Egypt Jet Crash Caused By 'Some Kind Of Impact'

A Russian airline says it is "impossible" that a technical fault or pilot error caused its jet to break up, killing 224 people.

Managers from Kogalymavia, which operated the Metrojet flight, said only "some kind of impact" could have caused the plane to start falling apart in mid-air as it flew over Egypt.

But the head of the Russian Federal Aviation Agency warned it was premature to comment on the possible cause of the crash, saying investigators simply do not have enough data to reach a conclusion.

:: Egypt Plane Crash: What We Know So Far

Metrojet's deputy director general Alexander Smirnov said: "There are no circumstances where a plane can just fall apart in mid-air.

"There is no technical fault or stopping of internal systems that could lead to the aircraft's dismembering.

"If we don't take in fantastical versions that the plane can be destroyed by a change in pressure, the only plausible reason is mechanical action aimed at the plane."

The aircraft's crew did not make any contact about problems with the plane during the 23 minutes before it disappeared off flight radar, the airline said.

Speaking in Moscow, bosses dismissed claims that financial problems could have compromised safety and said both the Airbus A321's engines had been inspected on 26 October, with no problems found.

The airline said the flight crew had not recorded any technical concerns in their log book during the jet's last five flights - though the wife of co-pilot Sergei Truckahev reportedly claimed at the weekend that he had complained "the technical condition of the aircraft left much to be desired".

The Kremlin, which previously played down a claim of responsibility from Islamic State-linked terrorists, said on Monday that "nothing can be ruled out" as investigators work with debris spread over some eight square miles (20km) on the Sinai Peninsula.

James Clapper, the US director of national intelligence, said while there was so far no direct evidence of terrorist involvement, it could not yet be excluded that IS brought down the plane.

British military expert Paul Beaver has said he thinks the crash was most likely caused by a bomb on board.

A source in the committee analysing the plane's two black box flight recorders in Egypt told Reuters preliminary analysis showed the aircraft was not struck from outside and that the pilot did not make a distress call.

Mike Vivian, a former head of flights operations at the Civil Aviation Authority, has told Sky News Metrojet was wrong to suggest a plane could not break up in mid-air because of a technical fault, pointing to the China Airlines Flight 611 disaster in 2002.

The jet disintegrated in mid-air because of faulty repairs 22 years earlier, and observers have noted the Metrojet aircraft involved in this latest incident suffered tail damage in 2001.

More than 170 bodies have been recovered from the crash site, with the remains of more than 140 victims flown to St Petersburg and transported in two lorries from Pulkovo Airport on Monday morning.

Authorities say all those on board were Russian nationals - most of them holidaying in Sharm el Sheikh - except for three Ukrainians and one Belarusian. Twenty-five were children.

The aircraft vanished from radar shortly after taking off from the Red Sea resort and was flying at around 31,000ft when it lost contact.

Emirates, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and Air France said they have stopped flying over the Sinai Peninsula until they find out more about what caused the crash.

EasyJet said it would continue to fly tourists to Sharm el Sheikh "as planned", while British Airways said it could not comment on "exact flight routes".

British experts have met to assess whether the crash should lead to a change in UK security plans and travel advice.