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Azerbaijan minister suggests 'weapon' hit crashed plane
Azerbaijan's Transport Minister Rashan Nabiyev said "the aircraft was hit by something" and the "type of weapon" is to be determined. Most passengers were killed when the flight from Baku to Grozny crashed in Kazakhstan.
Indications that Wednesday's crash of a Russia-bound passenger plane from Azerbaijan was caused by Russian air defense systems continued to grow on Friday.
The Embraer jet came down near Aktau airport in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people. Twenty-nine survived.
Azerbaijan's Transport Minister Rashan Nabiyev said witness statements suggested there was "an explosive noise outside" before the plane was "hit by something."
"The type of weapon used in the impact will be determined during the probe," Nabiyev said.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby meanwhile said that Washington has observed some "early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems," but refused to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation.
'External interference' caused crash, Azerbaijan airline says
Earlier on Friday, Azerbaijan Airlines said that preliminary findings from the investigation into the crash suggest "physical and technical external interference."
Azerbaijan Airlines on Friday also suspended flights to a number of Russian cities amid growing speculation the plane was downed by Russian air defense fire.
The airline said it was "taking into account the initial results of the investigation into the crash... and taking into account flight safety risks."
News agency Interfax said Azerbaijan Airlines would still run flights to six major Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Meanwhile, an Azerbaijan Airlines flight to the southern Russian city of Mineralnye Vody turned back to Baku on Friday after a chunk of Russian airspace was closed, Russia's state-run TASS news agency reported.
Passengers heard at least one loud bang
Some of the survivors of the crash told the Reuters news agency they had heard at least one loud bang as the plane approached its original destination of Grozny, in southern Russia.
"It was obvious that the plane had been damaged in some way," said Subhonkul Rakhimov, one of the passengers speaking from hospital. "It was as if it was drunk — not the same plane anymore."
Another passenger, Vafa Shabanova, also heard a bang and said, "I was very scared."
Kremlin declines to comment amid investigation
The Kremlin said it was too early to comment on the allegations that a Russian air defense missile was responsible for the Azerbaijan Airlines crash.
"An investigation is underway, and until the conclusions of the investigation, we do not consider we have the right to make any comments and we will not do so," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.
However, the head of Russia's civil aviation agency, Dmitry Yadrov, said on Telegram that there was fog over the airport in Grozny — the flight's scheduled destination. He also claimed that Ukrainian drones were striking the city around the time of the incident.
"Ukrainian military drones were carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure... at the time," Yadrov said on Friday.
"The pilot was offered alternative airports. He took the decision to go to Aktau airport."
Ukraine blames Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of being responsible for the tragedy.
"Every human life is valuable, and every loss of life deserves a thorough investigation to establish the truth," Zelenskyy said in a statement on X.
He compared the latest crash to the shooting down of MH17 flight over 10 years ago, which Ukraine and the West believe was hit by a missile fired by Russian-backed defense forces. Moscow has blamed Ukrainian military for the tragedy, which killed nearly 300 people.
"If Russia decides to spread lies in the same way that it did in the MH17 case, we will need to consolidate all international pressure on Moscow in order to establish the truth and ensure accountability," Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak also blamed Russia for "shooting down" the plane.
News outlets including Reuters and The New York Times reported that a Russian missile was likely involved in the crash, citing Azerbaijani security sources close to the investigation.
"No one claims that it was done on purpose. However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft," a source told Reuters on Thursday.
rmt,lo,zc/rc (Reuters, AFP)
Russia has so far resisted pressure from Azerbaijan to admit responsibility for the plane crash in Kazakhstan. Since Wednesday, the Kremlin has refused to comment on claims that a Russian missile caused the crash.
Two days after an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed in Aktau, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan appears to be increasing pressure on Russia.
Although an investigation is still underway in Kazakhstan, preliminary results have been leaked to the press. With an accidental Russian air defense missile strike now the leading theory behind the crash, more and more Azerbaijani officials are calling on Russia to admit responsibility.
What happened on Christmas morning?
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 crashed on Wednesday in a field near Aktau, in western Kazakhstan. Of the 67 passengers onboard, 38 died and 29 were hospitalized, some with severe injuries.
The plane wasn't supposed to land in Aktau. The aircraft had taken off from Baku, in Azerbaijan, on Wednesday morning and was due to land in Grozny, Russia, an area that has recently been heavily targeted by Ukrainian drones, when something happened to it that some survivors later described as a collision with a bird.
Videos of the emergency landing near Aktau show the plane gaining altitude, then sharply descending before crashing to the ground and catching fire. Other videos showed the wrecked aircraft lying in the field.
Apart from the damage caused by the crash, the videos show the fuselage riddled with small holes. Some experts, including those DW spoke to, said these holes may be attributed to a strike by Russia's anti-aircraft systems.
