The Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsiya confirmed in a statement that flight KGL-9268 left Sharm el-Sheikh at 6:51am Moscow time (3:51am GMT) and was travelling to St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport. There were no survivors.
Advertisement
Russian President Vladimir Putin expresses his deepest condolences to the families of victims of the crash of a Russian airliner in Egypt, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday citing the Kremlin press service.
The plane, which was flying from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh to Russia’s St. Petersburg, lost contact with air traffic control about 25 minutes after take off and the Egyptian Prime Minister’s office confirmed it had crashed early this morning.
“The concerns and sympathy of the Airbus employees go to all those affected by this tragic accident of Flight 7K-9268”. The plane had accumulated more than 56,000 fight hours in almost 21,000 flights, Airbus said. It was powered by IAE-V2500 engines.
The weather was clear at the time of take-off, AccuWeather Meteorologist Adam Douty said.
In line with ICAO annex 13, an Airbus go-team of technical advisors stands-by ready to provide full technical assistance to French Investigation Agency – BEA – and to the Authorities in charge of the investigation.
Advertisement
The A321-200 jet that crashed is the largest version of the Airbus twin-engine A320 series that is capable of seating 240 passengers, according to a statement issued Saturday by the manufacturer. The first A321 entered service in January 1994.
