On the strength of the evidence available so far, the Islamic State possibly had nothing to do with the Russian airliner’s crash in Egypt’s Sinai Saturday, despite ISIS’ claims. The cause could have been a technical fault, which the pilot had complained of while seeking emergency landing. That the co-pilot earlier told his family about the plane’s condition and how much was lacking in maintenance gives a possible indication of what investigators may conclude after their inquiries.
While defensive measures some European airlines have taken in not flying over Sinai may come from abundant caution, the aviation world has to believe that IS terrorists, the world’s most dreaded as of now, do not have the firepower to bring down planes flying above 30,000 feet as the 20-year-old Russian Airbus, that already logged 56,000 hours in 21,000 flights, was doing. IS militants are known to possess shoulder-fired missiles, but these are a threat to low-flying planes rather than intercontinental jets.
Fears of terrorism were added to fears of flying last year as Malaysia Airlines’ MH17 was downed with a missile by Ukrainian rebels. This isolated incident changed the face of aviation, as routes are now planned with an eye on safer skies rather than distances and fuel costs. Modern aviation, statistically, is still safe enough for everyone, though given the history of Russian aircraft, of which on an average one crashes every year, and with 1,330 passengers and crew killed in the past two decades, this one may have been somewhat more predictable.
