At least 38 people died as a result of the passenger plane crash in Kazakhstan. The plane heading to Russia could have been shot down by Russian air defense systems, writes The Wall Street Journal. The Azerbaijan Airlines plane flying from Baku to Grozny diverted in an area where Russian air defenses have recently been actively responding to attacks by Ukrainian drones. There were 62 passengers and five crew members on the plane.
The plane crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan. 29 people survived the crash. Citing video analysis and damage to the plane, Osprey Flight Solutions said, "the plane was most likely shot down by a Russian military air defense system."
"Video of the debris and the circumstances surrounding the air security environment in southwestern Russia indicate that the aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire," said Matt Bory, Osprey's chief intelligence officer.
"The plane was shot down by the Russian anti-aircraft defense system," said Andriy Kovalenko, the spokesman of Ukraine's national security. He added that Russia should have closed the airspace of Grozny, but it did not. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are conducting a joint investigation, considering different versions.
Azerbaijan Airline assumes that the plane could have collided with a flock of birds, but experts do not confirm this hypothesis. 25 minutes before the scheduled landing in Grozny, the crew reported the need for an emergency landing in Aktau.
However, after half an hour, the plane fell in the field near the airport. Flightradar24 reported that there was heavy GPS jamming in the area, which could have made the flight difficult. Some experts say that the holes in the plane's tail, visible in the footage from the scene, are consistent with damage from missiles or anti-aircraft weapons, Bory said , that the discovered damage does not correspond to the traces of a bird strike.
