Officials have said more than three dozen people died in the crash, which saw the plane tear in half as it hit the ground in Kazakhstan while en route to Russia
Azerbaijan Airlines has blamed “external interference” for the Christmas Day Kazakhstan plane crash in which 38 people died.
Airline chiefs have launched preliminary investigations into the crash after the Embraer EMBR3.SA hit the ground hard on Wednesday while en route to Grozny, in Chechnya, Russia. At least 38 people died in the disaster, which was immediately blamed on a “bird strike” by Russian aviation authorities.
But in a statement issued this afternoon, airline chiefs said the results from a preliminary investigation showed “physical and technical external interference”. The early ruling follows growing suspicion that Russian air defence systems may have been involved in the doomed flight’s fate, with aviation experts and pro-government journalists alleging it was damaged by shrapnel from a Russian air-defence missile explosion.
US officials have drawn similar conclusions, with one telling CNN on Thursday that “early indications” suggest a Russian system may have been involved in the crash. They cited multiple anonymous sources in Azerbaijan who had knowledge of the country’s ongoing investigation.
Speaking to local media in Azerbaijan, Tahir Agaguliev, an Azerbaijani veteran pilot, alleged that missile fragments “damaged the hydraulic system”. Russian officials, who were quick to conclude the plane was downed after it hit a flock of birds on its descent into the country, have now changed tune, and are warning against putting forward “hypotheses before the investigation’s conclusion”.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s official spokesperson in Moscow, said: “It would be wrong to put forward any hypotheses before the investigation’s conclusions. We, of course, will not do this, and no-one should do this. We need to wait until the investigation is completed.”
While also waiting for the results of a Kazakhstani investigation, Azerbaijani officials have gone in a separate direction, stating they expect the Russian government to admit shooting down the plane. A number of television channels, all of which are under strict supervision by the presiding Azerbaijani government, have broadcast interviews with experts openly speaking about possible Russian involvement.
Some have gone a step further, with the AnewZ channel broadcasting the results from a “preliminary investigation” that concluded the plane was struck by shrapnel from a Russian surface-to-air Pantsir-S defence system. Sources close to ongoing investigations alleging Russia was involved have so far refused to directly blame the nation, suggesting the attack on the aircraft – which was carrying Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Russian passengers – was not done on purpose.
