(Astana) The trail of a Russian air defense missile is favored to explain the crash Wednesday in Kazakhstan of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane bound for Russia, which killed 38 people, an American official said as well as media citing Azerbaijani sources.
Posted at 6:46 a.m.
Updated at 2:37 p.m.
None of the countries involved have yet publicly confirmed this version, fueled by images of impacts on the wreckage of the aircraft, and according to which the aircraft was shot during its approach to the airport. destination in Russia, before managing to fly to Kazakhstan where it crashed. Earlier, Russia warned against “assumptions” made before the investigation was completed.
This Embraer 190 aircraft with 67 people on board was flying on Wednesday between Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, and Grozny, capital of the Russian Caucasian republic of Chechnya.
It crashed and caught fire in still unclear circumstances near Aktau, a port on the Caspian Sea located in western Kazakhstan and far from its destination, killing 38 people, according to the authorities of this country. Central Asia.
The aircraft was reportedly hit by a Russian surface-to-air missile, fired from a Pantsir-S air defense system near Grozny, Caliber, a pro-government Azerbaijani website, said, citing officials on condition of anonymity.
PHOTO AZAMAT SARSENBAYEV, ARCHIVES REUTERS
The plane was carrying 62 passengers and five crew members and was operating a flight between Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, and Grozny, capital of the Russian Caucasian republic of Chechnya. It crashed near the Caspian Sea port of Aktau and caught fire.
According to this hypothesis, repeated in other local and international media, he would have continued his flight to Kazakhstan, where he crashed.
The first information points to the responsibility of a Russian air defense system, an American official also said Thursday on condition of anonymity.
The aircraft was due to land in Chechnya, where Ukrainian drone attacks had been reported in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, Russian authorities reported drone strikes in two neighboring regions of Chechnya, North Ossetia and Ingushetia, hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian front line.
Holes on the fuselage
The trail of a Russian missile was mentioned by military and aviation experts after the publication of images of impacts piercing the fuselage of the plane.
“The traces we see on the plane still suggest that it is quite probable” that it was shot down by a missile, Jean-Paul Troadec, former director of the Bureau of Investigations, told AFP. and analyzes for civil aviation safety (BEA).
A Russian blogger and military expert, Yuri Podoliaka, assured on Telegram that these traces were similar to those that could be caused by “an anti-aircraft missile system”.
A former expert from the Bureau of Investigation and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) spoke to AFP about the “testimony of a passenger who received shrapnel in his life jacket”.
According to this expert, who testifies anonymously, this “is reminiscent of MH17”, a Malaysia Airlines plane whose explosion over Ukraine in 2014 was attributed by Dutch justice to the firing of a Russian missile. The crash killed 298 people.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that “it would be inappropriate to make assumptions before the conclusions of the investigation.”
The authorities of Kazakhstan, a close ally of Russia, also denounced “speculation”.
Azerbaijan Airlines initially claimed that the plane had hit a flock of birds, before withdrawing this information.
This version was also mentioned on Wednesday by the Russian civil aviation agency (Rosaviatsia).
Bird strikes on the structure, “that does not prevent the plane from flying”, nevertheless estimated the former BEA expert interviewed by AFP.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MANGYSTAU REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION, REUTERS ARCHIVES
The Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed under unclear circumstances and caught fire near Aktau, a Caspian Sea port in western Kazakhstan far from its normal route, killing 38 people, according to the authorities of this Central Asian country.
Kazakhstan's Transport Minister Marat Karabayev spoke on Thursday of “the explosion of a balloon” on board.
The Kazakh Interior Ministry has opened an investigation for “violation of air transport safety and operational rules”.
Two black boxes were found, according to a Kazakh regional prosecutor cited by the Kazinform news agency.
“Tragic”
According to the Kazakh Ministry of Emergency Situations, “29 survivors, including three children, were hospitalized.”
On board the plane were 37 Azerbaijanis, 6 Kazakhs, 3 Kyrgyz and 16 Russians, according to the Kazakh Transport Ministry.
Jalil Aliev, father of a flight attendant, Hokoumé Alieva, killed in the crash, told AFP by telephone that it should have been her last flight before she changed jobs.
“Why did his young life end so tragically? “, he said, in a trembling voice.
The bodies of four victims were repatriated Thursday to Azerbaijan, where 14 injured were also expected Thursday.
PHOTO AZIZ KARIMOV, REUTERS
People commemorate the victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash at a memorial outside Baku airport, Azerbaijan, December 26, 2024.
Nine injured Russians, including a child, were brought back to Moscow, according to the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his “condolences” to his Azerbaijani counterpart, according to the Kremlin. Ilham Aliyev was at a summit in Russia at the time of the crash, and rushed back to Baku.
