Azerbaijan Airlines Jet Might Have Been Hit By Missiles, Preliminary Probe Suggests

Azerbaijan Airlines announced it has suspended flights to 10 Russian airports after preliminary findings indicated the crash of the flight was caused by "physical and technical external interference."

The plane which crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday killed 38 of the 67 passengers on board.

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An investigation has been opened into the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that occurred in Kazakhstan earlier this week. According to an AFP report, it had suffered physical "external interference," according to the airline and Azerbaijan's transport minister. The preliminary findings suggested the aircraft might have been struck by a Russian air defence system.

The plane which crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday killed 38 of the 67 passengers on board. The incident occurred after the aircraft attempted at its destination in the Russian city of Grozny and then diverted far off course across the Caspian Sea.

As per AFP, Russia's aviation chief said on Friday that Grozny was being attacked by Ukrainian drones at the time the jet had tried to land, but the Kremlin has declined to comment on reports the plane was accidentally shot down by Russian air defence missiles.

The statements from Azerbaijan cited the investigation which suggested that Baku believed that the plane was hit mid-air.

"Based on the opinion of experts and on the words of eyewitnesses, it can be concluded that there was external interference," Azerbaijani transport minister, Rashad Nabiyev said according to AFP. "It is necessary to find out from what kind of weapon," he added, citing reports from survivors of hearing "three explosions" as the plane was over Grozny.

Azerbaijan Airlines announced it has suspended flights to 10 Russian airports, citing preliminary findings that indicate the crash of Baku-Grozny flight J2-8243 was caused by "physical and technical external interference."

Meanwhile, the head of Russia's civil aviation agency, Dmitry Yadrov, said in an earlier 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.

He said the Azeri pilot attempted twice to land the plane in Grozny but was unsuccessful in the thick fog. "The pilot was offered other airports. The pilot decided to go to Aktau airport he further added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated, as reported by AFP, "Until the conclusions of the investigation, we do not consider we have the right to make any comments and we will not do so." Meanwhile, some aviation and military experts have noted signs of shrapnel damage on the plane wreckage, suggesting it may have been struck by air defence systems.

As per AFP, several media including Azerbaijan pro-government website, Caliber, cited unnamed Azerbaijani officials as saying they believed a Russian missile fired from a Pantsir-S1 air defence system caused the crash.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a "thorough investigation" and also pointed to Russian involvement. "Every loss of life deserves a thorough investigation to establish the truth. We can see how the clear visual evidence at the crash site points to Russia's responsibility for the tragedy," he said in a post on social media.

 ‘Started With A Loud Bang’

Two passengers and a crew member from the Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan reported to Reuters that they heard at least one loud bang as the plane approached its original destination, Grozny, in southern Russia.

"After the bang...I thought the plane was going to fall apart," Subhonkul Rakhimov, one of the passengers, told Reuters from the hospital.

He said he had begun to recite prayers and prepare for the end after hearing the bang.

"It was obvious that the plane had been damaged in some way," he said. "It was as if it was drunk - not the same plane anymore."

Another passenger on the plane told Reuters that she also heard a loud bang.

"I was very scared," said Vafa Shabanova, adding that there was also a second bang. She was then told by a flight attendant to move to the back of the plane.

Both passengers said there appeared to be a problem with the oxygen levels in the cabin after the bang.

"The pilot had just lifted the plan up when I heard a bang from the left wing. There were three bangs," a flight attendant Zulfugar Asadov told Reuters. Something rammed into his left arm. The cabin lost pressure.