It was at 33k feet before crashing so no manpads as they don’t reach this high.
http://www.flightradar24.com/data/airplanes/ei-etj/#7d986d3
Latest news is that the pilots reported a technical error and requested an emergency landing right before the crash.
The rapid ascent followed by a rapid descent sounds like a stall condition. Center of gravity shift? uncommanded control inputs?
CC
Yep, something failed, but the $64,000 questions is why did something fail? I’m sure the pilots on PanAm 103 thought they had a technical error as they were nose diving into the village of Lockerbie.
Yep. I'm going to speculate this was not ISIS. Sometimes planes just crash. It happens.
Sad. Lots of Russian tourists in the Middle East. I see them all the time.
If it is a Technical error Airbus has a problem. Highly unusual for modern aircraft to fall out of the sky from cruising altitude in straight and level flight without external forces at play.
Also very coincidental a Russian Airbus just happens to have a malfunction over hostile territory in straight and level flight. I don’t buy the malfunction angle.