Azerbaijan naziri deyir ki, qəza edən təyyarəyə xarici təsir olmuşdur
Russia’s aviation chief, Dmitry Yadrov, stated that a Ukrainian drone attack was ongoing in the region where an airliner was headed before it crashed in Kazakhstan.
Azerbaijani Transport Minister Rashad Nabiyev confirmed on Dec. 27 that a preliminary investigation indicated that an airliner that crashed on Wednesday suffered an “external impact” prior to the crash.
The Embraer E190 plane, traveling from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, was redirected to Aktau, Kazakhstan, where it crashed upon landing, resulting in the deaths of 38 individuals. Twenty-nine people survived.
“Initial findings from experts suggest an external impact,” Nabiyev informed Azerbaijani media. “The specific weapon used will be identified during the investigation.”
These airports now included Mineralnye, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, and Vladikavkaz.
According to a statement from the airline, this decision was made in coordination with the Azerbaijan State Civil Aviation Authority and based on “preliminary results of the inquiry into the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft operating the Baku-Grozny flight J2-8243 of Azerbaijan Airlines due to physical and technical external interference and considers potential risks to flight safety.”
The airline will continue to operate flights to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, and three other Russian cities.
“The plane was shot down over Russian territory, in the skies above Grozny. This fact cannot be denied,” Musabeyov commented. “Those responsible for this act must face legal consequences, and compensation should be provided for the casualties.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to respond to Musabeyov’s remarks.
He stated, “The air incident is under investigation, and we will refrain from making assessments until the investigation concludes,” in a conference call with reporters.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, revealed on Friday that a Ukrainian drone attack was ongoing in the Grozny region as the Azerbaijan Airlines plane was attempting to land in heavy fog. This attack led to the closure of the airspace by authorities, Yadrov explained.
After two unsuccessful landing efforts, the captain was given options of alternative airports but chose to fly to Aktau in Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea. The crash occurred two miles from Aktau.
No comments were made regarding allegations of anti-aircraft or anti-drone fire on the aircraft.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan declared in a statement that Azeri investigators were cooperatively working in Grozny as part of a tri-national investigation.
St. Petersburg Gov. Alexander Beglov lays flowers at the Azerbaijani Consulate in memory of the victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines crash, in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Dec. 26, 2024.Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo
Footage from cellphones circulated online appearing to show the plane descending sharply before crashing.
Experts examining the crash footage have suggested that the aircraft might have been hit by a weapon.
Mark Zee from OPSGroup, which monitors global airspace risks, stated that it is highly likely that the plane was targeted by a surface-to-air missile (SAM).
He commented, “[There’s] much more to investigate, but at [a] high level we’d put the probability of it being a SAM attack on the aircraft at being well into the 90-99% bracket.”
Previous Ukrainian drone attacks on Grozny and other North Caucasus regions had prompted Russian air defenses to use SAMs for interception.
Independent Russian military expert Yan Matveyev mentioned that the damage on the crashed plane’s tail was consistent with shrapnel from a small SAM, such as the Pantsyr-S1 air defense system.
“The tail section of the plane seems to have been affected by missile fragments,” Matveyev noted.
Throughout history, there have been several cases of civilian airliners mistakenly shot down by military forces in various parts of the world.
In January 2020, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps admitted that they unintentionally shot down a Ukrainian jet departing from Tehran airport, resulting in the deaths of all 176 people on board.
In July 1988, the U.S.S. Vincennes, a warship in the Persian Gulf, mistakenly shot down an Iranian airliner, leading to the fatalities of all 290 individuals on board.
This report includes contributions from The Associated Press and Reuters.
