External influence Caused Sinai Plane Crash

The Russian airline Kogalymavia has blamed "external influence" for Saturday's Sinai plane crash which killed 224 people. An investigation by aviation experts using data from the aircraft's "black boxes" has yet to give its conclusions. An airline official said that "The only reasonable explanation is that it was [due to] external influence." Also, a Kremlin spokesman also said terrorism could not be ruled out as a possible cause of the crash. At a news conference in Moscow, the deputy director of the airline, which was later renamed Metrojet, ruled out a technical fault and pilot error. "The only explanation for the plane to have been destroyed in mid-air can be specific impact, purely mechanical, physical influence on the aircraft," Alexander Smirnov said. "There is no such combination of failures of systems which could have led to the plane disintegrating in the air," he added. BBC