MOSCOW (Sputnik) – There are currently no grounds to suggest technical malfunction, cockpit failure or external impacts that caused a Russian airliner crash in Egypt, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said Saturday.
"Rosaviatsiya currently has no reason to believe that the causes of the accident were technical failure or cockpit error or any impact. There is no reason to put forward and discuss any leads until there is reliable information about the circumstances of the accident," the agency said.
All 217 passengers and seven crew members aboard the Airbus-321 flight 9268 died when the passenger jet crashed in the Sinai Peninsula en route from Sharm El-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, Russian and Egyptian authorities confirmed.
