An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190-100IGW crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people, with multiple investigation sources indicating a possible strike by a Russian air defense system, according to separate reports from Euronews and Reuters.
Flight J2-8243, carrying 67 passengers and crew, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, after being diverted from its intended destination of Grozny, Chechnya. According to Kazakh authorities, twenty-nine people survived the incident.
Four sources with direct knowledge of Azerbaijan’s investigation told Reuters that preliminary findings indicate a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system struck the Embraer 190 aircraft. These sources reported that electronic warfare systems compromised the plane’s communications while approaching Grozny.
According to BBC News, a surviving passenger told Russian television that the pilot attempted to land twice in dense fog over Grozny before “something exploded… some of the aircraft skin had blown out” during the third attempt.
As reported by Reuters, aviation security firm Osprey Flight Solutions noted that wreckage analysis showed apparent shrapnel damage to the tail section.
A video from a passenger onboard the flight showed noticeable damage inside the cabin. Moreover, burned holes were observed on a life-vest and damage was seen on the aircraft panels and overhead consoles.
On the ground, after the crash, spectators uploaded a video of the tail section of the plane, where holes allegedly caused by shrapnel damage were observed.
The incident occurred during a period of heightened military activity. The Russian Defense Ministry reported downing 59 Ukrainian drones in several regions earlier that day.
Osprey Flight Solutions confirmed through flight tracking data that the aircraft experienced GPS jamming throughout its flight over southwest Russia, which corroborates observations made by global flight tracking website FlightRadar24.com.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by BBC News, urged against speculation: “It is wrong to build hypotheses before the conclusions of the investigation.”
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev declared a national day of mourning on Thursday, calling it “a great tragedy that has become a tremendous sorrow for the Azerbaijani people.”
According to Euronews, citing exclusive government sources, the damaged aircraft was not permitted to land at any Russian airports despite the pilots’ requests for an emergency landing and was instead directed to fly across the Caspian Sea towards Aktau.
Azerbaijan Airlines confirmed that the aircraft had been fully serviced in October and had no technical malfunctions. Kazakh authorities have recovered the flight data recorder.
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