Russian Passenger Plane Crashes Over Egypt

[angelburst29]

Came across this article (published a day before the plane crash) and don't know if it's relevant or not?

Israel hosts its largest-ever international air force exercise

Israeli, American, Greek, and Polish air personnel square off against a fictional enemy state in two-week drill (Photo's)
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-hosts-its-largest-ever-international-air-force-exercise/

Air forces from around the world have gathered deep in the Arava desert in the south of Israel for the past week and a half to take part in the largest aerial exercise in the history of the Israeli Air Force.

The “Blue Flag” exercise, which is continuing through November 3, pits the Israeli Air Force, the United States Air Force, Greece’s Hellenic Air Force and the Polish Air Force against a fictional enemy state, the captain in charge of all IAF exercises told The Times of Israel Thursday night.

A number of other countries, including Germany, also sent pilots and officers to observe the exercise, but did not take part.

Though the exercise began on October 18, planning for it started nearly eight months ago, the Israeli official said, with an IAF representative contacting each participating country and initially asking, “What do you want to train for?”

Those requests came together to form the plan for “Blue Flag,” which sent Israeli and American F-15 squadrons, along with Israeli, Hellenic and Polish F-16 squadrons, flying through nearly all of Israel’s air space, firing simulated weapons against fictional enemy missile launchers, convoys and aircraft, he said.

[...]

“Blue Flag” ends next Thursday.

Something has me confused here, since I posted the above article. At the time of posting, I thought it odd - that this Big-To-Do-Exercise began on October 18th and was scheduled through November 3rd, 2015. Yet, Nov. 3rd is a Tuesday and the article ends with the statement, “Blue Flag” ends next Thursday" which is November 5th? Top it off, the article was posted - on October 30th - a day before the Russian plane crash - on October 31th (Halloween). Going back one month, to September 30th, last day of the Month, Putin (with Permission) entered Syria with Russian War Planes (no ground troops). Also note, the plane that crashed was headed directly to St. Petersburg, Russia's Capital.

So "why" was the article submitted and posted on Oct. 30th, when the "Blue Flag" exercise began Oct. 18th? I consider RT Website reliable and they tend to be on top of "everything" - so I went searching through their back articles. RT also carried the above article, also posted on Oct. 30th, quoting from timesofisrael.

https://www.rt.com/news/320162-israel-air-force-drill/

I searched RT back to Oct. first but found no reporting on the 2015 Israeli Blue Flag exercise? If I missed it, I stand corrected. Going another route, located the first Blue Flag exercise, reported on Nov 25, 2013.
_http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.560096

Israel Air Force to Hold Wide-scale Multinational Exercise This Year (June 08, 2015)
_http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.660043 (No date given.)

Israel Concludes Multinational Blue Flag Drill (Oct. 29, 2015)
_http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/training-simulation/2015/10/29/israel-concludes-multinational-blue-flag-drill/74815626/

TEL AVIV — Hundreds of air warriors and technicians from Israel, the US, Greece and Poland concluded here Thursday (Oct. 29) a two-week drill designed to hone the type of joint planning, targeting and coordinated command-and-control demanded by coalitions operating in complex Mideast theaters.

Blue Flag 2015 was the second and by far most extensive biannual drill hosted by the Israel Air Force (IAF) and monitored by officers and attaches from 34 countries, including Austria, Britain, Canada and France. The next Blue Flag will be held in 2017.

Israeli Air Force: Events Log The "Blue-Flag 2015" Training Exercise Has Come to an End (Oct. 29, 2015)
_http://www.iaf.org.il/4426-45512-en/IAF.aspx

Release date 29.10.2015 Hundreds of participants, dozens of aircraft and one Airbase: the largest aerial training exercise in the history of the IAF has come to an end and elevated its participants to new heights.

The "Blue-Flag" 2015 Training Exercise is Underway Release date 18.10.2015
_http://www.iaf.org.il/4426-45489-en/IAF.aspx


OK, so it's been established to be a real "Blue Flag" exercise, Oct. 18 - Oct. 29, 2015 (Israeli Air Force Website) and end date of Nov. 3rd and 5th (by TimesofIsrael and RT websites.) Glad - that's settled but why the odd timing of reporting the 'exercise" a day after it ended? What's behind the other two end dates? Why report it at all?

