International investigators on Sunday yesterday began probing looking into why a Russian airliner carrying 224 people crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, while the wife of the co-pilot Sergei Trukachev said in an interview with Russian state-controlled NTV that her husband had complained about the plane’s condition.
Natalya Trukhacheva, identified as the wife of Sergei Trukachev, told Russian state-controlled NTV that her daughter “called him up before he flew out. He complained before the flight that the technical condition of the aircraft left much to be desired”.
One Egyptian official, Ayman al-Muqadem of the government’s Aviation Incidents Committee, said that before the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers, the pilot had radioed and said the aircraft was experiencing technical problems and that he intended to try to land at the nearest airport.
Whie Russian’s While Russia’s transport minister and a team of high-level investigators arrived in Cairo to help Egyptian authorities determine what caused the crash, rescue workers were widening their search for missing victims.
An army officer involved in the efforts said search crews had recovered 163 bodies so far, including the body of a girl found 8km from the bulk of the wreckage from Saturday’s crash.
Flags were flying at half mast in Russia on Sunday yesterday and entertainment television programmes were cancelled as part of a national day of mourning for the victims, most of them Russians, aged from 10 months to 77 years.
The Egyptian government said there were 214 Russian and three Ukranian passengers on board, and seven crew members.