Plane crash. Member of Parliament: Azerbaijan is waiting for an apology from Russia (video)

The cause of the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines airliner was a Russian missile. The pilots requested an emergency landing, but were not allowed to land at any Russian airport.

This was reported on December 26 in exclusive material Euronews, citing a source in the Azerbaijani government. A Russian surface-to-air missile caused the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Aktau on December 25.

The airliner was flying from Baku to Grozny. According to the publication’s interlocutor, the missile was fired at a time when drones were active in the sky over the capital of Chechnya, its fragments exploded near the aircraft, damaging the skin and injuring passengers and crew members.

According to a source in the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers, the pilots requested an emergency landing but were not allowed to land at any of the Russian airports, sending across the Caspian Sea in the direction of Aktau. At the same time, the publication’s interlocutor clarified that The plane's GPS navigation systems were jammed on this section of the route.

Let us recall that on December 25, the Chechen authorities reported drones shot down over Grozny. Eyewitnesses reported at least four or five explosions in the area of ​​the base of the 2nd special regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs named after Akhmat Kadyrov.

Earlier in Russia and Kazakhstan, other versions of the crash of the liner were voiced – from a collision with a flock of birds to an explosion of a cylinder on board.

There were 67 people on board the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, including five crew members. Catastrophe claimed 38 lives. National mourning has been declared in Azerbaijan. At noon, national flags were lowered throughout the country and transport stopped. The memory of the victims was honored with a minute of silence.

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Experts call the crew of the crashed Azerbaijan Airlines plane heroes. Captain Igor Kshnyakin, co-pilot Alexander Kalyaninov and senior flight attendant Khokuma Aliyeva died during an emergency landing; two other flight attendants, Zulfugar Asadov and Aidan Rakhimli, survived and are in the hospital. Their role in saving the lives of passengers is undeniable, experts emphasize.

As the details of the final minutes of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 emerge, more and more experts are highlighting the heroism of the crew. The airline published on Thursday the names of five crew members: pilots Igor Kshnyakin and Alexander Kalyaninov, senior flight attendant Aliyeva Hokuma, flight attendants Asadov Zulfugar and Rakhimli Aidan.

According to Azerbaijan Airlines, on board the Embraer 190 aircraft there were 37 citizens of Azerbaijan, six citizens of Kazakhstan, three citizens of Kyrgyzstan and 16 citizens of Russia. When the pilots made an emergency landing near Aktau, 29 passengers survived and 38 died.

Azerbaijani government sources confirmed to Euronews on Thursday that the crash was caused by a Russian surface-to-air missile. Reuters later clarified that The airliner was shot down by the Russian Pantsir-S anti-aircraft missile and gun system (ZRPK), and its communications were “paralyzed” by electronic warfare systems on approach to Grozny.

Government sources told Euronews that the damaged plane was not allowed to land at Russian airports despite the pilots' requests for an emergency landing, ordering it to fly across the Caspian Sea towards Kazakhstan. According to the data received, the aircraft's GPS navigation systems were blocked throughout the flight over the sea.

Captain Kshnyakin, first officer Kalyaninov and senior flight attendant Aliyeva died during an emergency landing. Two other flight attendants, Asadov and Rakhimli, survived and are being treated in hospital.

According to 24KZ, 25-year-old Aidan Rakhimli is in the Mangistau regional hospital. She is in a state of shock, psychologists are working with her. Her colleague Zulfugar Asadov received injuries to his head, back, legs and arms and is also under medical supervision.

The family of senior flight attendant Hokuma Aliyeva, who died in the crash, told the media that she “visited many countries and always told us to be proud of her.” Aliyeva's voice can be heard in a chilling video taken by a passenger mid-flight, in which she can be heard trying to calm passengers in the cabin.

Her family told APA that Aliyeva had worked for Azerbaijan Airlines since 2016, was a “cheerful person” and studied law before deciding to become a flight attendant.

Igor Kshnyakin had more than 15,000 hours of flight experience, including 11,200 hours as a crew captain, according to Azerbaijan Airlines. According to experts, he and first officer Kalyaninov showed amazing piloting skill, managing to fly the downed plane across the Caspian Sea and make an emergency landing just 3 kilometers from the Aktau airport runway.

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Based on video footage from the crash site and the plane's wreckage, aviation experts concluded that The Embraer 190's left horizontal stabilizer was apparently punctured by shrapnel, and the aircraft lost most of its hydraulic systems, including its steering.

Video recordings analyzed by experts show that the pilots were forced to change the speed of the plane: descend to gain it, and rise to reduce it. Attempts to control an airplane in this manner resulted in what is known as a phugoid oscillation. The pilots did not have the opportunity to make a soft landing; they were forced to land in emergency mode.

Azerbaijan Airlines reported that the last full technical inspection of the aircraft was carried out in October last year. The Embraer 190, registered 4K-AZ65 and manufactured in 2013, had made a total of 9,949 landings and accumulated up to 15,257 flight hours before the crash, according to the airline.

The Azerbaijan Airlines plane, which was flying from Baku to Grozny and crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, was shot down by the Russian Pantsir-S air defense system, sources told Reuters:

“One Azerbaijani source familiar with the Azerbaijani investigation into the crash told Reuters that preliminary results showed that the plane was shot down by a Russian Pantsir-S anti-aircraft missile system.” According to the source, his communications were paralyzed by electronic warfare systems on approach to Grozny.”

By according to the source, no one claims that this was done deliberately, “however, given the established facts, Baku expects that the Russian side will admit to shooting down the Azerbaijani plane.”

Deputy Rasim Musabekov noted that someone in Russia is taking certain actions in the media to cover up the traces of this:

“They are doing the wrong thing. And the Azerbaijani government, setting out its position, says that it is necessary to work and inform. There is no need to stand and campaign in the media in order to lose any traces. Unfortunately, such events happen. However, an adequate response is needed “Those who committed this must be held criminally responsible, and compensation must be paid. If this does not happen, then, of course, the relationship will move to another level.”

Recalling the problem of the Russian helicopter shot down during the 44-day war in 2020, the deputy noted that Azerbaijan apologized and stated that those responsible would be brought to justice and compensation would be paid:

“This is a civil relationship. If XHM works, the airport must be closed, it must be notified so that no one will fly here. They did not do this either, so they must be held accountable.”

Three other sources confirmed that the Azerbaijani investigation had reached the same preliminary conclusion. The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Flight J2-8243 crashed after veering off course from Russia's southern region, where Moscow has repeatedly used air defense systems against Ukrainian drones, according to Reuters. The plane was flying from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny, in southern Chechnya, before veering off course, flying hundreds of kilometers over the Caspian Sea.

It crashed on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea after what Russian aviation regulators said was an emergency that could have been caused by a bird strike. Officials have not explained why the plane crossed the sea. The nearest Russian airport along the flight path of the Makhachkala plane was closed on Wednesday morning.

Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozymbaev said that he could not yet confirm or refute the thesis that the plane was shot down by Russian air defense. According to him, a commission has been created to investigate the disaster, which included representatives of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia. However, the authorities of Russia and Azerbaijan will not be allowed to conduct a forensic medical examination, he clarified. Meanwhile, officials from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia urged the public not to speculate about the disaster until the investigation is completed.

At the same time, Azerbaijan Airlines announced the suspension of flights to seven Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russian media reported.

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