Below is a limited timeline of events prior and after the Russian plane crash. Of note, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter's insinuation of 'consequences for Russia" for going into Syria? Why only condolences from U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry and not a word from "President" Obama? Yet, the Pentagon/U.S. Intelligence offer intel that an American satellite picked up a strong “heat flash” in the area at the time of the crash, while also declaring - the crash was not due to "a ground to air missile"? If the U.S. has satellite intel, Russia most certainly does? Is the U.S./Israel trying to cover up something? The "unusual sounds" claimed to be on the Flight Recorder,
considering the "extra days" added to the Blue Flag exercise, experimentation of a "secret weapon" by Israel?

http://journal-neo.org/2015/10/10/us-defense-secretary-ash-carter-said/
Oct. 10, 2015 - Mr. Carter’s comments after a NATO meeting this week were less than inspirational, coming from a top United States official: “This will have consequences for Russia itself,” Carter said. “And I also expect that in coming days, the Russians will begin to suffer casualties in Syria.”

Ash Carter’s assertions, and the deadly insinuation represented by this attitude, are a chilling reminder America is still in a strategic game of world dominance.


United States Delivers Four F-16 Fighter Jets to Egyptian Armed Forces
_http://egypt.usembassy.gov/pr103016.html

Oct. 29, 2015 - Cairo – On October 29, Ambassador Stephen Beecroft and Senior Defense Official Major General Charles Hooper joined Air Marshal Younes al-Masri and other senior Egyptian military officials in a ceremony at the Cairo West Air Force Base to receive four F-16 “Fighting Falcon” fighter jets delivered by the United States to the Egyptian Air Force. Welcoming the four U.S. Air Force pilots who made the 14 hour flight from the United States to Egypt, Ambassador Beecroft called the delivery “another step forward in U.S.-Egyptian cooperation on fighting terror, bringing stability to the region, and strengthening our historic relationship.”

(Why is US Deploying F-15C Fighter Jets to Turkey?)
http://sputniknews.com/military/20151104/1029604273/us-syria-air-force-fighter-jet-isil.html

Nov. 4, 2015 - The US Air Force is deploying up to a dozen of US F-15C Eagle fighter jets to Turkey. And although the Pentagon announced that the deployment is to ‘ensure the safety’ of America’s NATO allies, the move is seen by some as a counter to Russia’s airstrikes in Syria.


Putin calls for ‘objective picture’ of Russian plane crash in Sinai
http://presstv.com/Detail/2015/11/02/436000/Sinai-Russia-Egypt-crash-Airbus-A321-Putin

Nov. 1, 2015 - Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on investigators to sketch an "objective picture" of the recent deadly crash of a Russian Airbus A321 in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

"I would like to once again express my condolences to the families and relatives of the victims," Putin said Monday, adding, "Without any doubt everything should be done so that an objective picture of what happened is created, so that we know what happened."

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov had earlier in the day said that all possibilities about the cause of the incident are being considered. “No theory could yet be ruled out,” he said when asked whether the crash could have been the result of a terrorist attack.


Russian experts will take part in all stages of the investigation of the Kogalymavia flight 9268 disaster.
http://sputniknews.com/world/20151103/1029539515/a321-crash-kogalymavia-experts.html

Nov. 3, 2015 - "Russian experts from Rosaviatsia, Kogalymavia itself, the State Air Traffic Management Corporation, as well as the Interstate Aviation Committee began work on November 1. They have the relevant authority and will, together with Egyptian partners, take part in the investigation at all stages," Sokolov told Rossiya 1 television.

He noted that Russian specialists have already been able to study the condition of the black boxes from the crashed plane.


Summary of developments
_http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11974107/Russian-plane-crash-latest-news.html

The Egyptian government is not happy with the US Embassy in Cairo after the Americans let it be known they were banning their diplomats from traveling to the Sinai until it becomes clear what brought down the plane.

Splits have emerged between Russia and Egypt as Cairo rejected Russian investigators’ conclusion that a Metrojet airliner had broken up in mid-air before crashing.

