December 27th 2024.
On Friday, a US official stated that Russian air defence systems may have caused the recent crash of an Azerbaijani airliner. This claim came after an Azerbaijani minister also suggested that a weapon was responsible for the plane going down. Both of these assessments were supported by expert analysis and accounts from survivors.
The statements made by Rashan Nabiyev and White House national security spokesman John Kirby were in line with the conclusions of outside aviation experts. They all pointed to the crash being caused by Russian air defence systems reacting to a Ukrainian attack. These remarks put pressure on Russia, where officials claimed that a drone attack was taking place in the region where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was heading. However, they did not address the accusations about their air defences.
During a briefing with reporters, Kirby revealed that the US had seen evidence that suggested the possibility of Russian involvement in the plane crash. He did not provide any further details, citing an ongoing investigation. When asked if the US had received intelligence that led to this conclusion, Kirby confirmed that they had. He also mentioned that experts had used visual assessments of the crash to form their opinions.
The plane was traveling from Baku, Azerbaijan's capital, to Grozny, the regional capital of Chechnya, when it altered its course and headed towards Kazakhstan. It crashed while attempting to land, resulting in the death of 38 people and injuries to all 29 survivors. According to Nabiyev, preliminary findings from experts and witness testimonies point towards external interference as the cause of the crash. The exact weapon used will be determined during the investigation.
Survivors who were on board the flight stated that they heard loud noises while the plane was circling over Grozny. Flight attendant Aydan Rahimli recalled that the oxygen masks were released after one of the noises. She immediately went to assist her colleague, Zulfugar Asadov, before another loud bang was heard. Asadov described the noises as if something was hitting the plane from the outside. He also sustained a sudden injury to his arm, which he compared to being hit with an axe. However, he denied the claim made by Kazakh officials that an oxygen canister exploded on the plane.
Two other survivors, Jerova Salihat and Vafa Shabanova, also reported hearing explosions before the plane crashed. Salihat stated that something exploded near her leg, while Shabanova said there were two explosions in the sky before the plane went down.
Dmitry Yadrov, the head of Russia's civil aviation authority, stated that Ukrainian drones were targeting Grozny when the plane was preparing to land in foggy conditions. This prompted authorities to close the airspace. After two unsuccessful attempts to land, the captain was offered other airports, but he decided to head to Aktau in Kazakhstan. Yadrov did not comment on the claims made by some experts that the holes in the plane's tail section suggest it was hit by Russian air defence systems. Ukraine has previously launched attacks on Grozny and other areas in the Russian North Caucasus.
Azerbaijan Airlines blamed the crash on unspecified "physical and technical interference" and suspended flights to several Russian airports. However, they did not provide any details about where this interference came from. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the allegations that Russian air defences were responsible for the crash, stating that it was up to the investigators to determine the cause. He added that they could not make any assessments until the investigation was complete.
If it is proven that the plane was brought down by Russian air defences, it would be the second deadly civil aviation incident related to the conflict in Ukraine. In 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board. Russia has denied any involvement, but a Dutch court convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian for their role in the attack.
Azerbaijani investigators are currently working in Grozny as part of the investigation into the crash. Following the suspension of flights from Baku to Grozny and Makhachkala, Azerbaijan Airlines announced that they would also halt service to eight other Russian cities. However, they will continue to operate flights to six cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. These cities have also been targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes in the past.
Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air also suspended flights from Astana to Yekaterinburg, and FlyDubai halted flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody in southern Russia for the next few days. Additionally, Israel's El Al carrier suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow due to "developments in Russia's airspace".
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