Preliminary report into downing of Russian airliner says nothing indicates a crime, despite Isis claiming responsibility

Egyptian investigators have said they have found no evidence of terrorism or foul play behind the crash of a Russian airliner, in a statement at odds with Russia’s view that the plane was downed by a bomb.

The civil aviation ministry in Cairo said a preliminary report into the Metrojet crash that killed 224 people on 31 October had been completed on Sunday. Nearly all the victims were Russian holidaymakers returning from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. “The technical investigative committee has so far not found anything indicating any illegal intervention or terrorist action,” the ministry said.

Russian and western intelligence agencies have, however, indicated they believe an improvised explosive was smuggled aboard the plane at Sharm airport, with Britain leading a halt of flights to the resort over security fears.

A group in Sinai linked to Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, and the Isis publication Dabiq carried photographs of the supposed device.

Egypt’s chief investigator, Ayman al-Muqaddam, said the search for wreckage had extended more than 10 miles (16km) from the main crash site. He said investigators had analysed the plane’s computers and were currently checking the technical details and repairs carried out on the Airbus A321 since it was built in 1997. The Egyptian air force will assist in moving the wreckage to Cairo for further scrutiny.

According to the Interfax news agency, Russia has yet to receive the Egyptian preliminary report. A Kremlin spokesman said: “I can remind you of the conclusion of our experts from the special services, who came to the conclusion that it was a terrorist action.”

Last month, the federal security service’s director, Alexander Bortnikov, said an improvised bomb with the force of up to 1kg of TNT blew up onboard the plane, and traces of explosives had been found in the plane debris.

Although authorities in Cairo have opened an investigation into a possible security breach at Sharm el-Sheikh airport, including militants infiltrating the baggage handling or catering staff, Egypt has been reluctant to admit the possibility of a bomb attack.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Egyptian media were quick to hint or even openly accuse “the West” of restricting flights to Egypt not out of safety concerns because of a wish to undermine the country or prevent President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi from making Egypt too strong.

Mounting evidence that the plane was most likely brought down by a terrorist bomb has made such statements look embarrassing. It is widely assumed that the attack came in retaliation for Russia’s direct military intervention on the side of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

“When it comes to a lot of the technical procedures that countries are supposed to carry out after a downing of an airliner, Egypt is not doing all that badly,” said H.A Hellyer, an Egypt specialist at the Atlantic Council and the RUSI think tank in London.

“But the messaging, the discourse, the public declarations – it’s been woefully lacking. Pretty much the entire international community has concluded that it was a bomb that brought down the Metrojet flight – yet Cairo is unwilling to even validate that as a likely possibility. It’s incorrigible, really.

“It can’t be that the powers that be in Cairo reject that possibility at all – but there seems to be an incredible amount of posturing for public messaging internally. This appears to have turned into a pride issue – which is bizarre, because the bombing of an airliner could have happened anywhere.”

Egypt’s tourism industry has been badly hit over the years by the fallout from terror attacks. Holiday flights from Russia and Britain to its top winter sun resort will not resume until 2016, leaving it virtually empty for what should be peak season, and overall tourist revenues are expected to fall by at least 10% this year.

This would also not be the first time Egypt’s investigators have stood alone against the international consensus on plane disasters. The 1999 crash of EgyptAir flight 990, also on 31 October, was found by American investigators to be deliberately caused by the pilot flying the plane into the sea, but Egypt claimed it was a mechanical failure of the Boeing 767’s controls.