Four days into the investigation into the fate of Flight 7K9268, the Egyptian government said there was no evidence to support claims by Russian officials that the Airbus A321 “broke up in the air”. It is the most public rift to date between the two governments, which initially both strongly suggested the aircraft had been brought down by a technical fault, only to concede later that foul play was a possibility.

As investigators from both countries began examining the plane’s black boxes, the Russian news agency Interfax reported that a cockpit recorder had picked up sounds of chaos in the flight’s final moments.

Kremlin attaches no importance to absence of condolences from Obama over plane crash
http://tass.ru/en/politics/833725

Nov. 3, 2015 - US Secretary of State John Kerry conveyed the condolences from the entire American people, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.


Russian plane crash: Flight recorders reveal ‘unusual sounds’ moment before jet disappeared
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russian-plane-crash-in-sinai-flight-recorders-reveal-unusual-sounds-moment-before-jet-disappeared-a6718941.html

On Monday evening, US intelligence officials told NBC News that an American satellite picked up a strong “heat flash” in the area at the time of the crash.

According to NBC, officials said the flash was not preceded by a heat trail from below – suggesting there’s no indication the plane was struck by a missile.

“The speculation that this plane was brought down by a missile is off the table,” the official said.

 

[bjorb]

For what it’s worth, the only weapon I can think of if it was a weapon:

[quote author= February 2, 2003]Q: One of the first questions we want to ask tonight is about the event of the Space Shuttle that was lost. First, was it an explosion, or was it just disintegration, or breaking up?
A: It was a "direct hit."
Q: A direct hit by what?
A: EM pulse.
Q: (S) What was the source of the EM pulse?
A: 3/4th density Consortium.[/quote]

By the looks of it a shock-wave blew the plane to pieces so I tried to find similarities with the break-up of the space shuttle.


Website dedicated to lightning, electric universe theory, cosmos etc (I hope it's not a dis-info site, didn't go through of it all) : https://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2006/arch06/060417columbia2.htm

Dr. Alfred Beddard of the National Oceanics and Atmospherics Administration, who was the first to record powerful infrasound from high-altitude sprites, had his array of detectors trained on the shuttle re-entry path. He had recorded the sounds of shuttle re-entries before. This time he detected an unusual "geophysical event, as powerful as an earthquake" close to the shuttle's path, moments before Columbia's breakup.


[quote author= Keit]Yeah, just got a NYT alert, that "Britain has suspended flights to an Egyptian resort, saying an explosion might have brought down a Russian jet". Speaking about manufacturing hysteria. Russians, btw, never even considered it.[/quote]

Interesting how they push the ISIS bomb. Do they fear the conclusion of the Russian investigation? If it concludes it was a meteorite what are they going to do in response? Push there lies even harder? It would only force Russia to respond and basically show the world the reality of our current hostile cosmic environment. It was rather a busy meteorite/fireball/meteor week at the moment of the plane crash. Plenty of impressive videos to prove just that. Plenty of videos they do not want the world to see.


I think it would be interesting to know how much the Russian authorities actually know about our cosmic reality and if they are already making preparation for it?

 

[Nević Nenad]

From photos, it looks like the plane broke more or less in two pieces. Main part was from nose to wings. Then the back section, which may have split in two, although I couldn't find full images of all the wreckage, only the very rear with stabilizer, which shows a crack along its axis, which could have happened upon impact with the ground, although this part seems to have landed 'belly down' as seen in the image. The break in the stabilizer half way up is strange.

Dunno, if it's worthy to mention, but Russian media reported earliar that one of their readers sent them some earlier photos of this plane, where you can see that the tail was damaged at some point in the past. The ex-passenger of Metrojet says that he noticed the same side number: EI-ETJ. If you google "EI-ETJ", the tail seems to have some scar on it indeed, but I'm not sure if it's the same plane, so fwiw.

