Egyptian investigators are to begin an analysis of debris to establish the disintegration sequence of the MetroJet Airbus A321 which crashed in Sinai last year.

The Egyptian civil aviation ministry says representatives from Russia – the operating state – and Germany, where the aircraft was built, have arrived to assist the process.

It says that the wreckage was transferred to Cairo following the crash, which occurred shortly after the aircraft departed Sharm el-Sheikh for St Petersburg on 31 October 2015.

Russian authorities and other governments have long suspected sabotage brought the aircraft down over Sinai but the Egyptian inquiry has yet to reach any conclusions.

The civil aviation ministry says it is to start the process of aligning the various pieces of debris into their normal position relative to one another, and checking the integration of components.

This is intended to help the inquiry determine the “starting point” in the fracture and disintegration of the A321’s fuselage, it adds.

Investigators state that the effort will be assisted by specialists familiar with the Airbus and its International Aero Engines V2500 powerplants.

Source: Cirium Dashboard