This Thursday has been designated as a national day of mourning in Azerbaijan as authorities investigate the heartbreaking crash of an airplane that was carrying 67 people on Christmas Day in Kazakhstan. The incident has resulted in 38 fatalities, while at least 29 individuals have survived.
CNN has released video footage capturing the moment the plane crash-landed, which was engulfed in flames and thick plumes of black smoke.
Here’s a brief overview of this tragic event and the current understanding of its possible causes.
The Victims
According to the New York Times, the ill-fated Azerbaijan Airlines flight 190, operated by Embraer, included 37 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russians, six Kazakh nationals, and three individuals from Kyrgyzstan. The flight was en route from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, when it tragically met with disaster during an emergency landing attempt at Aktau airport in Kazakhstan.
Among the survivors were two young children.
Images of the wreckage released by the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti show passengers on the ground, with some appearing to have escaped the debris.
Additional footage taken by bystanders illustrates people assisting each other as they navigated their way out of the wreckage.
The Cause of the Crash
At this moment, the exact cause of the crash is still under investigation and remains uncertain.
Initially, Russian aviation authorities suggested that a bird strike might have played a role in the incident. There were also signs that the aircraft encountered severe fog and altered its flight path due to worsening weather conditions, though the impact of these factors on the crash is still unclear, as reported by the AP.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated on Wednesday, “Information I have received indicates that the aircraft changed course between Baku and Grozny due to deteriorating weather, diverting to Aktau airport, where it ultimately crashed during the landing attempt.”
On Thursday, Reuters reported that investigators are considering the possibility that the aircraft may have been unintentionally brought down by Russian air defense systems, based on insights from four unnamed sources familiar with the initial findings of the investigation in Azerbaijan. Nearly three years into the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Russian air defense systems often respond to Ukrainian drones aiming at southern Russian locations. While Russian officials have not confirmed this theory, President Vladimir Putin has dispatched emergency response teams to the crash site.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for President Putin, commented on Thursday that “it would be premature to draw any conclusions before the investigation concludes its findings,” stressing that “there should be no rush to judgment.”
In response to the tragedy, Azerbaijan has suspended all flights between Baku and Grozny until the official cause of the crash is determined.
