Azerbaijan says the plane was hit by 'external interference' in Russia before the crash

Azerbaijan's transport minister said the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed on December 25 was “externally” disrupted and damaged both internally and externally, as it attempted to land in Russia's southern republic of Chechnya.

“Everything [the survivors] without exception, they heard three explosions when the plane was over Grozny,” said Rashad Nabiyev.

The plane is thought to have been attacked by Russian air defense systems before being diverted across the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan, where it crashed, killing 38 people.

The Kremlin declined to comment, but the head of Russia's aviation center said the situation in Grozny was “extremely critical” at the time and that a protocol had been put in place to close the skies.

“Ukraine warplanes have been launching attacks on the infrastructure of people living in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz,” said Dmitry Yadrov, the head of Rosaviatsia, in a video statement posted by the Russian news agency Tass.

“Because of this, a 'Carpet plan' was introduced in the area of ​​Grozny airport, which provides for the immediate departure of all flights from a certain area,” he said. “In addition, there was dense fog in the area of ​​Grozny airport.”

The spokesperson of the president of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said that Russia must be responsible for this accident.

Azerbajian Airlines said on Friday that a preliminary investigation suspected “physical and external interference”, without going into details.

However, aviation experts and others in Azerbaijan believe that the plane's GPS systems were affected by electronic jamming and were then damaged by explosives from Russian air defense missiles.

The transport minister said that the investigators will examine “what kind of weapon, or what kind of rocket was used.”

The government in Baku has so far avoided blaming Russia directly, perhaps to avoid antagonizing President Vladimir Putin.

However, pro-government MP Rasim Musabekov was clear: “The plane was shot down on Russian territory, in the sky above Grozny. It is impossible to deny this.”

He told AFP that the plane was damaged and the pilot requested an emergency landing in Grozny. Instead of being directed to nearby airports, he said, it was “sent far” across the Caspian Sea without GPS.

Flight attendant Zulfuqar Asadov described the times when the plane was hit by “some kind of external strike” over Chechnya.

“Its impact created panic inside. We tried to calm them down, so they would sit down. At that time, there was another strike, and I injured my arm.”

A veteran Azerbaijani pilot, Tahir Agaguliev, told Azerbaijani media that shrapnel damaged the plane's hydraulic controls: “The missile itself didn't hit the plane; it was fragments from the exploding missile. The missile exploded about 10m (30ft) away.” before you arrive.”

The pilots of the Embraer 190 are said to have saved 29 of those on board by being able to stop part of the plane, although they died in the accident.

The Kremlin has refused to comment on the growing number of reports that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane was shot down by Russian air defenses.

“The investigation into this plane incident is ongoing and until the conclusion is reached as a result of the investigation, we do not feel that we have the right to investigate,” said spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Azerbaijan wants an apology from Russia, or at least an acknowledgment, that the plane was shot down by its air defenses in Grozny, according to figures close to the government in Baku.

Four years ago, Baku apologized for the compensation it offered when a Russian Mi-24 helicopter was shot down at the end of the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Now the Azerbaijani side is also waiting for Russia to take those steps,” said political analyst Farhad Mammadov.

Kazakh authorities have been treating the injured and cooperating with Azerbaijan in the investigation.

Officials say Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer has sent two experts to the crash site, about 3 kilometers from Kazakhstan's Aktau airport, and three members of the Brazilian airline will arrive on Saturday.

Reports in Baku suggest that Russia and Kazakhstan have proposed that a committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) – a regional body run by Russia – investigate the crash, but Azerbaijan has instead called for an international inquiry.

Azerbaijan Airlines and several other airlines have suspended flights to other Russian cities due to the accident.

In a social media post, the airline said this was for “security reasons”. It already had flights to Grozny and Makhachkala in neighboring Dagestan, but has now added the cities of Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara and Mineralnye Vody.

Israel's flagship airline El Al has temporarily suspended all flights to Moscow, citing developments at the Russian airport, while UAE-based budget carrier Flydubai has suspended flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody.