The Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt killing all 224 people on board appears to have broken up in midair, scattering debris over several kilometers of rugged terrain, according to senior aviation officials who visited the crash site.
Parts of the crashed jet fell over an area about 8 km long and 4 km wide, Alexander Neradko, the head of the Russian Federal Aviation Authority, told Russian state television. Evidence suggests the plane broke apart at high altitude, he said.
Viktor Sorochenko, executive director of the Interstate Aviation Committee, which includes nearly a dozen ex-Soviet states, gave a similar appraisal, according to Interfax.