Putin calls for ‘objective picture’ of Russian plane crash in Sinai

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on investigators to sketch an "objective picture" of the recent deadly crash of a Russian Airbus A321 in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

"I would like to once again express my condolences to the families and relatives of the victims," Putin said Monday, adding, "Without any doubt everything should be done so that an objective picture of what happened is created, so that we know what happened."

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov had earlier in the day said that all possibilities about the cause of the incident are being considered. “No theory could yet be ruled out,” he said when asked whether the crash could have been the result of a terrorist attack. 

'External impact'

The Russian airline Kogalymavia, which operated the plane under the brand name Metrojet, has blamed “external impact” for the crash of the Russian passenger plane.

Kogalymavia’s deputy general director, Alexander Smirnov, told a news conference in Moscow on Monday that only a "technical or physical action" could have caused the incident.

Considering the fact that "the plane was in excellent condition …We rule out a technical fault and any mistake by the crew," he said.

Sources said the aircraft had received its certificate of airworthiness earlier this year from regulators in Ireland.

Meanwhile, according to Reuters news agency a source in the committee analyzing the flight recorders confirmed on Monday that preliminary examination of the black boxes showed that the plane was neither struck from the outside, nor did the pilot make a distress call before it disappeared from radar.

The source declined to give more details about the preliminary investigations.

Egyptian investigators aided by Russian and French experts are examining the black boxes.

Daesh-affiliates’ inaccurate claim

An Egyptian militant group affiliated with Daesh Takfiri terrorists claimed on Saturday that it had downed the plane in retaliation for Moscow’s anti-Daesh military campaign in Syria.

Russia's Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov, however, dismissed the claim, saying it was not “accurate."

The plane was carrying mostly Russian holidaymakers from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St.Petersburg, Russia.

The aircraft disappeared from radar screens on Saturday 23 minutes after takeoff at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 meters). All 224 people on board the plane were killed in the crash.

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