Russian Jet Crash & Aviation Security

Russian airline #Metrojet’s Airbus A321 was flying from the Red Sea resort of #Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg in Russia when it went down in central Sinai carrying 224 passengers crashing into a mountainous area of Egypt's Sinai peninsula on 31st October shortly after losing radar contact near cruising altitude, killing all aboard.

A militant group affiliated to Islamic State in Egypt, Sinai Province, said in a statement it had brought down the plane "in response to Russian airstrikes that killed hundreds of Muslims on Syrian land", but Russia's Transport Minister told Interfax news agency the claim "can't be considered accurate”.

This NOTAM had been issued warning of potential terrorist attacks:

1A6349
HECC CAIRO FIR ---------------------1A6349/15 SECURITY EGYPT, NORTHERN SINAI PENINSULA, POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS SITUATION CONTENT: GERMANY ADVISES ALL GERMAN OPERATORS NOT TO PLAN AND CONDUCT FLIGHTS BELOW FL260 DUE TO HAZARDOUS SITUATION IN THE AIRSPACE OF EGYPT, REGION NORTHERN SINAI (FIR CAIRO). POTENTIAL RISK TO AVIATION OVERFLYING THIS AREA BELOW FL260 AND TAKE OFF / LANDING AT ALL AIRPORTS FROM DEDICATED ANTI-AVIATION AND GROUND TO GROUND WEAPONRY. OPERATORS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO TAKE POTENTIAL RISK INTO ACCOUNT IN THEIR RISK ASSESSMENT AND ROUTEING DECISION. AFFECTED AREA: AREA WITHIN N311400E322200 - N294000E324000 - N293000E345400 N312000E341200 - N311400E322200 EMERGENCY SITUATIONS: IN AN EMERGENCY THAT REQUIRES IMMEDIATE DECISION AND ACTION FOR THE SAFETY OF THE FLIGHT, THE PILOT IN COMMAND MAY DEVIATE FROM THIS NOTAM TO THE EXTENT REQUIRED BY THAT EMERGENCY.

And

1V42/15 HAZARDOUS SITUATION IN EGYPTIAN AIRSPACE IN NORTHERN SINAI GOVERNATE WITHIN THE AREA BOUNDED BY 311400N 322200E - 294000N 324000E - 293000N 345400E - 312000N 341200E - 311400N 322200E (CAIRO FIR, SINAI PENINSULA). POTENTIAL RISK TO AVIATION OVERFLYING THIS AREA AT LESS THAN 25,000FT AGL FROM DEDICATED ANTI-AVIATION WEAPONRY. OPERATORS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO TAKE THIS POTENTIAL RISK INTO ACCOUNT IN THEIR RISK ASSESSMENTS AND ROUTEING DECISIONS. CONTACT UK DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT (DFT) (+44) (0)20 7944 3260 OR (+44) (0)207 944 5999 OUT OF HOURS 14-12-0274/AS6.
SFC-UNL

Both the above and the recent findings rule out any pilot error and aircraft technical issues, as a cause of the crash. UK investigators believe a bomb was put in the hold of the Metrojet Airbus A321 before take-off. British Prime Minister, David Cameron has said it is "more likely than not a terrorist bomb" had brought down the plane, and the UK has grounded flights from the resort.

British military officials are now on their way to Egypt and security at Sharm el-Sheikh airport is under intense scrutiny. It is "highly probable" that even a relatively unsophisticated terror group could get a bomb on to a jet leaving the resort. Many passenger aircraft carry cargo as well, which often comes as a complete sealed unit, and the concern is that at airports like Sharm security is lax around cargo. A lot of the airports in the Far East and Middle East are running on a shoestring and they have to turn round aircraft and cargo as fast as possible.That leads to careless security procedures.

Certainly in my experience flying into airports in Africa, Middle East and certain parts of Southern Europe, I have noticed airport security ,and the staff manning it, not very well trained. I had a situation a few years ago where a passenger told the ramp agent the plane was going to crash. I immediately had all passengers and bags removed from the aircraft and the passenger that had spoken to the ramp agent spent 10 days in jail. Nothing would have probably happened but these people were sent to test the system. This is happening all the time and as soon as they see a “vulnerable” airport, they plan an attack like the one we saw last week in Egypt.

I must say in the UK all crew in most airlines are aviation security trained very well. having worked for a number of different airlines as a pilot I give credit to my training in the UK. We were not only taught about what could potentially be a threat on an aircraft but also a lot about how to go about when we are on a layover and staying in hotels. Creating awareness is often enough to prevent these things from happening.

In the following interview I did with Bob Morrison from Sec-Tech you will pick-up a few security tips to keep you, your co-workers and family safer.

So far we have seen #terrorist hit on the USA and UK, I guess Putin didn't realise that if he bombed ISIS he would get hit back. 

Whenever these things happen the private jet sector gets a boost. It is obviously more expensive to hire or buy your own jet but one of the benefits is that of it being a very safe environment. You control, the maintenance, the pilots, who travels with you and also what goes in the baggage hold. We just have to see how the private jet market has grown since 9/11 attacks. With #Netjets, #Flexjet, #Xojet, #Vistajet adding new aircraft to their fleets every year, add the lower price of fuel and flying private is also becoming more affordable.

Fabrizio Poli is an Aviation Analyst & Managing Partner of Boutique Aviation Company Tyrus Wings. He is also an accomplished Airline Transport Pilot having flown both private Jets and for the airlines. Fabrizio is also a bestselling author and inspirational speaker & has been featured in the Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, Daily Telegraph, Wealth X, Financial Times, El Financiero and many other Media offering insight on the aviation world. You can tune in weekly to Fabrizio's business Podcast Living Outside the Cube available both in video & audio. Fabrizio & Geoff from Tyrus Wings also conduct a live video conference on blab.im called "Airplane Talk" every Thursday, where people can jump in and ask questions about the fascinating world of aviation.

You can contact Fabrizio on:

[email protected] OR Mobile: +44 7722 350 017