“The technical investigative committee has so far not found anything indicating any illegal intervention or terrorist action”, al-Muqaddam said adding that the commission continues working.
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The preliminary report has been shared with representatives of other countries involved in the investigation and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Egyptian statement said.
Investigators say no indication of “terrorist act” in Russian plane crash that killed all 224 onboard.
The Russian findings came a few days after deadly terror attacks in Paris killed at least 129 people and wounded more than 300.
Russian security officials have said they believe a bomb brought down Metrojet Flight 9268, and the Islamic extremist group ISIS has claimed it planted an explosive device in a soda can on the plane.
Last month, Egyptian investigators said the black box recorded the sound of an explosion prior to the crash.
“I can only remind you that the report of our experts from the corresponding special services concluded that this was a terrorist act”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agency Sputnik.
Egypt said on Monday it would hire a foreign company to help improve the country’s airport security.
In mid-November, Islamic State’s official magazine carried a photo of a Schweppes soft drink can it said was used to make an improvised bomb that brought down the Russian airliner.
Egypt is leading the multinational investigation into the crash, and its publication of the preliminary report Monday was met with a curt response from Russian Federation.
The vaguely worded statement implied this is not the final conclusion of the investigators.
“The committee did not receive until now any information indicating unlawful interference”. Was the crash the direct result of a terrorist attack, or was it a human/technical failure? Computers from the plane were removed from the site and taken to Cairo for examination, according to the statement.
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Background checks are also being conducted on the pilots’ licences and their medical history. The Egyptian air force will assist in moving the wreckage to Cairo for further scrutiny.
