View gaining that Russian airliner disintegrated before crashing

An official of Metrojet, the airline which owned the Airbus 321 which crashed in Sinai Saturday, said Monday at a news conference that it is impossible for an Airbus plane to break up in the air because of a technical or pilot fault,  as Egyptian and Russian authorities have claimed. The only possible explanation is “physical or mechanical action,” said the official, indicating an explosion of some kind. Ahead of investigations, both authorities are still playing down the terrorism factor and the claim of responsibility by Ansar al-Bati Maqdis, the Sinai branch of ISIS. However, Alexander Neradko, head of Russia's federal aviation agency, similarly said investigators believe the plane disintegrated at a high altitude because the plane's fragments have been found scattered over a large area.  

Meanwhile, Dmitri Peskov, spokesman of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Monday that the Kremlin has not ruled out the possibility that the crash was caused by an act of terrorism, urging patience until the investigation is completed.