What’s New
Thirty eight people were killed and dozens survived a plane crash in Kazakhstan while traveling to southern Russia, according to local officials, as speculation swirls online that Russia could somehow have been responsible for the crash.
Open-source intelligence accounts have suggested that damage visible in footage, which has been described as shrapnel from air-defense systems, could have been caused the crash.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 caught fire as it tried to make an emergency landing in Aktau, southwestern Kazakhstan, on Wednesday. It was traveling from the Azeri capital Baku to Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya.
Kazakh officials say 38 people were killed in the crash, including an 11-year-old boy and his mother, with 67 people on board at the time.
The people on board were nationals from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
AP Photo/Azamat Sarsenbayev
What To Know
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said the aircraft was directed to Aktau “due to an emergency landing requirement and crashed near the city.”
“The causes of the accident are being investigated,” the government in Baku said. The BBC reported that the aircraft was diverted because of fog. Other reports suggested the crew had diverted after a bird strike.
Some of the survivors are in “critical condition,” the Azerbaijani ministry said.
The flight left Baku at 3:55 a.m. UTC on Wednesday (10:55 p.m. ET Tuesday) and traveled for half an hour before coming across “significant GPS interference,” according to flight tracker, FlightRadar24.
The aircraft stopped sending data on its location for more than 10 minutes, followed by a brief period of likely incorrect data, the outlet said. The aircraft then sent more likely incorrect data on its location, with more gaps in reporting.
For the last 20 minutes of the flight, the aircraft did send data on its position, according to FlightRadar24.
Russian state media carried a statement from the Azerbaijani carrier on Thursday, saying the aircraft, an Embraer 190, was made in 2013, and had undergone a thorough technical inspection in mid-October this year.
The aircraft had since flown 671 hours, Azerbaijan Airlines said.
What People Are Saying
Footage from the site shows the aircraft speeding toward the ground, with its landing gear engaged. It then bursts into flames as it lands close to Aktau.
Carl Bildt, a former Swedish prime minister, said it was “likely that the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was hit by shrapnel” from a Russian air-defense system operating around the Chechen capital. German newspaper Bildt speculated there may have been a Ukrainian drone attack in the region.
Justin Crump, from Sibylline, a risk advisory company, told BBC Radio 4: “It looks very much like the detonation of an air defence missile to the rear and to the left of the aircraft, if you look at the pattern of shrapnel that we see,” .
Matt Borie, chief intelligence officer at Osprey Flight Solutions, told The Wall Street Journal: “Video of the wreckage and the circumstances around the airspace security environment in southwest Russia indicates the possibility the aircraft was hit by some form of antiaircraft fire.” .
“The holes in the plane’s fuselage during the flight are not caused by birds,” said Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. A surface-to-air missile “damaged the plane and disabled its systems,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he wished to “offer condolences to the families of the deceased and to all the injured.”
He said in a Kremlin readout: “We will hope that they recover.” and that Russian officials will deliver “medical personnel and the required additional equipment to Aktau.”
“Of course, I am confident that a thorough investigation will be conducted.”
Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov said on Telegram: “I express my condolences to the relatives of the deceased passengers of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Aktau while en route from Baku to Grozny.”
Brazilian aerospace company Embraer, which manufactured the aircraft, said it was “deeply saddened” by the crash, adding it was “closely monitoring the situation and we remain fully committed to supporting the relevant authorities.”
What Happens Next
Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, has established a commission to investigate the causes of the crash and a delegation from Baku has traveled to the crash site, the government said.