A plane crash in Kazakhstan on December 25 was reportedly caused by “external physical and technical interference,” according to Azerbaijan Airlines.
The Embraer 190 aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines took off from Baku for Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya but was ‘denied landing due to fog’ in Grozny. The plane was then diverted far off over the Caspian Sea and crashed in Aktau, Kazakhstan resulting in the deaths of 38 out of the 67 people on board with 29 surviving.
Footage from the crash site showed damage to the plane’s nose and shrapnel from the missiles, an observation pointed out by military and aviation experts in foreign media reports such as the Wall Street Journal, Euronews and AFP.
However, the damage to the aircraft is similar to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 which was shot down by Russian-backed forces using a Buk 9M38 surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast in 2014.
While Russia has stated that an investigation is ongoing, Reuters citing sources,reported that Russian air defenses may have mistakenly shot the plane down—a hypothesis that the Kremlin has rejected and warned against. FlightRadar24 also noted that the aircraft experienced significant GPS jamming and struggled to maintain altitude for more than an hour before its sudden descent.
The Azerbaijan airlines have suspended operations at 10 airports in Russia citing potential flight safety risks.
A Muslim passenger on board Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243, who was reciting his last prayer before the plane crash that killed 38, survived with minor injuries.
The 1-minute and 42-second video clip, which widely circulated on social media platforms, showed a bearded man in a cap who can be seen reciting the shahada and takbir— “Allahu Akbar,” as sounds of panic and the roar of the plane’s engine fill the background.
He had sent this video to his wife just before the plane crash.
In a second video after the incident, the same man can be seen walking away from the wreckage and reciting Allahu Akbar. He sustained only minor facial scratches.
