Metrojet Flight 9268

Metrojet Flight 9268

EI-ETJ, the aircraft involved, seen in June 2015
Bombing
Date	31 October 2015 (2015-10-31)
Summary	Bombing by Islamic State's Sinai branch
Site	Near Housna, North Sinai Governorate, Egypt 30°10′9″N 34°10′22″E / 30.16917°N 34.17278°E / 30.16917; 34.17278
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Airbus A321-231
Operator	Kogalymavia (Metrojet)
IATA flight No.	7K9268
ICAO flight No.	KGL9268
Call sign	KOGALYM 9268
Registration	EI-ETJ
Flight origin	Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
Destination	Pulkovo Airport, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Occupants	224
Passengers	217
Crew	7
Fatalities	224
Survivors	0

Metrojet Flight 9268 was an international chartered passenger flight^[1] operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia (branded as Metrojet). On 31 October 2015, at 06:13 local time EST (04:13 UTC),^[2] the Airbus A321-231 operating the flight exploded above the northern Sinai Peninsula following its departure from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Egypt en route to Pulkovo Airport, Saint Petersburg, Russia.^[3][4][5] All 224 passengers and crew on board died.^[6][7] The cause of the crash was most likely an onboard explosive device^[8][9][10] as concluded by Russian investigators.^[11]

Most of the people aboard the flight were tourists. The passengers comprised 212 Russians, four Ukrainians, and one Belarusian. There were also seven crew members on board, all of whom were Russian.^[6] Investigators believe that a bomb was put on the aircraft at Sharm El Sheikh, with the goal of causing airlines to suspend flights to that airport.^[12]

Shortly after the crash, the Islamic State's Sinai Branch (IS-SP), previously known as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, claimed responsibility for the incident, which occurred in the vicinity of the Sinai insurgency.^[13][14] IS-SP claimed responsibility on Twitter, on video, and in a statement by Abu Osama al-Masri, the leader of the group's Sinai branch.^[15][16] IS posted pictures of what it said was the bomb in Dabiq, its online magazine.^[17]

By 4 November 2015, British and American authorities suspected that a bomb was responsible for the crash.^[18] On 8 November 2015, an anonymous member of the Egyptian investigation team said the investigators were "90 percent sure" that the jet was brought down by a bomb. Lead investigator Ayman al-Muqaddam said that other possible causes of the crash included a fuel explosion, metal fatigue, and lithium batteries overheating.^[12] The Russian Federal Security Service announced on 17 November 2015 that they were sure that it was a terrorist attack, caused by an improvised bomb containing the equivalent of up to 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of TNT that detonated during the flight. The Russians said they had found explosive residue as evidence. On 24 February 2016, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi acknowledged that terrorism caused the crash.^[19]

In March 2020, an Egyptian appeals court ruled the crash was not an act of terrorism, and it dismissed lawsuits against government officials, Metrojet, and Ingosstrakh. The appeals court ruled that the identities of the 224 victims had not been officially established and it was impossible to issue compensation to them as a result.^[20]