On Friday, Azerbaijan Airlines announced that preliminary results of the investigation into the crash of flight J2-8243, which occurred on December 25 in Kazakhstan, indicate that the accident was caused by "external physical and technical interference."
"Preliminary results of the investigation into the crash of the Embraer 190" show "external physical and technical interference," Azerbaijan Airlines announced on Telegram.
The carrier has also reported that, following the results, it decided to suspend its flights from Baku to several airports in Russia starting December 28, 2024. The airports affected by this measure include Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod and Vladikavkaz.
The company made the announcement in an update to its announcement of the suspension of flights to several Russian cities. It justified the suspension by "flight security risks," without providing further details.
Azerbaijan's State Civil Aviation Agency has determined that this suspension "is necessary to mitigate potential risks to flight safety."
Azerbaijani MP Rasim Musabekov said:
"An investigation is underway to determine whether it was a Russian air defense strike or another cause ,"
"We see in photos and video footage of the plane's fuselage holes that are usually caused by anti-aircraft missiles," he points out.
On December 25, AZAL had already decided to suspend flights to the Russian cities of Grozny and Mahaçqala. In addition, other airlines have reportedly also stopped operations on these routes for security reasons.
The carrier said passengers who have purchased tickets for the affected flights will be entitled to a full refund without penalties or free rescheduling of their tickets.
MP Rasim Musabekov calls on Russia to apologize, "punish those responsible and promise that such a thing will never happen again."
The MP accuses Moscow of redirecting the plane to Kazakhstan, on the other side of the Caspian Sea, after the incident.
Honouring the heroes, who lost life during crash trying to save the passengers, Citizens also raised the flag on the facade of the house of Igor Kshnyakin, the captain of the aircraft that crashed near Aktau.
It's being talked in various media and forums that the crash has been caused by a Russian anti-aircraft missile. But the Kremlin declined to comment on Friday "before the investigation is completed."
The Russian Civil Aviation Agency (Rosaviatsia) has commented that the situation at Grozny airport on Christmas Day was "very difficult."
"At that time, Ukrainian military drones were carrying out terrorist attacks against civilian infrastructure in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz," Rosaviatsia director Dmitry Yadrov said on Telegram.
Dmitry Yadrov has assured that Russia intends to "fully cooperate in the investigation into this tragedy" with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics that maintain good relations with Moscow.
The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer ERJ 190AR plane (4K-AZ65) bound for Grozny crashed on Wednesday after being forced to make an emergency landing in Aktau, Kazakhstan. So far, authorities have confirmed the death of 38 of the 67 people on board.
Of the five crew members, two died and three survived. A black box was found at the scene of the accident. In response to this tragedy, Azerbaijan declared a day of national mourning on December 26.
Cabin crew Aydan Rahimli, survived the crash with injuries. She says that until the last moment, the cabin crew was trying to control the situation by communicating with each other. She also informed that the pieces of shrapnel had entered the front side of the plane.
Regarding the injured, Health Minister Teymur Musayev told Azerbaijan's State News Agency on Friday that the injuries were mainly traumatic, with fractures and bruises.
"Patients in critical condition are being assisted with respirators. Evacuation will take place once an improvement in their condition is observed," the minister stressed.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andrii Yermak, directly accuses Moscow and assures that Russia must be "held accountable for the shooting down of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane."
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