Russian Air Defense Called The Cause Of The Fall Of Azerbaijan Airlines, Kazakhstan And The Kremlin Awaiting Investigation

JAKARTA - Kazakh and Kremlin authorities chose to wait for the results of the investigation, as Russia's air defense system is said to be behind the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane.

Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 aircraft with flight number J2-8243 and registration 4K-AZ65 carrying 62 passengers and five crew, are on their way from Baku, Azerbaijan to Grozny, Russia when it crashed last Wednesday near Aktau City, Kazakhstan.

The plane is said to have crashed after turning from southern Russia, where Moscow has repeatedly used its air defense system against Ukrainian drone attacks.

The plane turned hundreds of miles across the Kaspia Sea, before crashing on the coast across the Kaspia Sea after what Russian aviation watchdogs said was an emergency that may have been caused by a bird strike.

Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Qanat Bozymbaev said he could neither confirm nor refute a thesis that said Russian air defenses brought down the plane.

When asked about the possibility of Russian air defenses shooting down the plane, Kazakh transport prosecutors for the area where the plane crashed said the investigation had not yet reached a definite conclusion.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin, who was asked before a Reuters report on the alleged plane had been shot by Russian air defenses, said it was inappropriate to comment until the investigation was complete.

"It is not appropriate to establish a hypothesis prior to the conclusion of the investigation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Embraer-190" təyyarəsinin qəzaya uğraması nəticəsində itirdiyimiz əziz insanları heç vaxt unutmayacağıq. Bu itkilər bütöv bir cəmiyyətin ürəyində yara açdı. Bu itki bizi daha həssas və bir-birimizə bağlı olmağa səsləyir.

Məhz bu səbəbdən Bakı aeroportunda, Terminal 2-nin cənub… pic.twitter.com/YKbyOfowAG

— AZAL - Azerbaijan Airlines (@azalofficial) December 26, 2024

"Embraer-190" tryptyyyarwasin qbarzaya umenyarasul n Marijuk sinsindel itirdiyimiz ziz insanlar he sambuh t q. Bu itkil bt\"iv beer cmiyaytin r\" yyind yara a. Bu itki bi a hssas v ba bahl olmaa ssl calmyir.

M Wayhz ma'am sryptabdbarbdBabakeroportunda, Terminal 2-nin cryptub... pic.twitter.com/YKbyOfowAG

As previously reported, sources familiar with the results of the preliminary investigation said Russia's air defense system was behind the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane.

One of Azerbaijan's sources familiar with Azerbaijan's investigation into the crash told Reuters preliminary results showed the plane was hit by Russia's Pantsir-S air defense system. Its communication was paralyzed by the electronic warfare system as it approached Grozny, the source said.

"No one claims that it was done on purpose. However, taking into account the facts, Baku hopes that the Russian side will recognize the shooting of the Azerbaijan plane crash," the source said.

Three other sources confirmed Azerbaijan's investigation had come to the same initial conclusion. The Russian Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment.

Officials did not explain why the plane crossed the sea. Russia's closest airport on the plane's flight path, Makhachkala, closed on Wednesday morning.

Footage recorded by passengers on the plane before falling showed an oxygen mask removed and people wearing life vests. Subsequent footage shows bleeding passengers and bruises getting out of the plane. There were 29 survivors.

Photos of the wreckage show what appears to be damage to the shrapnel in the tail of the plane.

Aviation security firm Osprey Flight Solutions said in a warning to airlines on Wednesday that footage of the ruins and circumstances surrounding the airspace of southwest Russia showed the possibility of the plane being hit by several anti-aircraft shots.

Ukrainian military drones have repeatedly targeted Russia's southern region in recent months, prompting Russian air defenses. Russia and Ukraine have been at war since Moscow's invasion of neighboring countries in February 2022.

Earlier on Wednesday, Russia's Ministry of Defense had reported the crash of 59 Ukrainian unmanned aircraft in several areas.

Several were reportedly shot down in a closed airspace over an area bordering Ukraine, including the Azov Sea. Flight operations were reportedly suspended temporarily at Russian Kazan Airport due to the activity.

In addition, publicly available ADS-B flight tracking data show Azerbaijan's aircraft experiencing GPS disruption during its flight over southwest Russia, the warning said.