Azerbaijan has alleged that the aircraft which crashed in Kazakhstan was brought down by a Russian surface-to-air missile.
A source from the country disclosed to Reuters on Thursday (26 December) that preliminary investigations have identified missile impact as the cause of the crash.
The flight, J2-8243, was en route from Azerbaijan to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya when it went down near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday.
It was rerouted over the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan instead of landing in Grozny.
At the time, Russian forces were reportedly engaged in downing Ukrainian drones in Chechen airspace.
An Azerbaijani official stated that the plane was struck by Russia’s Pantsir-S air defence missile system.
The aircraft’s communication systems were disrupted by jamming when it entered Grozny’s airspace.
“No one is accusing Russia of intentional action,” the official remarked.
“However, based on the findings, we expect Russia to acknowledge the incident.”
Russian authorities, on the other hand, attributed the crash to a potential bird strike, suggesting that such an impact could have caused engine failure.
Experts have contested this explanation, stating that while a bird strike could damage engines, it is unlikely to result in such a catastrophic crash.
A Russian official explained that the plane was redirected to Kazakhstan due to dense fog over Grozny.
The ill-fated aircraft carried 62 passengers and five crew members. Tragically, 38 people lost their lives, while 32 survived the crash, some in what witnesses described as miraculous circumstances.
