New footage posted from the crash site of the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190AR show the pock-marked wreckage of the plane after it crash landed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day
Kazakhstan: Suspected ‘bullet holes’ found on the wreckage after plane crash
The Azerbaijan Airlines Christmas Day plane crash that killed at least 38 people is being investigated as new footage shows what appear to be bullet holes embedded in the side of the aircraft.
The Embraer E190AR plane was carrying approximately 100 people when it hit the ground and burst into flames in Aktau, Kazakhstan, just moments after sending a distress signal indicating a potential bird strike while en route to Grozny, in Russia. New footage taken by people who rushed to the scene has shown the smouldering wreckage of the aircraft, including holes punched into its exterior.
The strange “bullet hole” marks on the fuselage are raising new questions over the cause of the air disaster as surviving passengers and crew – around 29 according to the latest estimates – speak of an “explosion” hitting the plane. The plane from Baku, Azerbaijan, was attempting to land at Russian airport Grozny, capital of Chechnya region, when it was barred from landing in the area.
According to local reports, the official reason for the ban was given as “fog”. It is known Chechnya and three bordering areas were under attack by Ukrainian drones, and that a shopping mall ignited into an inferno with a drone strike win Vladikavkaz, capital of Russian region North Ossetia.
It is also reported from security officials that Chechen air defences opened fire on drones, striking and exploding at least one. A question is likely to be whether the plane, originating in the Azerbaijani capital, was damaged by anti-drone gunfire from the ground as it sought to land in Grozny.
Yet it then flew 275 miles to Aktau in western Kazakhstan, where it eventually crash landed. It crossed the Caspian Sea, not landing at the back-up airport Makhachkala, in Russia, which was also closed, despite damage to the wing, seen on video. An official version was that the aircraft hit a flock of birds.
Later there were reports of an “explosion” of an oxygen tank to supply the cockpit in the event of depressurisation. Yet it is unclear what caused such an “explosion”. The supposed sudden depressurisation of the cylinder caused significant damage to the hull and its “scattering into fragments”, according to reports.
One survivor said: “There was an explosion – I wouldn’t say it was inside the plane. Where I was sitting, the skin next to me flew off. One video purports to show a life jacket damaged by ‘shrapnel’ inside the plane. Damage to the cabin is seen on earlier footage. Video taken during the flight of the Azerbaijani Airlines flight shows that part of the plane’s wing is holed.
“At the same time, oxygen masks have already fallen out in the cabin.” According to the latest data, the crash of the Embraer 190 killed 38 people. Some sources have suggested the “bullet hole marks” could be the result of rocks or stones as the plane crash landed. Yet the marks were seized on by Russian pro-Kremlin media.
Readovka reported: “Footage published online shows that the tail of the plane is riddled with something – the fuselage is dotted with holes. The nature of the damage suggests that they were caused by external influences. The Internet suggests that [the holes] resemble shrapnel [damage].”
