This weekend, all 224 people aboard a Russian passenger plane died when it mysteriously crashed over Egypt. Now, an executive from Kogalymavia airlines has told reporters that they believe “an external influence” caused the plane to break into pieces mid-flight. According to his statement, officials have ruled out “technical problems and reject human error”—which is contrary to initial reports from Egyptian media. Officials in both countries however say that claims of responsibility from ISIS militants are without merit. The plane was in the air only 20 minutes when ground control personnel said it vanished from radar, and, according must have experienced “a mechanical impact.” Recording and tracking devices on the plane have been recovered from the crash scene, though officials are still in the process of mining the data. The Egypt Prime Minister’s Office also released several images (like this one from Suliman el-Oteify) showing officials investigating the scene of crash.
