Russia jet accident: Metrojet plane lost speed, altitude before crash

St. Petersburg: The latest developments after a Russian passenger plane crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board Saturday. (all times local). 1:30 p.m. A top official at Metrojet says its plane dropped 300 kph (186 mph) in speed and 1.5 kilometers (about 5,000 feet) in altitude one minute before it crashed into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Alexander Smirnov, the deputy general director of Metrojet, also told reporters Monday in Moscow that no technical fault could have caused the Airbus A320-200 to break up in the air. He says the cause of Saturday's crash "could only have been a mechanical impact on the plane" in the air.

Russian investigators say the plane broke up at high altitude over the Sinai Peninsula but have so far refrained from naming possible causes. All 224 people aboard were killed.

A top official at Metrojet, the Russian airline company whose charter flight crashed Saturday in Egypt, says the plane lost speed right before the crash.

Alexander Smirnov, the deputy general director of Metrojet, also told reporters Monday in Moscow that no technical fault could have caused the Airbus A320-200 to break up in the air. He says the cause of the crash "could only have been a mechanical impact on the plane" in the air.

Russian investigators say the plane broke up at high altitude over the Sinai Peninsula but have so far refrained from naming possible causes. All 224 people aboard were killed.

A top official at Metrojet, the Russian airline company whose flight crashed Saturday in Egypt, is insisting that a technical fault could not have caused the crash.

Alexander Smirnov, the deputy general director of Metrojet, told reporters Monday in Moscow that no technical fault could have caused the Airbus A320-200 to break up in the air. He says the cause of the crash "could only have been a mechanical impact on the plane" in the air.

Russian investigators say the plane broke up at high altitude but have so far refrained from naming possible causes.

The Metrojet crashed Saturday morning 23 minutes after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 on board, the vast majority of them Russians.

A Russian official says forensic experts have begun identifying the bodies of the 224 victims of the Metrojet plane crash in Egypt.

Yulia Shoigu, chief of the emergency situations ministry's psychological service, made the comment Monday in televised remarks. Russia has sent over 100 emergency workers and aviation experts to help Egypt examine the crash site in the Sinai Peninsula. French, German and Airbus aviation teams are also helping the investigation.

A Russian government plane on Monday brought 140 bodies of plane crash victims to St. Petersburg, where most of the passengers were from. Another plane will be taking more crash victims' bodies to St. Petersburg from Cairo late Monday night.

Russia's emergency situations minister Vladimir Puchkov says the search for the bodies of victims of the plane crash in Egypt will wrap up in a day.

Puchkov tells a televised press conference Monday that the search in the Sinai Peninsula should wrap up by 10 p.m. Monday.

The Metrojet Airbus A320-200 crashed Saturday morning 23 minutes after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 on board. Most were Russian and many were from St. Petersburg.

A Russian government plane took the first 140 bodies from Egypt to St. Petersburg early Monday. Puchkov said another plane will travel from Egypt to St. Petersburg on Monday evening to bring more bodies of plane crash victims.