We absolutely exclude pilot error or a human factor

Egyptian soldiers collect the passengers’ belongings at the crash site. Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations, via Associated Press

Packed with passengers, a
plane vanishes from the radar

The charter flight with 224 people on board took off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, shortly before 6 a.m., and was headed to St. Petersburg, Russia.

Russian investigators check debris at the crash site. Khaled Elfiqi/European Pressphoto Agency

‘No distress signals’

The first news reports out of Egypt said the pilot radioed that he was having technical difficulties and wanted to make an emergency landing.

In a nationally televised news conference, the Egyptian transportation minister, Hossam Kamal, denied that anything abnormal happened.

“All was normal; the plane disappeared suddenly off the radar without any prior warning,” he said.