Russian Plane's Midair Breakup a Puzzle in Modern Jet Era
- Debris pattern in Egypt suggests jet disintegrated at altitude
- Metrojet says pilot error, maintenance issues ruled out
The Metrojet Airbus Group SE A321 plummeted into a remote area of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula 23 minutes after leaving the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on a flight to St. Petersburg, killing all 224 people aboard.
Photographer: Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty ImagesInvestigators probing the crash of an Airbus Group SE jetliner in Egypt will focus on how a plane built to withstand extreme turbulence and equipped with devices meant to prevent flight maneuvers that might break it apart could have been ripped to pieces in midair.
With the spread of wreckage across the desert suggesting a high-altitude disintegration that could stem from structural failure or an on-board explosion, Russian carrier Metrojet said Monday that early evidence points to some sort of “mechanical impact.” The U.S. said there’s no direct evidence of a terror link.