Investigation Underway Regarding Azerbaijan Airlines Aircraft Crash That Killed 38 People
Azerbaijan President: "The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed"
AZERBAIJAN - Azerbaijani officials were cited by Reuters as saying that the Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 aircraft that crashed near the Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people was shot down by a Russian air defense system.
29 of the people aboard the aircraft survived the crash, but all suffered injuries. The Azerbaijani President said it's too early to speculate on the cause of the crash, but said that weather forced it to change its original course.
"The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing," he said.
President Ilham Aliyev also said, "This is a great tragedy that has become a tremendous sorrow for the Azerbaijani people".
One Azerbaijani source was cited by Reuters as saying that the aircraft was shot down by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system and that its communications systems were interrupted by electronic warfare systems as it approached Grozny, according to ADS-B flight tracking data.
Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia said that preliminary information indicates the pilots diverted its course to Aktau after it had been hit by a bird which led to an emergency situation.
The report cited the source as saying, "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".
The news agency also cited a U.S. official as saying that there were early indications that the aircraft may have been hit by Russia's anti-aircraft system.
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal had said the crash of the aircraft, which was carrying 62 people was "likely" caused by Russian air defense systems.
The Canadian Foreign Ministry said, "We call on Russia to allow for an open and transparent investigation into the incident and to accept its findings".
Although we haven't seen any official release stating that it was shot down by a Russian anti-aircraft system, we'll be posting updates as soon as any information is available.
Our intel team did notice that footage of the aircraft circulating the internet did show was looked to be either bullet or shrapnel holes scattered throughout the skin of parts of the aircraft.
Russia: It's Wrong To Build A Hypothesis Before The Investigation Is Finished. Updates On The Investigation:
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