An Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday was shot down by a Russian air defense system, four sources in Azerbaijan with knowledge of the investigation told Reuters.
in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people after bypassing an area of Russia in which Moscow has used air defense systems against Ukrainian drone attacks in recent months.
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Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 flew for a while outside its scheduled route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Chechnya, and crashed on the opposite coast of the Caspian Sea, after which Russia’s aviation watchdog said be an emergency that may have been caused by a bird strike.
Authorities did not immediately explain why it crossed the sea, but the accident occurred after Ukrainian drone strikes this month hit the southern Russian region of Chechnya. The closest Russian airport in the plane’s flight path was closed on Wednesday morning.
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Authorities from Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have called for investigations into the accident.
NATO also requested a full investigation into the cause of the accident. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and victims of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J28243,” NATO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah said in a post on Platform X.
“We wish those injured in the accident a speedy recovery and call for a full investigation.”
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The Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (Cenipa), a Brazilian aviation accident investigation body and accredited representative of the country of design and manufacture of aircraft produced by Embraer, reported that it is in contact with the Kazakh agency responsible for carrying out the initial actions investigation “to provide any technical support that that authority deems necessary”.
