Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Press Service of Russian Emergencies Ministry/Handout via Reuters
A new clue regarding the crash of Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 that killed 224 people is having investigators asking more questions rather than providing more answers.
Yesterday, various news agencies reported that a United States infrared satellite detected a heat flash over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula at approximately the same time that the plane crashed, according to CNN. Intelligence analysis indicates that there may have been an explosive device on board the plane or a catastrophic malfunction took place.
Aviation analyst Paul Beaver talked with the Chicago Tribune, stating that there could still be a multitude of reasons why the plane went down.
“It doesn’t tell us if it was a bomb … or if somebody had a fight in the airplane with a gun — there is a whole raft of things that could happen in this regard,” he said.
U.S. officials told NBC News that they have ruled out the possibility of a missile bringing down the plane because the heat flash did not show the kind of tail that would’ve followed a missile or rocket. Pentagon officials also stated that it’s a possibility that the flash isn’t related to crash considering how there is regular military activity in the Sinai Peninsula, according to ABC News.
A preliminary investigation of the crash site has indicated that the plane did take heavy damage at an altitude of over 10,000 meters. It has also been reported that the crew did not send out a distress signal which leads investigators and analysts to believe that whatever did happen on the plane, happened suddenly.
A new report released from CNN Wednesday morning revealed another clue related to the crash. Russian state broadcaster Russia 24 reported that the tail of the plane was found 3 miles away from the rest of the wreckage, leading investigators to examine what could’ve went wrong with the tail, especially since it had been damaged previously.
“To me, it says (the tail) exited the plane before (an) explosive event and before the fire engulfed the plane,” said CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo.