Brussels 26.12.2024 The North Atlantic Alliance called for an investigation into plane crash near Aktau, Kazakhstan, which caused death of 38 passengers and leaving 29 survivors. (Image above: illustration).

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and victims of Azerbaijan Airlines flight J28243” said today NATO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah, while expressing condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the crash.
“We wish those injured in the crash a speedy recovery and call for a full investigation,” she added.

An Azerbaijan Airlines flight with 67 people on board traveling from the Azerbaijan capital Baku to Grozny, Russian Federation, crashed on December 25 near the Kazakh city of Aktau, on the Caspian Sea coast.

Thursday December 26 was declared a day of national mourning in Azerbaijan over the crash.

The Embraer 190 was heading from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus, it was refused landing in Grozny Airport due to weather conditions, and was diverted to Makhachkala, and then it headed to Aktau, where it attempted an emergency landing 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau, Azerbaijan Airlines said.

At a news conference, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that it was too soon to determine the reasons behind the crash, but added that the weather had forced the pilots to change from its planned course.
“The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing,” he said.

Meanwhile Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, informed that preliminary information indicated that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.

Some military bloggers alleged that the multiple holes seen in the plane’s tail section pictured after the crash possibly indicate that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems shielding from a Ukrainian drone attack on Grozny.

Osprey Flight Solutions, an aviation security firm based in the United Kingdom, warned its clients that the “Azerbaijan Airlines flight was likely shot down by a Russian military air-defense system.”

Representatives of the aircraft manufacturer Embraer and CENIPA – Aircraft Accident Investigation and Prevention Center, Brazil – flew to Kazakhstan, they are expected to arrive tomorrow.