Azerbaijan Airlines crash sparks speculation plane ‘accidentally shot down by Russia’
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An Azerbaijani airliner with 67 people onboard crashed on Christmas Day sparking speculation that it was accidentally shot down by Russian forces. The crash happened near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, killing 38 people and leaving 29 survivors, a Kazakh official said.
The Embraer 190 was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus when it was diverted and attempted an emergency landing 3km from Aktau, Azerbaijan Airlines said. Russian military bloggers have suggested the plane could have been mistaken for a Ukrainian drone, pointing out that holes in the fuselage of the craft may have been caused by shrapnel from an anti-aircraft missile.
The Telegraph reports that the aircraft’s crew flagged a collision in the air before the plane began its emergency landing, which the Russian aviation authorities initially believed the issue was caused by a flock of birds. But it was quickly revealed that one of the plane’s oxygen tanks had exploded, with one Russian blogger writing that“the holes look like those left after a shelling or explosion with striking elements”.
Rybar, an influential Telegram channel, also confirmed the description, writing that the damage looked like “striking elements of an anti-aircraft missile”. It highlighted: “The plane itself was heading to Grozny - at that time, a raid by launched Ukrainian UAVs was actually being repelled over the region. Several drones were shot down over Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia and neighbouring Ingushetia.”.
