AKTAU, Kazakhstan
An Azerbaijani aircraft that crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan had lost its control systems before it entered the country's airspace, a top official announced Friday.
Kazakh authorities provided a detailed briefing in the Caspian Sea city on how the incident unfolded, with Transport Minister Marat Karabayev sharing the timeline of the crash involving an Embraer 190 aircraft, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), as it was en route from Baku, the capital of the airline's home country, to Grozny, Chechnya when it went down.
According to Karabayev, his country's officials received the first signal at 10.43 a.m. Kazakh time (0543GMT) from Russia’s Rostov air traffic control center.
The signal indicated that the crew had decided to divert to Aktau due to adverse weather conditions in Baku and the city of Makhachkala in the Dagestan region.
“At 10.53 a.m., the Rostov flight director informed Aktau’s flight manager that an oxygen tank in the passenger cabin had exploded, passengers had lost consciousness and medical intervention was requested upon landing,” he said.
Emergency teams were promptly mobilized at Aktau Airport, he added. “At 11.02 a.m., the pilots contacted Aktau Airport’s air traffic control tower.”
“The air traffic controller facilitated all necessary procedures to guide the plane to the runway, turning on runway lights to assist with visual contact,” Karabayev stated.
Karabayev said that the crew made two attempts to land on the runway, but lost altitude and stability. At 11.28 p.m., contact with the crew was lost and the plane hit the ground, he said.
Recovered black boxes
Investigations at the crash site are ongoing in cooperation with Azerbaijani authorities, Aktau Regional Transport Prosecutor Abilaybek Ordabayev stated.
Investigators are collecting evidence, including statements from survivors and witnesses, and examining the wreckage.
Ordabayev noted that the crash site of 4,000 square meters (over 43,055 square feet) had been cordoned off for safety, while confirming that both black boxes of the aircraft had been recovered.
The identities of nine of the 38 victims have been confirmed so far, he also revealed.
The flight was traveling from Baku to the city of Grozny in the Russian Republic of Chechnya but veered off course over the Caspian Sea before the crashed 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau with 67 people onboard.
Kazakh officials had previously said 38 people were killed in the crash, while 29 survived.
On Thursday, senior Azerbaijani officials had confirmed to Anadolu that the crash was caused by a Russian missile system.
But Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, maintained that it was likely due to a bird strike that forced the aircraft to divert to Aktau.
Kazakh authorities and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev called for restraint in speculation, noting that bad weather may have played a role in the flight's diversion.
The crash occurred amid heightened activity of Russian air defenses targeting Ukrainian drones in the region. Public flight data shows GPS jamming in the area, further fueling questions. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated that conclusions must await the official investigation.
The crash resulted in 38 fatalities, while 29 passengers survived.
*Writing by Merve Berker
