Kazakhstan says black boxes from crashed Azerbaijan Airlines plane sent to Brazil for decoding

ISTANBUL

Kazakhstan on Monday announced that the two black boxes found at the site of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crash have been sent to Brazil for decoding.

A statement by the Kazakh Transport Ministry said that the investigation commission established following the plane crash flew to the South American nation.

“The black boxes will be delivered to the Brazilian Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA),” the statement added.

On Wednesday, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane, en route from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny in Russia's Chechen Republic, crashed 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the city of Aktau on the Caspian Sea coast.

Kazakh authorities said 38 people were killed in the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft, which had 67 people on board, while 29 survived. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.

Initial statements said a bird collision might have caused the crash, though footage from the site revealed large holes in the tail section of the aircraft, leading to speculation of a possible attack.

Later, senior Azerbaijani officials confirmed to Anadolu reports suggesting the plane crash was caused by a Russian missile system.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Saturday, apologized over the incident and offered his condolences.

A day later, Aliyev said that the crashed plane’s tail was severely damaged as a result of “weapons fire from the ground,” demanding that Moscow issue an “acknowledgement of guilt, punishment of those responsible, and payment of compensation.”