_http://www.e1.ru/news/images/new1/432/558/big/IMG_20140524_215110.jpg
_http://www.metronews.ru/_internal/gxml!0/2qijkhn0ctpwx8acoz5fxkpvtmr4nbh$mm319n1vxjwehbdvrgqt7xg5qxmfec7/2015-11-03-11.jpeg
_https://img.planespotters.net/photo/649000/original/ei-etj-metrojet-airbus-a321-231_PlanespottersNet_649899.jpg
_https://img.planespotters.net/photo/284000/original/ei-etj-metrojet-airbus-a321-231_PlanespottersNet_284460.jpg

I would say just bad quality of the paint, or more likely PVC film, since it seems they have changed livery a lot when plane changed the companies.

 

[Vulcan59]

FWIW this same aircraft suffered damage to the fuselage during a tailstrike event back in 2001 when it was operated by Middle East Airline (http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20011116-0)

There have been accidents before, where a tailstrike event suffered years earlier led to a catastrophic structural failure in flight leading to an accident.

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19850812-1 (Japan Airlines Flight 123)

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20020525-0 (China Airlines Flight 611)

 

[Siberia]

FWIW this same aircraft suffered damage to the fuselage during a tailstrike event back in 2001 when it was operated by Middle East Airline (http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20011116-0)

There have been accidents before, where a tailstrike event suffered years earlier led to a catastrophic structural failure in flight leading to an accident.

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19850812-1 (Japan Airlines Flight 123)

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20020525-0 (China Airlines Flight 611)

This article also provides some details:

Metrojet plane’s tail to get a close look from investigators after news that it was damaged in 2001

Alan Levin, Bloomberg News | November 3, 2015

More than a decade before it burst into pieces mid-air, the Russian jetliner that crashed in Egypt on Saturday scraped its tail on a runway during landing and needed to be repaired.

Investigators poring over wreckage of the Metrojet Airbus Group SE A321 in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula will be taking a close look at a 2001 repair to the plane’s tail because it is one of the few things known to cause the type of sudden midair breakup that occurred Saturday, said John Goglia, a former airline mechanic who served on the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

“If the engineering is done right, it’s not an issue. If the repair follows the engineering data, it’s not an issue,” said Goglia, who isn’t involved in the Metrojet investigation. “But a breakdown in any one of those can and has resulted in catastrophic failures.”

Impacts between the rear of a plane and the ground during landing and takeoff — known as “tail strikes” — occur with some regularity, according to National Transportation Safety Board data. Since 2000, there have been at least 22 tail strikes that caused severe enough damage to warrant an investigation by the safety board, according to its online accident database.

[...]

The plane’s tail had been properly repaired, Andrey Averyanov, deputy general director for engineering at Kogalymavia, which operates under the Metrojet brand, said at a briefing in Moscow Monday.

The plane, which was operated by another airline at the time, was repaired by Airbus in Toulouse, France, said Averyanov.

Read more: _http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/metrojet-planes-tail-to-get-a-close-look-from-investigators-after-news-that-it-was-damaged-in-2001

 

[Keit]

Just read the following:

Russian lawmaker says UK move to stop Egypt flights politically motivated - RIA

MOSCOW, Nov 5 (Reuters) - A senior Russian lawmaker said on Thursday Britain's decision to stop flights from Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh resort was motivated by London's opposition to Russia's actions in Syria, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

"There is geopolitical oppositon to the actions of Russia in Syria," said Konstantin Kosachev, a senior member of Russia's upper house of parliament, when asked about Britain's decision.

In the Russian article on the same topic he also says, that someone has an interest in presenting the crash as ISIS reaction to Russia's actions in Syria, and that there are elements of psychological pressure. He added that Russia will make the decision to stop flights to Egypt if it will see any good reason for it. So far there is no good reason for it.

So good to see that Russians are not buying this BS.

 

[Aeneas]

United States Delivers Four F-16 Fighter Jets to Egyptian Armed Forces
_http://egypt.usembassy.gov/pr103016.html

Oct. 29, 2015 - Cairo – On October 29, Ambassador Stephen Beecroft and Senior Defense Official Major General Charles Hooper joined Air Marshal Younes al-Masri and other senior Egyptian military officials in a ceremony at the Cairo West Air Force Base to receive four F-16 “Fighting Falcon” fighter jets delivered by the United States to the Egyptian Air Force. Welcoming the four U.S. Air Force pilots who made the 14 hour flight from the United States to Egypt, Ambassador Beecroft called the delivery “another step forward in U.S.-Egyptian cooperation on fighting terror, bringing stability to the region, and strengthening our historic relationship.”

