the media a completely false story. This was not a momentary error nor an error that has been explained.
On the basis of this false claim the accident was presented as the result of mechanical failure for several days.
Elements claiming to represent ISIL claimed responsibility immediately and released a video purporting to show the attack.
The flight departed at 351 UTC carrying 217 passengers and seven crew.
The flight proceeded on Autopilot towards it’s cruising altitude of 32,000 feet.
At 4.13 UTC the aircraft suddenly began to descend rapidly, then ascended rapidly before breaking
into pieces and plunging to the Sinai desert killing all on board.
The international media reported the plane had gone missing, before briefly reporting the flight had reached Turkish airspace safely.
Egyptian aviation official says lost plane is safe | Reuters
It was also claimed that the plane had experienced mechanical problems and sought clearance to land at the nearest airport.
From the Wall Street Journal:
“Egypt’s flagship state-run newspaper, Al Ahram, quoted an Egyptian aviation official as saying the plane’s pilot had requested to land at the nearest airport after an unspecified mechanical problem shortly after taking off at 5:50 a.m. local time.’
From the New York Times.
‘Earlier news reports in Egypt, citing officials, said the pilot had radioed that he was having
technical difficulties and wanted to make an emergency landing. “
The leader of the Egyptian investigation Captain Ayman al Moqadem was cited as the source for the false claim about mechanical problems in Al Ahram
“Ayman El-Mokadem, who is heading a government committee to determine the cause of the crash, said that the pilot sensed a technical failure and reported it to air traffic controllers, requesting to land at the nearest airport.
El-Mokadem added that the plane seems to have crashed during the attempt to shift directions in order to land at Al-Arish Airport in North Sinai.’
Ayman al Moqadem has told the media a completely false story. This was not a momentary error nor an error that has been explained.
On the basis of this false claim the accident was presented as the result of mechanical failure for several days.
Elements claiming to represent ISIL claimed responsibility immediately and released a video purporting to show the attack.