Kazakhstan plane crash: Cause of tragic accident that killed 38 people now known

The plane crashed on Wednesday, December 25, in the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. With 67 people on board, it was due to fly from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny.

The crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines airliner on Wednesday, December 25, was caused by “external, physical and technical interference”, according to the preliminary results of the investigation cited on Friday, December 27 by this airline.

The Embraer, which was flying between Baku and Grozny in Chechnya, crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. The accident killed 38 of the 62 passengers and five crew members on board.

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“The Preliminary results of the investigation into the crash of the Embraer 190” report “external, physical and technical interference”, Azerbaijan Airlines said on Telegram, in an updated version of its announcement of the suspension of flights to several Russian cities.

Suspension of flights from the company to seven Russian cities

According to one of the sources, the plane was hit by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system and its communications were “frozen” by the Russian military's electronic jamming network as it approached Grozny. Azerbaijan Airlines announced on Friday, December 27, that it was suspending flights to seven Russian cities, Russian news agencies reported. It will continue to operate flights to six destinations in Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, according to Interfax.

Asked about the accusations on Friday, the Kremlin said investigations were ongoing and that it had nothing to add. The Russian republics of Dagestan and Chechnya have been the target of Ukrainian drone attacks in recent months, prompting Russian air defenses to respond, according to Osprey Flight Solutions, a British company specializing in aviation security.

The Russian civil aviation agency (Rosaviatsia), cited by TASS, said on Friday that the pilot diverted after two unsuccessful landing attempts in Grozny, due to thick fog and an alert for Ukrainian drones “terrorist” The aircraft's commander, the agency said, was offered several other airports to land at but opted for Aktau.

“I thought the plane was going to burst into pieces”

A hospitalized survivor, Subhonkul Rakhimov, told Reuters he heard at least one loud bang as the plane approached Grozny. “I thought the plane was going to burst into pieces,” he said, adding that he began praying in fear of a fatal outcome. After the bang, the plane behaved erratically. “It was obvious that it had suffered damage,”, he said.

A passenger, Vafa Chabanova, told Reuters that she heard two explosions. A stewardess then told her to go to the back of the plane. According to the two survivors, there was a problem with the cabin pressure after the explosion.