(Why is US Deploying F-15C Fighter Jets to Turkey?)
http://sputniknews.com/military/20151104/1029604273/us-syria-air-force-fighter-jet-isil.html

Nov. 4, 2015 - The US Air Force is deploying up to a dozen of US F-15C Eagle fighter jets to Turkey. And although the Pentagon announced that the deployment is to ‘ensure the safety’ of America’s NATO allies, the move is seen by some as a counter to Russia’s airstrikes in Syria.

It looks like Russia is preparing itself against possible interference by the US in Syria:
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20151105/1029619466/russian-missile-systems-syria.html

Russia Delivers Missile Systems to Syria to Avert Stealing of Warplanes
Russia has delivered missile defense systems to Syria in order to prevent the possibility of Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft from being stolen, as well as to return fire, Russian Aerospace Forces Commander Viktor Bondarev said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – “We have taken into account all possible threats. We have sent not only fighters, attack aircraft, bombers, and helicopters, but also missile defense systems because any sort of force majeure situation may occur. For example, the stealing of a warplane in a neighboring country with Syria or having to return fire. We need to be prepared for that,” Bondarev told Russia’s Komsomolskaya Pravda daily in an interview.

Russia has been conducting precision airstrikes at Islamic State militant group positions in Syria at the request of President Bashar Assad since September 30.

Since the beginning of the air campaign, Russian Aerospace Forces have destroyed over 2,000 terrorist positions. Several hundred militants have been killed, and dozens of command centers and depots have been destroyed in over 1,600 sorties, according to the Russian General Staff.

I don't think that it is really about a fear of their aircrafts being stolen, rather the incursion by the US led coalition. It is only about a week ago, that Qatar said that they together with Saudi Arabia, might attack Syria in order to save the syrian people their terrorists.

 

[Oxajil]

Just read the following:

Russian lawmaker says UK move to stop Egypt flights politically motivated - RIA

MOSCOW, Nov 5 (Reuters) - A senior Russian lawmaker said on Thursday Britain's decision to stop flights from Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh resort was motivated by London's opposition to Russia's actions in Syria, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

"There is geopolitical oppositon to the actions of Russia in Syria," said Konstantin Kosachev, a senior member of Russia's upper house of parliament, when asked about Britain's decision.

In the Russian article on the same topic he also says, that someone has an interest in presenting the crash as ISIS reaction to Russia's actions in Syria, and that there are elements of psychological pressure. He added that Russia will make the decision to stop flights to Egypt if it will see any good reason for it. So far there is no good reason for it.

So good to see that Russians are not buying this BS.

Yeah, fwiw I just read in Dutch media that the Dutch government is waiting for the results of the British investigation into the safety of the area... In the meantime all flights from the Netherlands to Sharm El Sheikh/Sinai are cancelled, at least until Sunday. Though, they won't be "evacuating" Dutch citizens from Sharm El Sheikh, as the UK government is doing with its citizens. In fact, according to a spokesman of TUI Airlines Netherlands, Dutch tourists are simply enjoying their vacation.

It appears that Ukraine has banned flights over Sinai as well. No surprise there!

 

[Joe]

Yeah, fwiw I just read in Dutch media that the Dutch government is waiting for the results of the British investigation into the safety of the area... In the meantime all flights from the Netherlands to Sharm El Sheikh/Sinai are cancelled, at least until Sunday. Though, they won't be "evacuating" Dutch citizens from Sharm El Sheikh, as the UK government is doing with its citizens. In fact, according to a spokesman of TUI Airlines Netherlands, Dutch tourists are simply enjoying their vacation.

Well British citizens are obviously so much more sensitive and special than others, so it's only natural that their wonderful government would seek to protect them from even the slightest chance that any harm could come to them from those horrible darkies.

It appears that Ukraine has banned flights over Sinai as well.

Does Ukraine have an airline that can fly that far? I thought they would have sold it off already to pay the IMF.

