By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MOSCOW/BAKU/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Russia’s aviation authority claimed Friday that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed on Wednesday “deviated” from its planned destination of Grozny “due to heavy fog and Ukrainian drones.”
Rosaviatsia’s statement came accusations that the aircraft had come under Russian air defense fire before it crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
As the investigation continued, Azerbaijan observed a national “day of mourning” for the victims of the tragedy, which also left all 29 survivors injured.
Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for unclear reasons.
Worthy News learned it soon crashed while trying to land in Kazakhstan’s southwestern city of Aktau. Azerbaijan Airlines suggested that the crash occurred due to “external physical and technical interference.”
A survivor of the crash said he heard “a loud bang” as the plane began its descent into Grozny, Chechnya. “After the bang, the plane started behaving strangely,” the passenger said. “I thought the aircraft would break apart and that I would die.”
AIRCRAFT DESCENDING
After crossing the Caspian Sea, the plane went down about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from Aktau.
Cellphone footage showed the aircraft descending steeply before smashing into the ground in a fireball.
Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said earlier that the pilots diverted to Aktau after “a bird strike.”
However, the agency changed that narrative Friday after commentators alleged that holes in the plane’s tail section indicated it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems fending off a Ukrainian drone attack.
Both countries have been involved in Europe’s bloodiest war in decades after Russia’s military invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukrainian drones had previously attacked Grozny, the provincial capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, and other regions in the country’s North Caucasus.
DRONE ATTACK
Some Russian media claimed that another drone attack on Chechnya happened on Wednesday, although it wasn’t officially confirmed.
Concerns about air safety for civilian aircraft in the region prompted Osprey Flight Solutions, a Britain-based aviation security firm, to warn its clients that a Russian military air-defense system likely shot down the “Azerbaijan Airlines flight.”
Osprey analyzes carriers still flying into Russia after Western airlines halted their flights during the war.
The company’s CEO, Andrew Nicholson, said that Osprey had issued more than 200 alerts regarding drone attacks and air defense systems in Russia during the war.
But those warnings came too late for those aboard Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190.
Kazakh officials said the passengers on the airplane included 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyzstan nationals.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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