New Delhi:
The Azerbaijan Airways aircraft that crashed close to Kazakhstan’s Aqtau on Christmas Day – whereas en route from Baku to Grozny in Russia – might have been “by chance struck” by a Russian surface-to-air missile or antiaircraft hearth, navy consultants cited in a number of information stories have prompt.
Thirty-eight of the 67 folks on board – 62 passengers and 5 crew – have been killed. Among the many 29 survivors have been two younger women – 11 and 16 years outdated.
An inquiry is ongoing, however aviation consultants cited in some overseas media stories, resembling these by the Wall Avenue Journal, Euronews, and information company AFP, have pointed to holes within the aircraft’s fuselage, and marks on the tail part, as being per harm from shrapnel from missiles.
A video posted on X by Conflict Report, which covers navy conflicts, confirmed a number of giant holes within the aircraft’s fuselage, some resembling pinpricks and others a number of inches large.
Very attention-grabbing: Shrapnel marks on the fuselage of Azerbaijan Airways aircraft that crashed in Kazakhstan right now. pic.twitter.com/3X5PTIR66E
— Conflict Report (@clashreport) December 25, 2024
It has additionally been identified the Azerbaijan Airways aircraft was flying into an space the place Ukraine drone exercise had been reported, and that Grozny – the Chechnya capital and a key goal for Kyiv because the conflict with Russia stretches to a 3rd 12 months – is closely defended by anti-aircraft weaponry.
“Hit By Anti-Plane Hearth”
A Russian navy blogger, Yury Podolyaka, advised information company AFP holes seen in (images of) the wreckage of the aircraft have been much like harm brought on by “anti-aircraft missile system”. The harm suggests the aircraft might have been “by chance struck by an air-defence missile system”, he mentioned.
And Matt Borie, the Chief Intelligence Officer at aviation danger administration agency Osprey Flight Options, advised the Journal (story behind paywall), “The wreckage and circumstances round airspace safety in southwest Russia signifies… the plane was hit by some type of antiaircraft hearth.”
VIDEO | Passenger Captures Moments Earlier than, After Airplane Crash In Kazakhstan
A Russian media outlet, Meduza, concurred in its evaluation; in a report by The Kyiv Unbiased, it mentioned footage of the broken aircraft components confirmed traces of a surface-to-air missile influence, and that comparable harm had been noticed in different civilian and navy plane shot down by such missiles.
As well as, there are stories – that NDTV has not been capable of substantiate – that Grozny had been attacked by Ukrainian drones a number of weeks earlier, suggesting Russian air defences stationed there might have mistaken the Azerbaijan Airways aircraft for a drone and engaged the Embraer 190 jet.
Loud Explosions Heard
Actually, a few of the survivors (all of whom had been seated within the tail part) claimed to have heard loud explosions exterior the plane shortly after requests to land at Grozny airport have been rejected.
These explosions, the UK’s Telegraph mentioned, have been the aircraft’s oxygen tanks exploding mid-air.
One video from contained in the aircraft exhibits a feminine passenger with obvious shrapnel accidents to her leg.
New onboard video exhibits a lady injured within the leg (Azerbaijani supply Caliber says “by shrapnel”) contained in the cabin of crashed Azerbaijan Airways aircraft.
“Many questions stay, and the investigation will present solutions.” pic.twitter.com/IFtuTCTgJv
— Conflict Report (@clashreport) December 25, 2024
The aircraft then turned again throughout the Caspian Sea, probably to return to Kazakhstan, however a second emergency (as but unknown, however probably a hydraulics failure) prompted the request to land at Aqtau.
Sadly, the aircraft did not make it that far, crashing right into a subject three km from the airport.
Horrifying visuals on-line confirmed it struggling to take care of altitude, slipping right into a nosedive, after which slamming into the bottom, inflicting the tail and fuselage to interrupt aside. Azerbaijan Airways initially mentioned the crash was as a result of a flock of birds hitting the aircraft, however later withdrew the assertion.
This video exhibits what occurred within the minutes earlier than the aircraft crash in Kazakhstan. The aircraft repeatedly went up and down earlier than crashing. pic.twitter.com/dQ0H1c9R0R
— BNO Information Stay (@BNODesk) December 25, 2024
The aircraft’s black field has been recovered, and information from the flight information and voice recorders will likely be studied as a part of the investigation, the Euronews report mentioned.
Ought to a Russian missile be recognized as the reason for this crash, it is going to be the second time (confirmed as such) a industrial jet has been shot down by Moscow or its allies. In 2014, Malaysian Airways’ MH-17 was shot down by Russian-backed forces within the Donbas, additionally with a surface-to-air missile.
Russia Condemns Hypothesis
“We have to await the top of the investigation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised AFP.
In the meantime Kazakh Senate speaker Maulen Ashimbayev was quoted by Russia’s TASS information company as saying it’s “not attainable”, presently, to say what might have broken the aircraft.
“Actual consultants are trying… they are going to make their conclusions. Neither Kazakhstan nor Russia nor Azerbaijan, in fact, are all for hiding info. It will likely be dropped at the general public,” he mentioned.
‘Day Of Mourning’
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev declared Thursday a day of mourning and cancelled a deliberate go to to Russia for an off-the-cuff summit of the Commonwealth of Unbiased States (CIS), a grouping of former Soviet nations. He additionally ordered a collection of measures to analyze attainable causes of the catastrophe.
Mr Aliyev additionally mentioned he was advised that “worsening climate situations” led to the crash.
“I lengthen my condolences to the households of those that misplaced their lives within the crash… and need a speedy restoration to the injured,” he mentioned in a social media submit. His spouse Mehriban Aliyeva, who can also be Vice President, mentioned she was “deeply saddened by the information of the tragic lack of lives within the aircraft crash…”
With enter from companies
NDTV is now out there on WhatsApp channels. Click on on the hyperlink to get all the most recent updates from NDTV in your chat.
