Hillel leader killed in horror crash
A YOUNG Jewish woman was among the 224 people killed when a Russian plane crashed in the Sinai Peninsula last Saturday morning.
Anna Tishinskaya, 27, was on the chartered flight travelling from Sharm el-Sheikh, a popular resort, to St Petersburg in Russia.
The former St Petersburg State University student, who read history, was the former director of Jewish student organisation Hillel Russia. Organisation leaders expressed horror at the news, describing Ms Tishinskaya as “part of the family.
“Anya, you were incredibly talented, swift, fearless, sincere, kind and bright. You were a truly extraordinary person.”
Mystery still surrounds the circumstances of the crash. The local affiliate of Daesh claims to have shot the plane down, while both Egyptian and Russian authorities are dismissing this.
The fact that the wreckage was scatteredacrosseightsquaremilesof desert, however, indicates that the plane could have broken up in mid-flight, which would point to an explosion.
After take-off, the Kogalymavia Airbus A321 had climbed to 33,000 ft before it rapidly lost height, crashing about 20 miles south of El Arish.
There are conflicting reports about whether the pilots had called air-traffic control to notify them of an emergency and request landing in an alternative airfield. The flight recorders have been
The remains of the Russian airline and ( retrieved and are being analysed by Russian authorities.
Since the Airbus A320 family has an excellent safety record, a structural issue is unlikely. The claims made by the Sinai branch of Daesh that it shot down the plane are also questionable since the organisation is only known to have small shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, incapable of hitting a target
Anna Tishinskaya at over 11,000 ft. Two more plausible explanations for the crash would be poor maintenance, which could have led to a fault in one of the engines, or a fire. There have been reports that in the days leading up to the accident, the pilots had spoken about maintenance problems with the aircraft.
Anotherpossibilitywouldbethemidflight detonation of a bomb stowed on the plane. The Egyptian government is anxious that the crash is not seen as a result of a terror act, as they fear that one of their few remaining sources of income — Russian tourists flying to the Sinai beach resorts — could dry up.