 

[Gaby]

In the Russian article on the same topic he also says, that someone has an interest in presenting the crash as ISIS reaction to Russia's actions in Syria, and that there are elements of psychological pressure. He added that Russia will make the decision to stop flights to Egypt if it will see any good reason for it. So far there is no good reason for it.

So good to see that Russians are not buying this BS.

Yeah, fwiw I just read in Dutch media that the Dutch government is waiting for the results of the British investigation into the safety of the area...

Yeah, heard the news in a couple of Spanish radio shows this morning. It felt like a bad script of something they're selling to the public, "ISIS was responsible and everybody is following that lead, including the Russians" kind of thing.

It is deliberately pushed to the media that way, or so it appeared to me.

 

[Ca.]

National Geographic is not the best or credible source, but an interesting perspective never the less.

Exploding Asteroids Pose Greater Threat Than Direct Hits
PUBLISHED October 17, 2013
An "airburst" warning scale is needed for asteroids, cautions one expert.

An asteroid bursting apart in midair over a city poses a greater threat to humanity than a long-feared "planet buster" smacking into Earth, suggests one impact expert. He calls for a revised system of planetary defense focused on detecting smaller asteroids, instead of the big ones.

Earth orbits amid a shooting gallery of meteorites and asteroids; such shooting stars can be seen crossing the sky every 15 minutes on a typical night. (See "Tips for Enjoying the Perseids Meteor Shower.")

Sometimes those space visitors are larger, such as the February 15 fireball that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, injuring some 1,500 people in six cities across the region, or the 1908 Tunguska event that flattened 830 square miles (2,150 square kilometers) of Siberian forest.

"The chances are virtually certain that we are going to be next hit by a little asteroid that is a 'city buster,' long before we are hit by a bigger one," said physicist Mark Boslough of Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In an upcoming report in the Acta Astronautica journal, Boslough proposes a new "airbust" warning system for asteroids that blow apart in midair rather than blasting big holes in the ground.

"We really need to come up with a way to warn people," he said. (Also see "Asteroid Impacts: 10 Biggest Known Hits.")

Over the last two decades, astronomers have focused on detecting the biggest "near-Earth" asteroids, ones more than 500 feet (140 meters) wide that cross Earth's orbit.

About 95 percent of the largest ones, more than 0.6 mile (1 kilometer) across in size, are thought to have been discovered. Ironically, their paucity—none look headed our way anytime soon—explains some of the concern about airbursts.

Skipping down

Airburst Hazard Scale

In the new study, Boslough calls for starting a worldwide astronomical survey, including the launch of a satellite capable of spotting smaller asteroids to augment ongoing searches for the biggest asteroids. An example of such a warning comes from the fortuitous 20 hours of lead time that University of Arizona astronomers gave of a six-foot-wide (two-meter-wide) meteor that landed harmlessly in Sudan in 2008.

"It is virtually certain (probability > 99%) that the next destructive NEO [near-Earth object] event will be an airburst," he writes in the study, echoing points he made at an astronomy meeting in Denver earlier this week.

Modeled on hurricane warnings, his proposed airburst hazard scale for cities that could be impacted by a small asteroid has five levels:

The rest of the article is mishmash of information with better coverage at sott@sott.net


The Chelyabinsk meteor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelyabinsk_meteor
https://youtu.be/iCawTYPtehk
55.150°N 61.410°E Coordinates: 55.150°N 61.410°E
On account of its high velocity and shallow angle of atmospheric entry, the object exploded in an air burst over Chelyabinsk Oblast, at a height of around 29.7 km (18.4 miles, 97,400 feet).[7][8] The explosion generated a bright flash, producing a hot cloud of dust and gas that penetrated to 26.2 km, and many surviving small fragmentary meteorites, as well as a large shock wave. The bulk of the object's energy was absorbed by the atmosphere, with a total kinetic energy before atmospheric impact equivalent to approximately 500 kilotons of TNT (about 1.8 PJ), 20–30 times more energy than was released from the atomic bomb detonated at Hiroshima.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Strewnfield_map_of_Chelyabinsk_meteorites.jpg

 

[angelburst29]

Just read the following:

Russian lawmaker says UK move to stop Egypt flights politically motivated - RIA

MOSCOW, Nov 5 (Reuters) - A senior Russian lawmaker said on Thursday Britain's decision to stop flights from Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh resort was motivated by London's opposition to Russia's actions in Syria, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

"There is geopolitical oppositon to the actions of Russia in Syria," said Konstantin Kosachev, a senior member of Russia's upper house of parliament, when asked about Britain's decision.

