Sharm el-Sheikh havariet - Oppdatering - Curt Lewis

Investigators Reassemble Metrojet Wreckage

Investigative Committee for the Russian Federation

WASHINGTON-A group of investigators from Russia and Germany have begun working with Egyptian officials in Cairo to start "reassembling" the recovered pieces of the Metrojet AirbusA321 that disintegrated on climb-out from Sharm el-Sheikh,, Egypt, on Oct. 31, 2015.
According to the Egyptian Aircraft Investigation Committee, the process -arranging the various pieces as closely as possible to the original configuration-is aimed at determining the starting point of the breakup sequence. Investigators from Ireland, France and the U.S. are expected to participate as well.

The Investigative Committee for the Russian Federation (ICRF), which opened a criminal probe of the crash in parallel with the civil investigation, said the components had been made available by Egypt only after Russian officials "insisted on it." The two countries recently signed an agreement covering "the investigation of the terrorist attack," according to a new release on the ICRF's website.

While the investigation continues, Russia has maintained since mid-November that terrorists exploded the aircraft with an improvised explosive device, likely in the tail section, which was found separated from the main crash site. However, the preliminary report, published by the Egyptian investigating team in mid-December, concluded that investigators had not received any information indicating "unlawful interference" with the flight.
Russia sent a formal report citing "suspected criminal activity" in the crash to Egypt's investigation committee in March; the report was turned over to Egypt's attorney general.

The preliminary analysis of the flight data recorders from the December report showed that all systems were functioning normally as the aircraft climbed through 30,000 ft., when the recording abruptly stopped. All 224 passengers and crew were killed. The debris field extended more than 8 nm from the main cabin-crash site.

Based on International Civil Aviation Organization standards, a final report should be completed by Oct. 31, or at a minimum, an interim report detailing the progress of the investigation and any safety issues uncovered should be available.