Early evidence suggests that a Russian anti-aircraft system may have shot down an Azerbaijan Airlines plane, a US official told Reuters. CNN . The air disaster left 38 people dead and 29 injured.
Signs indicate that the Russian system hit Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 before crashing near Aktau, Kazakhstan, the US official said on Thursday (26).
This is the first time the U.S. has offered an assessment of Wednesday’s passenger jet crash that killed at least 38 of the 67 people on board.
If early indications are confirmed, it could be a case of mistaken identity, the US official said, where poorly trained Russian units negligently fired at Ukraine’s drone use.
Authorities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia, three countries linked to the disaster, have urged people not to speculate about the accident until investigations are complete.
Here’s what we know about the plane crash so far.
What was the plane’s route?
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight was traveling from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to Grozny, the capital of the southern Russian republic of Chechnya, before making an emergency landing approximately 3 kilometers from Aktau, Kazakhstan.
Russian media reported that the plane was diverted due to heavy fog in Grozny.
According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, the plane departed on Wednesday at 7:55 am (Azerbaijani local time) and crashed at 10:28 am.
Authorities have not explained why the plane crossed the Caspian Sea when Baku and Grozny are to the west and Aktau to the east.
Kazakh Transport Minister Marat Karabayev said on Thursday that a Kazakh control center received a signal from Russia about 45 minutes before the plane crashed that the flight was being diverted.
The Russian dispatcher said the aircraft had a fault in its control systems, and that the crew decided to fly to Aktau after receiving reports of bad weather, Karabayev said. The dispatcher later said that “an oxygen tank exploded in the cabin, causing passengers to lose consciousness.”
While the Azerbaijan Airlines crew made two landing approaches at Aktau airport, the aircraft deviated from its course and lost communication with Aktau authorities when it crashed, Karabayev said.
Flightradar24 said in a social media post that the aircraft was “exposed to GPS jamming and spoofing near Grozny.” GPS jamming can significantly hamper a plane’s ability to navigate and communicate, Flightradar24 said, creating potential safety risks.
Data and video from the crash also “indicate possible control issues with the aircraft,” Flightradar24 said.
How many people survived the accident?
At least 38 of the 67 people on board the plane died in the crash, Kazakh authorities confirm, including two pilots and a flight attendant.
Some 29 survivors, two of whom were children, were pulled from the wreckage, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said.
Of the passengers who traveled on the plane, 37 were citizens of Azerbaijan and 16 of Russia, as well as six from Kazakhstan and three from Kyrgyzstan, according to preliminary data from the Kazakh Ministry of Transport. None of those who survived were Kazakh citizens, Bozumbayev said.
Azerbaijani state news agency AZERTAC reported that 12 survivors will be transported to Azerbaijan on Thursday, five of whom are in a “serious but stable condition.” These five people will be transported back by a special aircraft from the country’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, AZERTAC said.
NATO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah said in a social media post that the alliance’s “thoughts and prayers are with the families and victims” of the disaster. “We wish a speedy recovery to those injured in the accident and call for a full investigation,” he wrote.
What was the cause of the accident?
Video and images of the plane after the crash show holes in the plane’s bodywork that appear similar to damage caused by shrapnel or debris. The cause of these holes has not been confirmed.
Azerbaijan Airlines initially told AZERTAC that the incident was caused by the aircraft colliding with birds, the broadcaster reported. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, also said the plane crashed after striking birds.
However, Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, questioned this, claiming on social media that the plane was “shot down by a Russian air defense system.”
The accident occurred shortly after Ukrainian drone strikes hit southern Russia. Drone activity has closed airports in the area in the past and the Russian airport closest to the plane’s route was closed on Wednesday morning.
“Russia should have closed the airspace over Grozny, but failed,” Kovalenko said, speculating that authorities will try to cover up the real reason behind the crash, including the holes in the plane, as it would be “inconvenient” to blame Russia.
Justin Crump, an intelligence, security and defense expert and the CEO of risk consultancy firm Sibylline, told BBC Radio 4 on Thursday that the Russian plane hit is “the best theory that fits all the available facts.” that we know.” Crump added that Russian air defenses were active in Grozny at the time the plane was damaged.
“I don’t think this is deliberate,” he noted, pointing out that Russia is “very concerned” about active long-range Ukrainian drones that “are often not shot down.”
Osprey Flight Solutions, a British company that analyzes security risks in the aviation sector, also said in an alert to airlines that the flight “was likely shot down by a Russian military air defense system,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
The US official who spoke to the CNN on Thursday did not say what type of system may have brought down the plane. Russia has several anti-aircraft systems, including its advanced S-300 and S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, as well as the Pantsir medium-range system and others.
What are the authorities saying?
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that it would be wrong to speculate about the cause of the plane crash before an investigation had been carried out, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.
Maulen Ashimbayev, president of Kazakhstan’s senate, said on Thursday that “the nature of this damage and the causes of the disaster are currently unknown.”
A commission was set up to investigate the accident, involving representatives from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia, Ashimbayev said.
Kanat Bozumbayev, deputy prime minister of Kazakhstan, said that “even the preliminary cause cannot yet be determined, as experts are needed for this.”
“They will conduct the work, and then it will be clear,” Bozumbayev said on Thursday.
This content was originally published on CNN, US officials say Russians may have shot down Kazakhstan plane on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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