Investigation underway
Kazakhstan has launched an investigation into the causes of the incident. An investigative commission established by the country's prime minister will include the participation of, among others, a deputy prime minister and the leadership of several ministries. The commission is said to be collaborating with Azerbaijan.
As of Friday evening local time, no details of the investigation have been announced by any government official. Kazakhstan's parliamentary speaker, Maulen Ashimbayev, said Thursday investigators didn't yet know what had caused the tragedy. He also called the theory of a Russian anti-aircraft system strike speculation. "Spreading such allegations is not right and unethical," he said.
This reaction corresponds with the words of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He has so far refused to comment on the allegations about the Russian air defense system strike. Instead, he has called on the parties to wait until the investigation in Kazakhstan is completed.
Reactions in Baku
In Baku, the authorities seem less patient. Sources in the Azerbaijani government have leaked the preliminary results of the investigation to the press. According to sources cited by Euronews and the Reuters news agency, the plane might have mistakenly been struck by the Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense missile-gun system, and the aircraft's communication "was paralyzed" by electronic warfare systems as it approached Grozny.
"No one claims that it was done on purpose. However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft," the source, who had knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation, told Reuters.
In another article published by the local news website Day.Az on Friday, sources in the Azerbaijani president's offices said they had abruptly refused to accept any help offered by the Chechen authorities in Grozny.
"We are providing and will continue to provide the necessary assistance to our citizens. Azerbaijan demands recognition of the fact, an apology, and the payment of appropriate compensations," a source said.
Allegations mount that anti-aircraft fire caused plane crash
04:12
Azerbaijan Airlines suspends flights to some Russian regions
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended several flights from Baku to seven cities in Russia starting December 28. These are areas at risk of Ukrainian drone attacks and where Russian air defense systems are active.
In an official statement, the airline said the plane that crashed on Wednesday experienced "external physical and technical interference."
After growing signs of irritation on the Azerbaijani side went public, Russian aviation authorities released more details about the circumstances leading up to the plane crash.
The head of Russia's civil aviation authority, Dmitry Yadrov, said Friday that the so-called Carpet plan had been implemented before the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash due to a Ukrainian drone attack.
The plan means that the airport in Grozny was closed for departures and arrivals and all aircraft were required to leave the area.
According to Yadrov, the pilots unsuccessfully attempted to land in Grozny twice. He mentioned that the area was covered in dense fog. The crew then allegedly refused to consider alternative landing options in Russia and flew to Aktau, before the plane crashed in the coastal area.
Pro-Kremlin bloggers admit a Russian strike
While Russian state-run media appear keen to avoid mentioning the possibility of a Russian missile hitting the plane, pro-Kremlin military bloggers on Telegram seem to have no doubts about what happened.
The most popular military Telegram channels such as Rybar, Yuri Podolyaka and Alex Parker write that the Russian anti-aircraft system strike seems to be the most likely cause of the crash.
"But I am sure that the Chechens will manage to avoid responsibility, and no one will be punished," a post on the Alex Parker channel reads.
Edited by: Rob Mudge
What we know about the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash
A Russian-bound Azerbaijani aircraft crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 of the 67 onboard. Experts suggest shrapnel damage indicates a possible accidental shootdown by Russian air defence. Authorities have urged caution against speculation until the investigation concludes.
Issued on: 26/12/2024
FRANCE24
By: NEWS WIRES
But, pointing to apparent shrapnel damage on the wreckage, experts have said the plane could have been accidentally shot down by Russian air defence.
Russian and Kazakh authorities have warned against "hypotheses" and "speculation" on causes, calling for patience until the investigation is concluded.
Here is what we know about the crash:
Air defence
Military and aviation experts have said the Embraer 190 could have been shot down by Russian air defence.
The plane's scheduled route was from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Chechnya, where Ukrainian drone attacks have been reported in recent weeks.
Drone attacks were reported earlier on Wednesday in Ingushetia and North Ossetia -- two republics near Chechnya also located in southern Russia.
"The traces seen on the plane suggest that it is quite probable" that it was shot down by a missile, Jean-Paul Troadec, a former director of France's BEA air accident investigation agency, told AFP.
Russian military expert Yury Podolyaka said holes seen in the wreckage of the plane were similar to the damage caused by an "anti-aircraft missile system".
"Everything points to that," he wrote.
A former expert at France's BEA also said there appeared to be "a lot of shrapnel" damage on the wreckage.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said the damage was "reminiscent" of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was downed with a surface-to-air missile by Russia-backed rebels over eastern Ukraine in 2014.
That crash killed 298 people.
Birds theory
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "It would be wrong to make any hypotheses before the investigation's conclusions."
Authorities in Kazakhstan, a key Russian ally, also warned against "speculation".
Azerbaijan Airlines initially said the plane flew through a flock of birds before withdrawing the statement.
