Russian Plane Crash; Experts Work to ID Plane Crash Victims. Also Possible Reason Why The Plane Crashed

Experts And Officials On Scene

The latest developments after a Russian passenger plane crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board Saturday.

Russia's Investigative Committee says 130 bodies and 40 body parts from the Metrojet plane crash in the Sinai have arrived in St. Petersburg.

The remains were flown in early Monday on a Russian government plane and were sent to a crematorium. Work identifying the victims began immediately and investigators say the families of the victims have given DNA samples to help that process.

Saturday's crash killed all 224 people aboard the plane heading from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, most of them Russians.

Another plane with more crash victims' remains is expected in St. Petersburg late Monday night.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin is describing the crash of a Russian plane in Egypt as an "enormous tragedy" and says his thoughts are with the families of the victims.

Putin spoke Monday in his first public appearance since the Metrojet plane crashed Saturday in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, 23 minutes after it took off from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people aboard the plane were killed, the vast majority of them Russians.

Russian and Egyptian officials have not given a cause for the crash, which occurred in an area where Egyptian troops are fighting an Islamic insurgency. A Metrojet official said Monday that "an external impact" brought the plane down, not a technical malfunction or pilot error.

 

Metrojet official says its plane crashed in the Sinai due to "an external impact" and Islamic State has claimed it brought the plane down, but one expert does not think the extremists could do that.

British military analyst Paul Beaver said he was certain IS does not possess a missile system — such as the Russian Buk — capable of hitting a plane at an altitude of 31,000 feet.

He told The Associated Press on Monday "that's a very serious piece of equipment, and I don't think they have that sophistication. Beaver said such a system "requires a bunch of well-trained people, an integrated air-defense network around them. You can't just drive up in a vehicle and fire a missile."

Beaver also said the Sinai desert was well-scrutinized by intelligence agencies, so a missile would have been noticed.

       

Metrojet officials say something outside the plane flying to St. Petersburg caused it to crash in the Sinai desert and that made the plane's crew incapable of responding.

Viktor Yung, a director general of Metrojet, says Monday "from the moment since the events took a tragic turn, the crew became incapacitated." He says that's why there was not "a single attempt to get in touch (with air traffic control) and report the situation on board."

Another Metrojet official, Alexander Smirnov, has ruled out technical faults or pilot error as a reason for Saturday's crash, saying Monday it had to be due to "an external impact on the plane."

A Cairo official who had earlier reported a distress call by the pilot was not answering calls Monday seeking clarification.

All 224 people aboard the plane were killed in the crash.

-ABC News