In the Russian article on the same topic he also says, that someone has an interest in presenting the crash as ISIS reaction to Russia's actions in Syria, and that there are elements of psychological pressure. He added that Russia will make the decision to stop flights to Egypt if it will see any good reason for it. So far there is no good reason for it.

So good to see that Russians are not buying this BS.

Looks like Russia is calling UK's bluff ....

Russia complains about lack of Egypt crash information from Britain
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/05/egypt-crash-russia-britain-idUSL8N1304IX20151105?rpc=401#iYkAOif3qeE1PK0U.97

Nov 5 The Russian foreign ministry complained about Britain's failure to hand over information about Saturday's deadly plane crash in Egypt, after London said there was a significant possibility that Islamists had planted a bomb onboard.

The British government has not given us any information about the plane crash," Maria Zakharova, a foreign ministry spokeswoman, told reporters, according to the TASS news agency.

"If they have information and they are not presenting it that is shocking," she added, saying it was surprising that the representative of a foreign government rather than experts were putting forward theories about the plane's fate.

"The realisation that the British government has some kind of information that could shed light on what happened in the skies above Egypt is truly shocking," RIA Novosti, another Russian agency, cited her as saying.

Zakharova was speaking after Britain said there was a significant possibility that Islamic State's Egyptian affiliate was behind a suspected bomb attack on the airliner that killed 224 people. British Prime Minister David Cameron later said it was more likely than not that a bomb brought down the plane.

 

[Oxajil]

Well British citizens are obviously so much more sensitive and special than others, so it's only natural that their wonderful government would seek to protect them from even the slightest chance that any harm could come to them from those horrible darkies.

Yeah, apparently! From the Guardian:

"Moves have begun to fly home 20,000 British citizens stuck in the resort. Monarch airlines will operate three “rescue flights” on Friday, while easyJet says it will run nine flights to the UK from there on Friday."

"Stuck in the resort", sounds pretty dramatic. Especially considering that they're being "rescued" from an imaginative threat determined by UK intelligence.

Meanwhile, as angelburst29 also mentioned:

"Cameron has held phone discussions with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, about the security situation in the wake of the plane crash. Russia had earlier criticised the UK for not sharing its intelligence about the incident."

German airline Lufthansa also cancelled flights to the area.

Does Ukraine have an airline that can fly that far? I thought they would have sold it off already to pay the IMF.

 

[Joe]

One element to this event that is sort of strange is the fact that a 3 year old girl was found 34kms from the site when the main body of the plane fell. I suppose a small child near a part of the craft that broke off could have been pulled out because she was not wearing a seat belt.

 

[Aeneas]

It appears as though the Western powers can't contain their glee at the loss of Russian lives. The Charlie Hebdo magazine ridiculing the Sinai Crash. The ethics and human decency in the West is spiralling into a bottomless pit.

http://sputniknews.com/world/20151106/1029690550/kremlin-charlie-hebdo-sinai-crash.html

Moscow has slammed the latest French publication of a Charlie Hebdo cartoon illustrating the Russian A321 passenger jet crash over Sinai, calling it an “abomination,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – When asked if Moscow has any plans on addressing Paris for an explanation, Peskov responded negatively, saying "No, we won’t."

"In our country we have a very loud word for this – blasphemy. This has nothing to do with democracy, self-expression, nothing to do with anything – this is an abomination," Peskov told journalists.

Peskov said that he and his staff had "dug around" trying to find cartoons of Charlie Hebdo employees who were shot by terrorists in Paris, but said they could not find any.

"If they were published, then that is also an abomination, at least that’s how we see it in our country," Peskov added.

Charlie Hebdo is known for publishing controversial caricatures. On January 7, the Paris office of the magazine was attacked by Islamist gunmen who killed 12 people and wounded 11 after Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

It is yet another sign of a ponerized empire in the end stages.