An Azerbaijani minister suggested Friday that a passenger plane that crashed this week was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor testimony indicating the plane was hit from the outside.
Rashad Nabiyev's statement increased the pressure on Russia. Authorities in Moscow have said a drone attack was underway in the region where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was destined, but have not addressed statements by aviation experts who blamed air defenses for the crash. Russians who responded to a Ukrainian attack.
The plane was flying on Wednesday from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while trying to land there. The accident killed 38 people and injured the 29 survivors.
Nabiyev, Azerbaijan's minister of digital development and transport, told Azerbaijani media that “preliminary conclusions of experts point to an external impact,” as do witness testimonies.
“The type of weapon used in the impact will be determined during the investigation,” Nabiyev said.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the plane as it flew over Grozny.
Flight attendant Aydan Rahimli said that after a noise, the oxygen masks were automatically released. He said he went to provide first aid to a colleague, Zulfugar Asadov, and then they heard another bang.
Asadov said the noises sounded like something had hit the plane from outside. He denied Kazakh officials' claim that an oxygen cylinder exploded inside the plane.
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Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said on Friday that as the plane prepared to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area. to air traffic.
Yadrov said that after the captain made two failed attempts to land, he was offered other airports, but decided to fly to Aktau in Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea.
But he did not comment on statements by some aviation experts, who said holes seen in the tail section of the plane suggested it could have been attacked by Russian air defense systems.
Ukrainian drones have previously attacked Grozny and other areas of the country's North Caucasus.
Azerbaijan Airlines attributed the accident to unspecified “physical and technical interference” and announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports. He did not say where the interference came from or provide further details.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on claims that the plane was hit by Russian air defenses and said it would be up to investigators to determine the cause of the crash.
“The air incident is being investigated and we do not believe that we have the right to make any assessment until conclusions are reached as a result of the investigation,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
If it is proven that the plane crashed after being hit by Russian air defenses, it would be the second fatal civil aviation accident linked to the fighting in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board, while flying over the area of eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.
Russia has denied responsibility, but in 2022 a Dutch court convicted two Russians and a pro-Russian Ukrainian for their role in shooting down the plane with an air defense system brought to Ukraine from a Russian military base.
Investigators from Azerbaijan are working in Grozny as part of the investigation into Wednesday's crash, Azerbaijan's Prosecutor General's office said in a statement.
Following the suspension on Wednesday of flights from Baku to Grozy and Makhachkala, Kazakhstan Airlines announced on Friday that it would also suspend service to eight more Russian cities.
The company will continue to operate flights to six Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. Those cities have also been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drone attacks in the past.
Kazakh company Qazaq Air also announced on Friday that it would suspend flights from Astana to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains for a month.
FlyDubai has also suspended flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody in southern Russia for the next few days.
The day before, Israeli airline El Al suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow citing “developments in Russian airspace.” The airline said it would reassess the situation next week.
© 2024 The Canadian Press