Preliminary results from an investigation into the crashed Azerbaijan Airlines flight has pointed to the plane experiencing “external physical and technical interference”, the airline has said.
Thirty-eight people died when a passenger jet crashed in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
The plane diverted from an area of southern Russia where Moscow has repeatedly used air defence systems against Ukrainian attack drones.
The head of Russia’s civil aviation agency on Friday said Ukrainian drones were attacking the city of Grozny as the plane was trying to land.
Emergency specialists work at the crash site. (Reuters: Kazakhstan Emergencies Ministry)
“Ukrainian military drones were carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure… at the time,” Dmitry Yadrov said on Telegram.
He added that the plane made two attempts to land before veering off towards Kazakhstan.
Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan’s investigation into the disaster told Reuters on Thursday that Russian air defences had mistakenly shot it down.
Russia said it is important to wait for the official investigation to finish its work to understand what happened.
A drone view shows the crash site of the plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan. (Reuters: Azamat Sarsenbayev)
Survivors detail harrowing moments before crash
Two passengers and one crew member who survived the flight that crashed in Kazakhstan said they heard at least one loud bang as it approached its original destination of Grozny in southern Russia.
“After the bang…I thought the plane was going to fall apart,” Subhonkul Rakhimov, one of the passengers, told Reuters from hospital.
He said he had began to recite prayers and prepare for the end after hearing the bang.
“It was obvious that the plane had been damaged in some way,” he said.
“It was as if it was drunk — not the same plane anymore.”
Loading…
Another passenger on the plane told Reuters that she also heard a loud bang.
“I was very scared,” said Vafa Shabanova, adding that there was also a second bang.
She was then told by a flight attendant to move to the back of the plane.
Both passengers said there appeared to be a problem with the oxygen levels in the cabin after the bang.
Flight attendant Zulfugar Asadov said landing was denied in Grozny due to fog so the pilot circled at which point there were bangs outside the aircraft.
“The pilot had just lifted the plan up when I heard a bang from the left wing. There were three bangs,” he said.
Flight attendant Zulfugar Asadov said he heard a bang before the plane crashed. (Reuters: Aziz Karimov)
Reuters