To MS Oct.31st,Sat. Halloween w/ real bad news & Nov.1st, Sunday

From morning I decided to take time off for only myself, take it easy and try to push myself to go out to join or just watch some colorful and amazing activities of Halloween party and parade in NYC. Have not done that for many, many years. No checking news, no blogging were in my agenda for today, just the opposite - the plan was to avoid it all. In the afternoon started giving out gifts and candy to my neighbors, their kids and grand-kids, showing off my 5 outfits for pirate, musketeer, madam, french maid, good witch and fairy. After getting lots of laughs and second opinions from them and the doorman, came in, wanted to have a little lunch and make up my mind to go out or not, turned the radio on to hear the weather and............
there it was; the news, - bad one; Russian airplane crushed in Egyptian Sinai peninsula, killing all. I took off my fun cloths, put them away, got on internet, crawled into bed and started writing this.
Is any possibility that I'd know any of those people involved? No, neither people that I know. Why would I care so much? Don't know. Just don't. Why don't I know? I don't know about it either. That's who I am, how I am, that's how my mind works, "it is what it is."

Now about 5:30pm in NYC. 53F, low wind, 50% humid and temperature will be rising over night, so it's not bad outside.
But...  at 1tv.ru/news/world/295300 report says that all 224 people on the board of A321 had perished, which makes this catastrophe the biggest one in the history of Russian civil aviation. Most families were returning from vacation, among dead are 27 children including 10 mo. old baby girl.
At the time of  this report, which is at 9pm in Moscow (the accident happened in little after 6am of their time, Cairo is 1 hour behind Moscow) 129 bodies were recovered. Right now, at midnight in Cairo all of them are transported to Cairo morgue from where they'll be sent home.
Flight 9268 from Sharm el-Sheick to Saint-Petersburg took off at 5:51am Cairo time (6:51am in Moscow) was in the air for only 23 minutes when it lost contact with ground. The captain of the crew was an experience pilot with 12 000 flight hours logged, 1/3 of which on the same plane. There were 217 passengers and 7 crew members onboard.
At 1:03min. into the tape Russian ambassador in Egypt Sergei Kirpichenko says that Egyptian government expressed condolences and will be helping in getting remains of Russian citizens to their homeland.
Apparently the captain found a technical problem with connecting to radar from the beginning of the flight. Reported the problem to the land and asked for landing in the closest airport. After that the plane lost all communications. For some time there were conflicting information from Egyptian air-traffic controllers that the plane was making contacts on and off. It took several hours to officially announced that the plane was lost. Then, about noon to find out that the plane didn't left the Egyptian airspace. Then more time to find out from witnesses on the ground that it's crushed in Northern Sinai 35 km away from city of El-Arish.

Sharm el-Sheickh is a famous resort and shore site in Egypt. Russians like to go there. I don't know if that is cheaper or more expensive than to visit Sochi for residents of RF, but even from NYC or St. Petersburg I'd definitely prefer Sochi or any other small town closer to it in RF than spending my money elsewhere.
For Russians there is almost no excuse, besides that right now Sh-el-Sh is warmer. But, so what? They're Nordic people. Too hot can stress them out.
They should NOT spend any money outside of their country when it is under western sanctions, has people next door in Donbass dying from cold and hunger, have million refugees inside the country to sustain, etc.
My father was born in Egypt. I haven't been there and I wish one day in the future, before it's all over for me, I'll go just to see a little bid of Alexandra where he was born and grow up and see the pyramids, that's all. maybe take a boat ride on Nile? But even being an American living in NYC I would not go there right now. Even for free. Moreover, I would NOT go to the beach in any muslim country whatsoever. Drop my drawers, lay down, turn around and around under the sun and think that I am doing something good for myself? What are you talking about? Does anybody know what at least 99% of people in those countries view westerners or others who do such "haram" thing and what dirty degrading names do they call them? Anyone in their right mind would go there and pay for it too? I don't get it.
Do I say that the accident happened because of that? Hell no, stop mixing drinks. Accident could happen on the way to and from Sochi too. I'm talking only about those who were there for "vacation" on the "sunbathing on the beach" purposes. Too bad, too late and too sad. I'm upset because they're gone and just need to went.
Now that I wish those to rest in peace, let me take a break. Oh, here;
Tomorrow declared day of mourning throughout RF by President Putin with half-staff flags, changes in entertainment programmings, cancellations of certain events and activities.
7:30pm in NYC.

Nov. 1st, Sunday afternoon.
The news today says 25 kids instead of 27 as of yesterday were perished in ill-fated flight. Derbies are scattered around 20 km square on the ground. Emergency services of RF arrived to area, but from nearest airport had to drive 300km through a dangerous zone to get to the site. Happen to be in that area there are anti-t.r.r operations are going on and it's a zone of war with militantIslamist. Convoy of recovery personal was escorted by Egyptian military. Bodies continue to be brought into downtown Cairo morgue. Russian cargo plane ready to take bodies home is already in there. Final identification of bodies through DNA and viewing will be done in St.Petersburg. That city of 5 million today looks like a big family. People who don't have anybody among victims still go to Pulkovo Int'l airport and other makeshift memorial places. There is a plan to build a permanent memorial for victims.
Some of them are entire families. Their stories starting to come from their families and friends who talk to media.
One story on TV was a little shocking for me; a man who used to be a flight-attendant on the same plane-type on the same route resigned from work. He said that his father saw a dream that he crushed and urged him to leave that job. ???  Interesting.

There are theories that plane came apart in midair. Parts are away from in each in several kilometers. Yesterday .S.L vermin took responsibility, but everyone commenting with any military expertise was saying that that's just a PR move to brag and that they don't have that type of capability.
I'm thinking maybe American weapons sent to "good" opposition, got into their hands? Who's checking?
So, now experts are left with 2 possibilities; a fire from ground or mechanical dysfunction.
All version are considered from falling missiles or engine failure.
Witnesses told that plane was on fire before crushing and the debris show that it broke in 2 pieces
in mid air. RusAviation confirmed that theory, at 1tv.ru/news/social/295335. 
From Russia 3 Ministers - Transportation, Aviation (Alex Neradko) and Emergency Services (Vlad Puchkov) are on the site and taking very careful measures to preserve the evidence. Egyptian side saying that their air-traffic didn't get distress signal.
Head of delegation, Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov says that it will take a long time to unanimously determine the real cause. One thing is very clear; the plane hit the ground upside down.
Working crews are packing every small thing with great caution.
At the time of this report 156 bodies are already recovered. Black boxes are found and being examined.
[Why those boxes which are orange called "black" I can't even guess. Another grown-up men's nonsense? ]
St.Petersburg added 2 more days of mourning; among victims 151 were residents of that city.
Following clip says that 100 Russian rescuers are working on the site with their Egyptian colleagues,
at 1tv.ru/news/world/295333. Heroic Denis Davidov is reporting while traveling under Egyptian armed military protection.
[ That area looks like a no-goodnik place. ]
Emirates stopped all the flights over Sinai right after incident. Many others are taking different routes away from that area.

At 1tv.ru/news/world/295334 are commentaries of some aviation experts.
Make shift memorial at Pulkovo where psychologists and psychiatrists are trying to help mourners,
at 1tv.ru/news/social/295336.