Azerbaijan airline announced the preliminary cause of the plane crash in Kazakhstan

Published at: 27/12/2024 06:23 PM

Azerbaijan Airlines , whose Embraer 190 crashed in Kazakhstan last Wednesday, December 25, announced the preliminary cause of the accident, the Russian Today website reported.

According to the airline's statement, in which it also announced the suspension of flights to several Russian cities, the plane heading to Grozny crashed due to “external physical and technical interference”, according to the preliminary results of the investigation.

Azerbaijan Airlines suspended its flights as of December 28, 2024 to 10 Russian cities, arguing that this decision is due to the preliminary findings of the accident and adding that it considers potential risks to the safety of its routes.

The Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan, Marat Karabayev, stated this Thursday, the 26th, that Aktau Airport received information that an oxygen tank had exploded on board, and that passengers then began to lose consciousness.

For his part, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Kanat Bozumbayev, clarified this Thursday, 27, that there is still no official version of the causes of the event. “Today we can't confirm or refute any of the versions. The investigation is ongoing,” he said at a press conference.

“We need to decipher the black box, question the witnesses and the aviation services. All forces and means have been involved in this, and only then will there be preliminary explanations,” he added.

The research is being carried out by specialists from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, together with personnel from the aircraft manufacturer Embraer. At the same time, experts from the Brazilian Center for Research and Prevention of Air Accidents (CENIPA) joined the investigation.

The head of the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia), Dmitri Yadrov, reported that the Embraer 190 was unable to land previously at its destination airport, in the Russian city of Grozny, because at that time “Ukrainian attack drones were carrying out terrorist attacks against civilian infrastructure in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz”.

Yadrov said that “the plane's commander made two attempts to land in Grozny, but they were unsuccessful. The commander was offered other airports. He decided to head to Aktau airport.”

In this context, he stressed that “there are many different circumstances that need to be investigated together. We are fully ready to work in collaboration with our colleagues”, stressing that the Russian side immediately informed its colleagues in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan “of its full and complete readiness to cooperate in the investigation of this tragedy”.