France’s air safety agency to send team to Egypt to investigate Russia plane crash

France’s civil aviation safety agency (BEA) will be sending a team to Egypt after a Russian-operated airliner crashed in the Sinai Peninsula, killing all aboard, the agency said hours after the disaster Saturday.

The plane, a European-made Airbus A321 operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet, was flying from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg in Russia when it went down in central Sinai soon after daybreak.

BEA said in a statement it would send two safety investigators along with six technical advisers from Airbus to Egypt on Nov 1.

They will be joined by two investigators from Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation and four from the Russian equivalent, the Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK), the BEA said.

All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Although a militant group affiliated to Islamic State said it had brought down the plane, Russia has said their claim of responsibility could not be considered accurate.

Source: Reuters