Azerbaijan observed a nationwide day of mourning Thursday for the victims of the plane crash that killed 38 people and left all 29 alive as speculation swirled about the possible cause of the disaster, some experts said. That the plane was damaged by Russian air defenses. the fire
Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 was leaving from there. of Azerbaijan On Wednesday, the capital Baku was en route to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus when it was diverted for still unclear reasons after flying east across the Caspian Sea to land in Aktau, Kazakhstan. And crashed.
The plane fell about 3 kilometers (about 2 miles) below the equator. Cellphone footage circulating online shows the plane making a steep descent before hitting the ground in a fireball. Other footage shows parts of its body ripped from the wings and the rest of the plane lying upside down in the grass.
As the official investigation into the crash began, theories abounded about the possible cause, with some experts alleging that holes in the plane's tail possibly indicated it was a Ukrainian drone strike. could come under fire due to the intercepting Russian air defense system.
Ukrainian drones have previously attacked Grozny, the provincial capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, and other regions in the country's North Caucasus. An official in Chechnya said another drone attack on the region was foiled on Wednesday, though federal officials did not report it.
National flags were flown at half-mast across Azerbaijan on Thursday, traffic across the country came to a standstill at noon, and signals sounded from ships and trains as the country observed a nationwide moment of silence.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the crash but said weather had forced the plane to divert from its planned route.
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“The information provided to me is that due to deteriorating weather conditions, the plane changed its route between Baku and Grozny and headed for Oktau Airport, where it crashed on landing,” he said.
Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said preliminary information indicated that the pilots turned to Aktau after the bird struck, causing an emergency on board.
According to the Kazakh authorities, 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian citizens, six Kazakhs and three Kyrgyz citizens were on board the plane. Russia's Emergencies Ministry flew nine Russian survivors to Moscow for treatment on Thursday.
Mark Z of OPSGroup, which monitors the world's airspace and airports for threats, said analysis of images of the wreckage showed it was almost certainly a surface-to-air missile or a missile. was hit by a SAM.
“There's a lot more to investigate, but we would put the probability of a SAM attack on his aircraft at a high level in the 90-99% bracket,” he said.
Usprey Flight Solutions, an aviation security firm based in the United Kingdom, warned its clients that an “Azerbaijan Airlines flight may have been shot down by a Russian military air defense system.” Osprey provides analysis for carriers flying into Russia even after Western airlines stopped their flights during the war.
Osprey CEO Andrew Nicholson said the company issued more than 200 alerts about drone strikes and air defense systems in Russia during the war.
“This incident is a stark reminder of why we do what we do,” Nicholson wrote online. “It is painful to know that despite our efforts, lives were lost in a way that could have been avoided.”
Caliber, an Azerbaijani news website, claimed that the plane was fired upon by a Russian Pantsyr-S air defense system as it approached Grozny. He questioned why Russian authorities failed to close the airport despite drone strikes in the area. Khamzat Kadyrov, head of Chechnya's Security Council, said air defenses shot down a drone that attacked the area on Wednesday.
Caliber also asked why Russian authorities did not allow the plane to make an emergency landing at Grozny or nearby Russian airports after it crashed.
Asked about claims that the plane was fired upon by air defense assets, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it would be wrong to speculate before the investigators make their decision.”
Kazakhstan's parliamentary speaker Molin Ashambayev also called the allegations of air defense fire groundless and “immoral” and warned against drawing conclusions based on images of the plane's wreckage.
Other officials in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have similarly declined to comment on the possible cause of the crash, saying it was up to investigators to determine.
and copy 2024 Canadian Press