Sharm el-Sheikh - Saint Petersburg

On October 31, 2015 at 06:13 AM, Sharm el-Sheikh - Saint Petersburg experienced a crash involving Airbus A321, operated by MetroJet, with the event recorded near Hasna North Sinai.

The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was flight at a desert crash site.

224 people were known to be on board, 224 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 7, crew fatalities: 7, passengers on board: 217, passenger fatalities: 217, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is terrorism act, hijacking, sabotage. The aircraft departed Sharm el-Sheikh at 0549LT bound for Saint Petersburg-Pulkovo Airport and was cleared to climb to FL350. On board were 217 passengers and a crew of seven. Some 23 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft entered a steep descent and reached a descent rate of 6,000 feet per minute with a simultaneous reduction of speed before all radar and radio contact were lost at 0613LT. The aircraft crashed in a desert area located about 50 km southeast of Hasna, in the Sinai. None of the 224 occupants survived the accident. It appears the aircraft crashed in a slightly flat attitude and was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire (the central part of the fuselage and wings). Based on the debris scattered on a zone of 16 km2, it is now understood that the engines and the tail have been found few hundred metres from the main wreckage. It is believed the aircraft partially disintegrated in the air but probably during the last phase of the descent and not at high altitude.

Aircraft reference details include registration EI-ETJ, MSN 663, year of manufacture 1997.