Analysis of the black box recorders, which could solve the mystery of what brought down the plane, is expected to begin on Tuesday according to Egyptian officials.
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Only an external impact could have caused a Russian plane to dive into the Egyptian desert, killing all 224 people on board, Metrojet airline officials have said.
Though most of the day that followed was people spurning this suggestion, the US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper isn’t dismissing the idea so quickly.
The frustration and anger mount among victims’ families over opposing accounts by the various authorities.
While stressing the need to wait for the findings of an investigation, Smirnov said that he ruled out both a technical fault and human error. He did not specify what constituted external impact.
The Associated Press, meanwhile, reported that Kogalymavia has a spotty safety record and even rebranded itself three years ago in the wake of another deadly accident, getting rid of its aging Soviet aircraft and acquiring seven Airbus A321-200s and other planes.
Wilayat Sinai, Islamic State’s affiliate in Egypt, claimed responsibility on Twitter for downing the Airbus A321 on Saturday as it flew from the coastal resort of Sharm el Sheik to St. Petersburg.
A Reuters photographer saw a white lorry leaving the airport, escorted by police cars, heading for a St Petersburg morgue, where the bodies were to be identified.
In a statement, the Embassy said the travel ban was in place as a precautionary measure pending the outcome of the investigation into the crash.
Egypt’s civil aviation ministry said on Tuesday there were no facts at this stage to substantiate assertions that the plane broke up in mid-air.
Moscow immediately ruled an ISIL missile strike as a possibility and various military experts said that ISIL could not have the weaponry to shoot down an aircraft flying at 31,000 feet.
He said, “Without any doubt everything should be done so that an objective picture of what happened is created, so that we know what happened”.
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And Russia’s top aviation official, Alexander Neradko, 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.