Russia's aviation agency also mentioned birds as a possible cause.
The former BEA expert said it was unlikely since the impact of birds "does not prevent the plane from flying".
A regional department of the Kazakh health ministry referred to an "explosion of a canister" on board, without giving any further detail.
Strange trajectory
The plane was far from its intended flight path on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, crashing in Aktau on the eastern shore.
The reason why it veered off is unclear.
Former BEA director Troadec said the route was "a great unknown" in the incident.
Russia's aviation agency said on Wednesday that "due to an emergency situation on board the plane, the pilot decided to go to another airport -- Aktau was chosen".
The specialist website Flightradar24, which tracks flights, said the flight had experienced "significant GPS interference".
The plane "stopped sending positional data" for a few minutes, the site said.
Victims
The plane was carrying 62 passengers and five crew members.
Kazakhstan said 38 people were killed and 29 survived, including three children.
There were 37 passengers from Azerbaijan, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan and 16 from Russia on board, the Kazakh transport ministry said.
The crew were all Azerbaijani nationals.
Fourteen survivors were flown to Azerbaijan, TASS news agency reported, while nine Russian survivors, including a child, have been taken to Russia.
(AFP)
Did Russia shoot down the Azal passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan?
Confusion reigns over the cause behind the crash of the Azal passenger plane on December 25 that killed 38 of 67 people on board. There is conflicting evidence. Some evidence points to a bird strike, other evidence to a possible strike carried out with Russian surface-to-air missile defences protecting the Chechen capital of Grozny.
The passenger plane crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, during a flight from Baku to Grozny. A total of 25 people survived with 22 hospitalised, the press service of the Kazakh Emergencies Ministry reported. Among those on board were two children and five crew.
Initial reports said the crash was caused after the plane struck a bird that caused an explosion, doing critical damage to one of the engines. The plane was then redirected to the Dagestani city of Makhachkala but after flying over the Caspian Sea, crash landed just short of an airport in Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The Russian government on the morning of December 26 cautioned against promoting "hypotheses" about the cause of the crash
Video footage posted on social media show what appear to be bullet holes or shrapnel damage in the fuselage and tail of the plane.
Andrii Kovalenko, Ukraine’s Head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, said on Telegram, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda: "Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 aircraft, which was flying from Baku to Grozny, was shot down by a Russian SAM.”
Kovalenko said that Russia was obligated to close the airspace over Grozny but failed to do so. "The plane was damaged by Russians and sent to Kazakhstan instead of being urgently landed in Grozny to save lives,” Kovalenko added.
According to Kanan Zeynalov, a representative of the press service of Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office, a joint investigation is being conducted with the Kazakh authorities.
“We cannot disclose any investigation results at this stage. All possible scenarios are being examined, and relevant expert analyses are underway. A team led by Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prosecutor General has been dispatched to Kazakhstan and is working at the crash site,” Zeynalov stated, reported Jam News.
Kazakhstan’s KazAeroNavigation suggested that the crash took place after the plane hit a bird,, causing the steering system to malfunction. Kanat Bozumbayev, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister has been appointed the head of the state commission investigating the crash.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, who had travelled to the Russian Federation to participate in an informal CIS Heads of State Summit in St Petersburg, was informed of the plane crash while in Russian airspace. He immediately ordered a return to Azerbaijan and declared a day of mourning.
MH17 Redux
If it is confirmed the Azal passenger jet was shot down by Russian air defences it would be a repeat of the Malaysian commercial airliner MH17 tragedy. Just under 300 people were killed after MH17 was shot down with a Russian BUK SAM over Ukraine in July 2014.
An eyewitness account from Kristina, a survivor of the crash in Kazakhstan, posted online claimed that the plane hit a bird that caused an explosion in a video posted online.
The passengers flew over the sea for an hour before crash-landing. During the entire hour, the passengers were wearing oxygen masks and life jackets because they were over water, according to Kristina, who added in a clip posted by Russian social media platform MASH: “A bird hit the engine, causing an explosion, and the oxygen masks deployed.”
However, photos and videos of the body of the plane on the ground show what appear to be bullet holes or shrapnel damage, raising suspicions that the plane was brought down by a Russian surface-to-air missile.
Zaur Mammadov, one of the surviving passengers, said in a video recorded after his rescue that two loud bangs were heard before the crash, causing panic among the passengers, Jam News reported. Other images posted from inside the plane show limited but clearly visible damage to the interior of the plane that was caused by the explosion.
bne IntelliNews has been unable to confirm if the damage was caused by a SAM or if it would be consistent with an engine explosion caused by a bird. Most of what appears to be shrapnel damage appears to have been inflicted on the back half of the plane, behind the engines, from what can be seen in the video and images from the crash site.
Other videos shot by the passengers in the plane after the incident show passengers worried but calm. Moreover, the footage suggests the passengers were unsure what had happened.
