Sunday, November 1, 2015

Russian plane crash: British airlines warned not to fly low over Sinai region a YEAR ago

Military investigators from Russia stand near the debris of a Russian airliner
Danger: Airlines were warned about flying low over Sinai a year ago
European airlines were warned not to fly low over the area where the Russian passenger jet crashed a YEAR ago because of terror fears.
The Metrojet plane, bound for St Petersburg, crashed 23 minutes after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday morning.
The 224 people on board, all Russian except for four Ukrainians and one Belarusian, died.
Now it has emerged that the European Aviation Safety Agency warned carriers about potential dangers from ISIS-affiliated terror thugs in November 2014.
The safety information bulletin states: “Due to ongoing insurgent activity, operators of civil aircraft should be aware of the risk to flight operations safety in the North Sinai Governate of Egypt deriving from possible use of small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and anti-aircraft fire, including shoulder-fired man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS).

Anadolu AgencyA plane part is seen as the Egyptian officials
Debris: A plane part is seen as the Egyptian officials inspect the crash site of Russian airliner
"The threat is considered to represent a significant risk to aviation overflying this area at or below FL260 (26,000ft)."
An easyJet spokeman said: "As has been the case for some time before Saturday's incident, easyJet like other UK airlines does not fly over northern and central Sinai, the area of the incident."
Getty ImagesEgyptian army soldiers stand guard next to the luggage and belongings of passengers
Loss: Egyptian army soldiers stand guard next to the luggage and belongings of passengers
The plane broke up at high altitude, Russia's top aviation official has said.
Fragments of the plane were found scattered over a large area, indicating it disintegrated high in the air, said Alexander Neradko, head of Russia's federal aviation agency.
the crash site in a remote part of the northern Sinai Peninsula, where Egypt is fighting an Islamic insurgency.
But Mr Neradko would not comment on a possible reason for the crash, saying the probe was ongoing.
On Sunday, an Egyptian ground service official who conducted a pre-flight inspection of the Airbus A321-200 said the plane appeared to be in good condition.

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