A drone view shows rescue workers and experts working at the crash site of the Azerbaijan Airlines jetliner near the town of Aktau, Kazakhstan, December 25, 2024. AZAMAT SARSENBAYEV / REUTERS According to preliminary findings from the investigation carried out by Azerbaijan Airlines, the crash of its Embraer 190 airliner on Wednesday in Kazaksthan, having left 38 dead, is due to “external, physical and technical interference,” the company said on Telegram on Friday, December 27, without further details. It also announced the suspension of flights to several Russian cities, due to “risks to flight safety”, without further details. In view of a host of visual clues and testimonies from survivors of the plane – which left Baku and which crashed in an area opposite its initial route – experts and international media however believe that the aircraft was targeted by mistake, above Grozny (Russian Federation), in Chechnya, which was its initial destination, by a Russian anti-aircraft missile, before managing to fly and crashing in Kazakhstan, on the other side of the Caspian Sea. None of the countries involved have yet publicly confirmed the missile hypothesis. Contacted by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Azerbaijani government did not respond. “An investigation is underway to establish whether it was a Russian air defense strike or another cause,” MP Rassim Moussabekov told AFP, stressing that “we see in the photos and videos the aircraft fuselage with holes that are normally caused by air defense missiles. He called on Russia to apologize, “punish the guilty and promise that such a thing will not happen again”, criticizing Moscow for having redirected the plane to Kazakhstan after the incident. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Russia suspected of having mistakenly shot down an Azerbaijani plane heading towards Grozny Read later Refusal of authorization to land in Grozny According to information from Le Monde, an influential Russian Telegram channel, VChK-OGPU, published on Thursday a partial transcription of the exchanges between the pilots of flight J2-8243 and an air traffic controller based in Grozny, which is therefore not authenticated. It appears that the aircraft was repeatedly refused permission to land for an unknown reason, but perhaps linked to thick fog. The flight commander reported having lost the GPS signal. He decides to return to Baku. At that moment – it was 8:16 a.m. – he reported a violent shock, which he attributed to a collision with birds. Immediately afterwards, he reported difficulties controlling the device and deterioration of the hydraulic system. The pilot repeatedly requested authorization to land at two neighboring Russian airports, at Mineralnye Vody (240 kilometers away), then Makhachkala (140 kilometers away). The rest of the dialogue is not known. Blood under a seat indicates injuries probably received by at least one passenger, perhaps due to a projectile having passed through the cabin. “Shrapnel” passed through the cabin, confirms a surviving passenger of the flight, interviewed by the Russian state channel RT (formerly Russia Today). The man, who gave his name as Zaour Mamedov and who was seated at the back of the plane, said he heard “two big explosions on the plane” which “caused a lot of panic”. Images of the rear part of the cabin show numerous perforations. Four Azerbaijani government sources confirmed to Reuters that the investigation has already identified the weapon that fired at flight J2-8243. This would be the Russian Pantsir-S anti-aircraft system, according to experts interviewed in particular by Le Monde. Moscow refuses to comment Russia confirmed that Grozny was the target, on the day of the tragedy, of a Ukrainian drone attack, as has happened since the start of the war in February 2022. But in the face of blame of Moscow’s responsibility, the Kremlin refused on Friday to make any comments “before the conclusions of the investigation”. The Russian aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, explained that the situation at Grozny airport that day was “very difficult”. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover “At that time, Ukrainian military drones were carrying out terrorist attacks against civilian infrastructure in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz,” his boss, Dmitry Yadrov, said on Telegram. He also reported “thick fog” which prevented all visibility “at an altitude of 500 meters”. “The captain made two attempts to land in Grozny, which failed. Other airports are proposed to him. He decides to go to Aktau airport in Kazakhstan, Mr. Yadrov then said. Mr. Yadrov assured that Russia intended to “fully cooperate in the investigation into this tragedy” with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics on good terms with Moscow. The head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriï Iermak, for his part directly accused Moscow, ensuring that Russia must be “held responsible for having shot down the Azerbaijan Airlines plane”. Azerbaijan Airlines initially claimed that the plane had hit a flock of birds, before withdrawing this information, a version still adhered to by Russian state media and Rosaviatsia. The Kazakh transport ministry then mentioned on Thursday the “explosion of a balloon” on board. The aircraft, an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 with 67 people on board, was operating a flight between Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, and Grozny on Wednesday. It crashed and caught fire in unclear circumstances near Aktau, a Caspian Sea port in western Kazakhstan. On board the plane were 37 Azerbaijanis, 6 Kazakhs, 3 Kyrgyz and 16 Russians, as well as 5 crew members, according to the Kazakh transport ministry. 29 of them survived. The World with AFP
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