Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243, en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed in a fiery explosion near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, leaving at least 38 people dead and 29 survivors. Passengers and crew members aboard the flight have shared harrowing accounts of what occurred in the moments leading up to the crash.
Subhonkul Rakhimov, a passenger who survived the ordeal, told Reuters from the hospital that he heard at least one loud bang as the plane approached its original destination of Grozny. “After the bang…I thought the plane was going to fall apart,” he recalled, explaining that he had begun to pray, fearing the worst. Rakhimov described the plane’s movements as erratic, likening it to a “drunk” aircraft, indicating clear damage.
Another passenger, Vafa Shabanova, also heard the loud bang, followed by a second one. The crew instructed her to move to the back of the plane, as oxygen levels in the cabin appeared to drop after the bangs.
Flight attendant Zulfugar Asadov, who survived the crash, provided further insight into the moments before the crash. He explained that the plane had been circling due to denied landing clearance in Grozny because of fog. Asadov recalled hearing three distinct bangs from the left wing, accompanied by pressure loss in the cabin. He was struck by something on his left arm, and the plane’s condition rapidly deteriorated.
Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended several flights to Russia in the wake of the crash, indicating that “physical and technical external interference” might have been a factor. Though the airline did not specify the nature of this interference, sources close to the investigation suggest that Russian air defences may have mistakenly shot down the aircraft.
Russian officials have called for patience, emphasizing that the official investigation is crucial to determining the cause of the crash.
Flight J2-8243 had initially flown toward Grozny in southern Russia but diverted across the Caspian Sea. The captain, after being advised to attempt a sea landing, chose to set course for Aktau, where the plane eventually crashed. In a chilling pre-crash moment, the captain warned the crew and passengers of a “hard landing.”
Before the crash, footage shot by passengers showed oxygen masks deployed and passengers donning life vests. After landing, injured passengers were seen climbing out of the wreckage, and the silence was broken by the moaning of the wounded.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, with Russia’s aviation watchdog speculating that a bird strike might have been involved, though experts have called it an unlikely explanation given the circumstances.