A Russian missile is believed to have caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash on Wednesday (see video above). Azerbaijani government sources now reported this. Russian authorities now warn against speculation. An investigation is currently underway, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“It would be wrong to formulate a hypothesis before the conclusions of the study are available,” the report continues. As reported, 38 people were killed on Wednesday when the plane crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau. 29 others survived, many with serious injuries.
With unusual damage seen on the aircraft’s outer skin, it is speculated that the aircraft may have been shot down with an anti-aircraft missile. The chairman of the Senate in Kazakhstan dismissed this as an unfounded claim. But this cannot be denied, said the country’s deputy head of government. A prosecutor added that there are still no results from the investigation.
Here you can see the holes in the hull.
Explosion next to plane
Azerbaijani government sources have since confirmed to Euronews that a Russian surface-to-air missile caused the crash. This was said to have been fired during a drone flight. The fragments hit the passengers and crew and the rocket exploded next to the plane. Authorities in the North Caucasus also reported Ukrainian drone strikes on Wednesday morning.
“Nobody says it happened deliberately,” said a researcher in Azerbaijan. The plane was apparently hit by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system. There was initially no official statement from the Kremlin.
No landing allowed in Russia?
In addition, another accusation was made against Russia: According to the Azerbaijani government, the plane was not allowed to land at a Russian airport despite a request. She had been ordered to fly over the Caspian Sea towards Aktau.
Azerbaijan Airlines itself attributed the suspected damage to the aircraft to a possible collision with a flock of birds. “The aircraft was extremely badly damaged and could not be controlled. This is not something that is caused by, for example, a flock of birds where the engines fail, but the aircraft remains controllable,” says aviation expert Heinrich Großbongardt.
In any case, the cause of the crash must be clarified before work is resumed. Radio messages and the evaluation of flight recorders, among other things, should help. The plane was en route from Baku to Grozny (Russia). The plane could not land in Grozny due to bad weather conditions and therefore left for an alternative airport, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.
Source: Krone
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