An investigation conducted by Azerbaijan has reportedly determined that a Russian missile was the cause of a deadly plane crash.
Azerbaijan’s initial investigation into the deadly plane crash in Kazakhstan suggests that the aircraft was shot down by Russia’s air defense systems.
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 crashed near the city of Aktau on Wednesday while en route to Grozny, the capital of the Chechnya region in southern Russia, killing 38 people and injuring 29 others.
Azerbaijan Airlines suspended a host of flights to Russian cities on Friday and said preliminary findings showed the crash was caused by what it termed “physical and technical external interference”.
It did not detail what that interference was.
While Azerbaijan has yet to publicly announce the findings of its probe into the disaster, Rashan Nabiyev, the country’s minister of digital development and transportation, told Azerbaijani media on Friday that “preliminary conclusions by experts point at external impact,” as does witness testimony.
“The type of weapon used in the impact will be determined during the probe,” Nabiyev said.
On Thursday, according to unnamed sources close to the investigation, officials determined that a Russian anti-aircraft missile caused the incident, as reported by Euronews, The Wall Street Journal, Anadolu Agency, and Reuters.
Reuters cited a source as saying that the aircraft was struck by a Russian Pantsir-S battery after having its communications paralysed by electronic warfare systems on its approach to Grozny.
The firing on the plane was not believed to be intentional, Reuters quoted the source as saying.
Euronews cited government sources as saying the aircraft was not allowed to land in Russia after pilots requested an emergency landing and was instead directed to fly across the Caspian Sea towards Aktau.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency initially said that the plane had been forced to make an emergency landing after striking a flock of birds.
The reports of Russia’s involvement came after aviation experts suggested Russian air defences were likely to blame, based on visible damage to the plane’s tail section.
The Embraer 190 had been flying over a part of Russia’s North Caucasus that has been targeted by Ukrainian drones in recent weeks, and Russia’s Ministry of Defence reported shooting down dozens of drones on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Footage of the stricken aircraft on social media showed the plane making a steep descent before hitting the ground and bursting into flames.
Russia urges caution in discussing the cause of the crash, as the Kremlin declines to address allegations on Friday that a Russian missile was involved.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “It would be wrong to make any hypotheses before the investigation’s conclusions.”
Dmitry Yadrov, the leader of Russia’s civil aviation agency, stated that Ukrainian drones targeted Grozny while the plane was attempting to land there.
Subsequently, the plane crashed in Kazakhstan.
Yadrov has noted on Telegram that there was heavy fog over Grozny when the incident occurred and “conditions that day and in those hours around the airport were very complicated”.
“Ukrainian military drones were carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure … at the time,” he said.
“Due to the danger posed by the drones, no departures and arrivals were permitted in Grozny and the plane had to divert, he added.