One video from the cabin of the Baku-Grozny flight was taken just minutes before the crash by passenger Subkhon Rahimov, who recited the "kalma-shahadat" - a prayer Muslims say before death.
He sent the footage to his wife when he realised something was wrong before the plane attempted to land. However, he made no mention of a missile strike and appears to be unaware of the exact nature of the plane’s problem. Subkhon survived the crash.
There have been many reports that the airport in Grozny was under attack by Ukrainian drones, which may have led to the plane being rerouted from Grozny to Aktau. However, during the diversion, it remains possible that the plane sustained damage from a missile fired by Russian air defence, which was intercepting the drone attack.
Videos shot by the passengers before the crash show some damage to the wing and holes in the interior of the plane, but not catastrophic damage that would have been caused by a direct missile hit.
It is possible that a missile exploded near the plane, but then it is likely the passengers would have seen the explosion through the windows. It is also possible the plane was hit by shrapnel from a missile that exploded much further away from the plane out of the line of sight, but the concentration of shrapnel damage on the fuselage and in the tail strongly suggests the explosion was close to the plane. That strongly supports the theory of an explosion in the engine caused by a bird strike.
Russia says Azerbaijani plane tried to land during Ukraine drone attack
ByAFP
December 27, 2024
Russia claimed the plane was hit by shrapnel during a Ukrainian drone attack - Copyright AFP Issa Tazhenbayev
Russia’s aviation chief said Friday that an Azerbaijani Airlines plane that eventually crashed in Kazakhstan tried to land in the Chechen city of Grozny as it was being attacked by Ukrainian drones.
The Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday after attempting to land at its destination in Grozny and then diverting far off course across the Caspian Sea.
Thirty-eight of the 67 people on board died, with some reports suggesting the plane could have been accidentally shot at by Russian air defences.
A surviving passenger told Russian TV that an explosion appeared to take place outside the plane, with shrapnel flying in.
The head of Russia’s civil aviation agency, Dmitry Yadrov, said in a statement that “the situation on this day and at these hours in the area of Grozny airport was very complex”.
“Ukrainian attack drones at this time were making terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz,” Yadrov said, referring to a nearby city.
Yadrov said the Azeri pilot made “two attempts to land the plane in Grozny that were unsuccessful” in “thick fog”.
“The pilot was offered other airports. He took the decision to go to Aktau airport,” he added.
The Kremlin earlier Friday declined to comment on the deadly crash.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “until the conclusions of the investigation, we do not consider we have the right to make any comments and we will not do so”.
Some aviation and military experts have pointed to apparent shrapnel damage on the plane wreckage as evidence that it was hit by air defence.
Azerbaijan’s pro-government website Caliber and several other media have cited unnamed Azerbaijani officials as saying they believed a Russian missile fired from a Pantsir-S air defence system caused the plane to crash.
Ukraine’s presidency said Russia “must be held responsible for the downing” of the plane.
– Shrapnel –
Russian survivor Subkhonkul Rakhimov told RT state broadcaster that an explosion appeared to happen outside the plane, causing shrapnel to penetrate inside.
He said the explosion took place as the plane made a third attempt to land in Grozny in fog.
“The third time there was an explosion. I wouldn’t say it was inside the plane because the skin of the fuselage near where I was sitting flew off,” he said.
“I grabbed a lifejacket and saw there was a hole in it — it was pierced by shrapnel.”
“Somewhere between my legs this piece of shrapnel flew in and went right through the life jacket. I took a picture of the hole on my phone.”
The daughter of an air steward on the plane told AFP that her father, Zulfugar Asadov, was being treated in hospital for injuries to his head and back but had not broken any bones.
“He is in pain, his back hurts, he cannot speak much,” the woman, Konula Asadova, told AFP.
Azerbaijan Airlines said Friday it was suspending flights to 10 Russian cities, “taking into account flight safety risks”.
– Apology urged –
Contacted by AFP, Azerbaijani government officials did not respond to questions about the possible causes of the crash.
But Rasim Musabekov, an Azerbaijani lawmaker and member of the parliament’s international relations committee, urged Russia to apologise for the incident.
“They have to accept this, punish those to blame, promise that such a thing will not happen again, express regrets and readiness to pay compensation,” Musabekov told AFP.
“We are waiting for Russia to do this.”
He said the plane “was damaged in the sky over Grozny and asked to make an emergency landing”.
“According to all the rules of aviation, they should have allowed this and organised it.”
Instead the plane was not allowed to land at Grozny or nearby Russian airports and was “sent far away” across the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan with “GPS switched off”, Musabekov said.
He suggested that the aim could have been for the plane to crash into the sea to “cover up a crime”.
If air defences were operating near Grozny airport, “they should have closed the air space. The plane should have been turned around as it approached Grozny. Why wasn’t this done?” he added.
burs/dt/phz
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