Azerbaijan Airlines said Friday that preliminary findings from the investigation into Wednesday’s crash of a Russia-bound passenger plane suggest “physical and technical external interference.”
The Embraer jet came down near Aktau airport in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people, while 29 survived.
Azerbaijan Airlines on Fridaz alo suspended flights to a number Russian cities amid growing speculation the plane was downed by Russian air defense fire.
The airline said it was “taking into account the initial results of the investigation into the crash… and taking into account flight safety risks.”
News agency Interfax said Azerbaijan Airlines would still run flights to six major Russian cities including Moscow and St Petersburg.
Meanwhile, an Azerbaijan Airlines flight to the southern Russian city of Mineralnie Vody turned back to Baku on Friday after a chunk of Russian airspace was closed, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported.
Passengers heard at least one loud bang
Some of the survivors of the crash told the Reuters news ageny they heard a at least one loud bang as the plane approached its original destination of Grozny in southern Russia.
“It was obvious that the plane had been damaged in some way,” Subhonkul Rakhimov, one of the passengers speaking from hospital, said. “It was as if it was drunk – not the same plane anymore.”
Another passenger, Vafa Shabanova, also heard a bang and said, “I was very scared.”
Kremlin declines to comment amid investigation
The Kremlin said it was too early to comment on the allegations that a Russian air defense missile was responsible for the Azerbaijan Airlines crash.
“An investigation is underway, and until the conclusions of the investigation, we do not consider we have the right to make any comments and we will not do so,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.
However, the head of Russia’s civil aviation agency Dmitry Yadrov said on Telegram that there was fog over the airport in Grozny — the flight’s scheduled destination. He also claimed that Ukrainian drones were striking the city around the time of the incident.
“Ukrainian military drones were carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure… at the time,” Yadrov said on Friday.
“The pilot was offered alternative airports. He took the decision to go to Aktau airport.”
Ukrainian presidential advisor Andriy Yermak blamed Russia for “shooting down” the plane.
News outlets including Reuters and the New York Times reported that a Russian missile was likely involved in the crash, citing Azerbaijani security sources close to the investigation.
“No one claims that it was done on purpose. However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft,” a source told Reuters on Thursday.
lo,zc/rc (Reuters, AFP)
