Russia’s military is being blamed for a commercial airline crash near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, that occurred on Wednesday.
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 crashed near the city, killing 38 out of 62 passengers. The disaster has been linked to a Russian surface-to-air missile strike targeting a Ukrainian drone.
Azerbaijani government officials confirmed that a Russian missile caused the crash. As EuroNews reported, “The missile was fired at Flight 8432 during drone air activity above Grozny, and the shrapnel hit the passengers and cabin crew as it exploded next to the aircraft mid-flight.”
It appears that Russia was attempting to target a Ukrainian drone amid the ongoing war in the region. Ukraine has frequently used drones to attack Grozny amid the conflict, according to The Associated Press.
The plane’s GPS navigation systems were jammed after the incident.
Government sources have told Euronews that the damaged aircraft was not allowed to land at any Russian airports despite the pilots’ requests for an emergency landing, and it was ordered to fly across the Caspian Sea towards Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The Kremlin has denied the allegations, but other sources have leveled the blame at Russia for the crash. Aviation expert Matthew Borie from Osprey Flight Solutions and other analysts referred to evidence pointing toward an attack from Moscow, which also killed Russian citizens.
“Subsequent reporting and contextual information, including the follow-on video examination of the wreckage ... leads Osprey to assess that the flight was likely shot down by a Russian air defense system,” Borie told NBC News.
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🚨 Tragic video shows how Pilot of Azerbaijan Airlines was trying to AVOID the crash ⬇️ 🇦🇿
— Lenka Houskova White (@white_lenka) December 25, 2024
According to survivors, passengers heard loud sound like “EXPLOSION” ‼️
Azerbaijan now canceled all flights from Baku to Grozny, Russia. #planecrash pic.twitter.com/uYnbnXlF4w
The flight was headed to Grozny, the capital city of the Chechen Republic, located near Ukraine. It was rerouted to Aktau after the emergency. Experts noted that the visible damage to the plane was consistent with missile shrapnel.
Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov insisted that people wait for the results of the investigation before assigning blame for the disaster. “It would be incorrect to make any hypotheses before the investigation comes to conclusions, and we definitely cannot do it and no one should do it,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s office “noted that the incident would be treated with seriousness, pending verification of the facts.”
Only 29 of the 62 passengers survived the crash, according to the Kazakh Emergencies Ministry. Survivors are being treated for a myriad of injuries, including burns and fractures.
Azerbaijani officials initially considered other theories regarding the cause of the crash, including negative weather conditions, according to NBC News.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev echoed Peskov's caution. "There are various theories, but I believe it is premature to discuss them. The matter must be thoroughly investigated,” he said at a meeting dedicated to the incident Wednesday.
“The reasons for the crash are not yet known,” he said, adding that Azerbaijan has launched its own investigation.
Aliyev said that the flight changed course because of “worsening weather conditions” and that the “crash occurred during landing” as the plane descended toward Aktau airport.
On Thursday, the Azerbaijani government announced a national day of mourning and lowered flags to half staff. Further investigation of the incident will yield more details about what happened on Wednesday.
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