Azerbaijan on Thursday noticed a nationwide day of mourning for the victims of the airplane crash that killed 38 individuals and left all 29 survivors injured as hypothesis mounted a few potential reason for the catastrophe, with some consultants saying that the airliner was broken by Russian air protection hearth.
Azerbaijan Airways’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to the Russian metropolis of Grozny within the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for causes but unclear and crashed whereas attempting to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan after flying east throughout the Caspian Sea.
The airplane went down about round 2 miles from Aktau. Cellphone footage circulating on-line appeared to point out the plane making a steep descent earlier than smashing into the bottom in a fireball. Different footage confirmed a part of its fuselage ripped away from the wings and the remainder of the plane mendacity the other way up within the grass.
Because the official crash investigation began, theories abounded a few potential trigger, with some commentators alleging that holes seen within the airplane’s tail part presumably point out that it might have come underneath hearth from Russian air protection techniques heading off a Ukrainian drone assault.
Ukrainian drones had beforehand attacked Grozny, the provincial capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, and different areas within the nation’s North Caucasus. An official in Chechnya mentioned one other drone assault on the area was fended off on Wednesday, though federal authorities didn’t report it.
On Thursday, nationwide flags had been lowered throughout Azerbaijan, visitors throughout the nation stopped at midday, and indicators sounded from ships and trains because the nation noticed a nationwide second of silence.
Flowers and portraits are positioned on the Consulate of Azerbaijan within the reminiscence of victims of the Azerbaijan Airways’ Embraer 190 that crashed close to the Kazakhstan’s airport of Aktau, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Picture/Dmitri Lovetsky)
“The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing,” he mentioned.
Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, mentioned that preliminary info indicated that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a fowl strike led to an emergency on board.
In keeping with Kazakh officers, these aboard the airplane included 42 Azerbaijani residents, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhs and three Kyrgyzstan nationals. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry on Thursday flew 9 Russian survivors to Moscow for therapy.
Mark Zee of OPSGroup, which screens the world’s airspace and airports for dangers, mentioned that the evaluation of the fragments of the crashed airplane point out with a 90-99% likelihood that it was hit by a surface-to-air missile.
Osprey Flight Options, an aviation safety agency primarily based in the UK, warned its shoppers that the “Azerbaijan Airlines flight was likely shot down by a Russian military air-defense system.” Osprey gives evaluation for carriers nonetheless flying into Russia after Western airways halted their flights in the course of the struggle.
Osprey CEO Andrew Nicholson mentioned that the corporate had issued greater than 200 alerts relating to drone assaults and air protection techniques in Russia in the course of the struggle.
“This incident is a stark reminder of why we do what we do,” Nicholson wrote on-line. “It is painful to know that despite our efforts, lives were lost in a way that could have been avoided.”
Requested concerning the claims that the airplane had been fired upon by air protection belongings, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed reporters that “it would be wrong to make hypotheses before investigators make their verdict.”
Kazakhstan’s parliamentary Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev additionally warned in opposition to dashing to conclusions primarily based on photos of the airplane’s fragments, describing the allegations of air protection hearth as unfounded and “unethical.”
Different officers in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have equally averted touch upon a potential reason for the crash, saying it is going to be as much as investigators to find out it.
Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Aida Sultanova in London, contributed to this report.
Initially Printed: December 26, 2024 at 9:37 AM EST
