Authorities in the field of aviation stated on Thursday that it is highly likely that Russian air defense systems were responsible for the crash of an Azerbaijani airplane that occurred in Kazakhstan.
Various news outlets have gathered information about the crash that resulted in 38 of the 67 individuals that were on board, but much is still unknown, as Breitbart News reported.
On Wednesday, an Embraer 190 belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines was rerouted from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, a city in Russia located in the North Caucasus. The reasons for the reroute are not yet completely understood.
After traveling in an easterly direction across the Caspian Sea, it was attempting to land at Aktau, Kazakhstan, when it crashed.
It was approximately three kilometers (or about two miles) from Aktau when the plane crashed close to the coast. The video footage from the cellphone that was being shared on the internet appeared to show the airplane making a sharp drop before it crashed into the ground and exploded in a fiery inferno.
All 29 survivors were transported to hospitals by the rescuers.
Thursday was designated as a day of mourning for the whole nation of Azerbaijan.
The national flags were lowered to half-staff, all traffic across the country came to a complete halt at noon, and sirens were sounded from ships and trains.
During a press conference that took place on Wednesday, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, stated that the jet had to deviate from its intended path due to the weather conditions.
The accident is under investigation by Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani, and Russian authorities. Embraer noted in a statement to The Associated Press that the company is "prepared to provide assistance to all pertinent authorities.
According to Rosaviatsia, the civil aviation authority of Russia, the pilots diverted to Aktau following an emergency on board as a result of a bird incident.
An Azerbaijani lawmaker explicitly pointed the finger at Russia, while officials remained silent. The Azerbaijani news agency Turan was informed by Rasim Musabekov that the aircraft was fired upon in the skies over Grozny. He also urged Russia to issue an official apology.
Some aviation experts believe that the holes observed in the plane's tail section following the accident suggest that it may have been the target of Russian air defense systems attempting to repel a Ukrainian drone attack.
