Britain suspends flights after plane crash

[projekktor id=’21804′]

(Updated)

Several new developments overnight regarding the Russian plane crash last weekend.

The British government and the tourist agency Thomson say a plane carrying British tourists to Sharm el-Sheikh in August came within 1,000 feet of a rocket.

Also, air accident investigators who listened to the cockpit voice recorder revealed that a noise had been heard “in the last second” of the recording before the doomed passenger plane plunged to the ground.   Investigation of the plane’s data recorders – known as black boxes – also revealed how it was still climbing when disaster struck, suggesting that the pilots felt everything was as it should be.

—–

Several flights appear to be scheduled to leave and arrive at Pearson International Airport next week from Egypt’s resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. That’s the same city that a crashed Russian passenger jet originated from. The British government is suspending all flights from the area amid growing speculation that an onboard bomb downed the plan, and a group affiliated with ISIS is claiming responsibility.

Sharm el-Sheikh is on the southern tip of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, which connects the continents of Africa and Asia. The city is on the Red Sea Coast and is only a few hours drive from Egypt’s border with Israel.

Canadian foreign affairs emailed us directly this Friday afternoon and said there are 18 Canadians registered in Sharm el-Sheikh with the registration of Canadians abroad service; however, this number provides only an estimate of Canadians as registration is voluntary.

To date, we have no reports of any Canadian citizens being affected. In the meantime, travellers at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport are getting increasingly frustrated with the lack of information they are getting.

224 people were killed in last Saturday’s crash of Metrojet flight 9268 over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. soon after the plane was downed Isis’ affiliate group in Egypt released audio claiming responsibility for the crash reporter script here.