company says accident caused by 'external interference'

According to the preliminary conclusions of the investigation carried out by Azerbaijan Airlines, the crash of its Embraer 190 airliner on Wednesday in Kazakstan, which left 38 dead, was due to a “external, physical and technical interference”the company said on Telegram, Friday, December 27, without further details. She also announced the suspension of flights to several Russian cities, due to “flight safety risks”without further details.

In view of a host of visual clues and testimonies from survivors of the plane – which left Baku and which crashed in an area opposite its initial route – experts and international media however believe that the aircraft was targeted by mistake, above Grozny (Russian Federation), in Chechnya, which was its initial destination, by a Russian anti-aircraft missile, before managing to fly and crashing in Kazakhstan, on the other side of the Caspian Sea.

None of the countries involved have yet publicly confirmed the missile hypothesis. Contacted by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Azerbaijani government did not respond. “An investigation is underway to establish whether it was a Russian air defense strike or another cause”however declared to AFP MP Rassim Moussabekov, stressing that“We see in the photos and videos the fuselage of the plane with holes which are normally caused by anti-aircraft missiles”. He called on Russia to apologize, “punish the guilty and promise that such a thing will not happen again”accusing Moscow of having redirected the plane towards Kazakhstan after the incident.

Refusal of permission to land in Grozny

According to information from Mondean influential Russian Telegram channel, VChK-OGPU, published on Thursday a partial transcription of the exchanges between the pilots of flight J2-8243 and an air traffic controller based in Grozny, which is therefore not authenticated. It appears that the aircraft was repeatedly refused permission to land for an unknown reason, but perhaps linked to thick fog. The flight commander reported having lost the GPS signal. He decides to return to Baku. At that moment – ​​it was 8:16 a.m. – he reported a violent shock, which he attributed to a collision with birds. Immediately afterwards, he reported difficulty controlling the device and deterioration of the hydraulic system.

The pilot repeatedly requested authorization to land at two neighboring Russian airports, at Mineralnye Vody (240 kilometers away), then Makhachkala (140 kilometers away). The rest of the dialogue is not known. Blood under a seat indicates injuries probably received by at least one passenger, perhaps due to a projectile having passed through the cabin. “Shrapnel” crossed the cabin, confirms a surviving passenger of the flight, interviewed by the Russian state channel RT (formerly Russia Today). The man, who identified himself as Zaour Mamedov and who was seated at the back of the plane, said he heard “two big explosions on the plane” who have “caused a big panic”.

Images of the rear part of the cabin show numerous perforations. Four Azerbaijani government sources confirmed to Reuters that the investigation has already identified the weapon that fired at flight J2-8243. This would be the Russian Pantsir-S anti-aircraft system, according to experts interviewed in particular by The World.

Moscow refuses to comment

Russia confirmed that Grozny was the target, on the day of the tragedy, of a Ukrainian drone attack, as has happened since the start of the war in February 2022. But faced with the questioning of Moscow's responsibility, the Kremlin refused to comment on Friday “before the conclusions of the investigation”. The Russian aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, explained that the situation at Grozny airport that day was “very difficult”.

“At that time, Ukrainian military drones were carrying out terrorist attacks against civilian infrastructure in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz”declared his boss, Dmitri Yadrov, on Telegram. He also reported a “thick fog” which prevented any visibility “at an altitude of 500 meters”. “The captain made two attempts to land in Grozny, which failed. Other airports are proposed to him. He decides to go to Aktau airport »in Kazakhstan, Mr. Yadrov then said.

Mr. Yadrov assured that Russia intended “cooperate fully in the investigation into this tragedy” with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics on good terms with Moscow. The head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriï Iermak, for his part directly accused Moscow, assuring that Russia must be “held responsible for shooting down Azerbaijan Airlines plane”.

Azerbaijan Airlines initially claimed that the plane had hit a flock of birds, before withdrawing this information, a version still adhered to by Russian state media and Rosaviatsia. The Kazakh transport ministry then mentioned on Thursday the“balloon explosion” on board.

The aircraft, an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 with 67 people on board, was operating a flight between Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, and Grozny on Wednesday. It crashed and caught fire in unclear circumstances near Aktau, a Caspian Sea port in western Kazakhstan. On board the plane were 37 Azerbaijanis, 6 Kazakhs, 3 Kyrgyz and 16 Russians, as well as 5 crew members, according to the Kazakh transport ministry. 29 of them survived.