What happened
On the morning of the accident, an aircraft departed from Sharm el-Sheikh at 0549LT, destined for Saint Petersburg-Pulkovo Airport. The flight was cleared to an initial altitude of FL350. The aircraft was carrying a total of 224 people, consisting of 217 passengers and a crew of seven.
Approximately 23 minutes after the departure, the aircraft began a rapid and steep descent. During this period, the descent rate increased to 6,000 feet per minute, accompanied by a simultaneous decrease in airspeed. At 0613LT, all radio and radar communication with the aircraft was lost.
The wreckage was located in a desert region approximately 50 km southeast of Hasna, within the Sinai. The impact and subsequent fire destroyed the wings and the central section of the fuselage. All 224 occupants of the aircraft perished in the accident.
Findings
Investigation of the debris field, which spanned an area of 16 km2, revealed that the engines and the tail section were located several hundred meters away from the primary wreckage site. Evidence suggests that the aircraft likely underwent partial disintegration in mid-air, though this is believed to have occurred during the final stages of the descent rather than at a high altitude. The aircraft struck the ground in a relatively flat attitude before being consumed by a post-crash fire.