Azerbaijan believes Russian air defence system led to jet crash - reports

Senior officials in Azerbaijan are now reportedly pointing the finger at Moscow following a deadly plane crash – but Russia is pushing back.

Officials in Azerbaijan believe a Russian air defence missile caused the crash of a jet on Christmas Day which killed 38 people, according to multiple media sources.

But The Kremlin has pushed back stating “no one should … put forward hypotheses,” prior to the conclusion of the investigation into Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8342 which broke up as it landed in neighbouring Kazakhstan.

That’s despite Russia itself speculating shortly after the crash that a bird strike might be the cause.

In total, 67 people were on the Brazilian made Embraer E190 jet when it went down, 29 of who survived.

Embraer jets are widely used by passenger airlines across the world and have a good safety record. Azerbaijan Airlines is a well-respected central Asian airline.

Azerbaijan, like Russia, was once part of the Moscow controlled Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991.

The jet was flying from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya province.

While the plane was mostly carrying Azerbaijani passengers, 16 on board were Russian citizens.

After failing to land in Grozny due to fog, the plane diverted from its route and flew away from Russia across the Caspian Sea.

It attempted to land in Aktau, in Kazakhstan’s southwest, after a period of erratic flying.

However, upon landing it broke apart and erupted in flames.

Most of the survivors were in the less damaged rear of the plane.

A drone view shows the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan December 25, 2024. REUTERS/Azamat Sarsenbayev

Azerbaijani officials looking at Russia

News agency Reuters said it had spoken to four sources in Azerbaijan with knowledge of the investigation who said a Russian air defence system was to blame for the damage to the plane which then led it to crash. US officials have also told Reuters the air defence theory is most likely.

The Chechnya region of Russia has seen drone attacks from Ukraine in recent months.

In addition, news service Euronews has reported an Azerbaijani source who stated a missile was fired at the jet over Grozny during a period when drones were also detected.

Moscow has denied the claims.

The Russian Pantsir-S air defence system uses missiles that detonate close to their target and then spread small shrapnel over the area. The source reported shrapnel hit passengers in the plane.

The BBC has reported a Russian media report which interviewed one of the surviving passengers.

They said the pilots tried to land the plane twice at Grozny’s airport but had been prevented from doing so due to thick fog.

“The third time, something exploded … some of the aircraft skin had blown out”.

The pilot of the Azerbaijani Airways flight requested permission to perform an emergency landing at another nearby Russian airport but this was refused due to the airport being closed.

That led the jet to head out over the Caspian Sea.

Passengers from an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed leave the plane. Picture: Twitter.

‘Russia confess’

Azerbaijani news outlet AnewZ also cited sources which blamed a Russian air defence system.

If a drone attack was occurring, Russia should have closed its air space, which did not happen, stated the outlet.

It also said GPS jamming, commonly used by Russia, compromised the aeroplane’s navigational equipment as it searched for somewhere to land.

“No one claims that it was done purposefully,” AnewZ reported.

“However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft, and to conduct a full investigation, which will result in bringing to justice all those responsible.”

Miraculously, almost half the passengers survived the crash. Picture: X.

On Thursday, Russia played down suggestions that it may have played a role in the jet’s downing.

“Any air incident should be investigated by specialised aviation authorities,“ Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov said to Russian media

“It is necessary to wait for the end of this probe.

“It would be wrong to build any hypotheses before the panel of inquiry presents its conclusions. Of course, we cannot do that. No one should do it”.

The plane was not allowed to land in Russia and diverted to Kazakhstan. Picture: FlightRadar 24.

Flowers are seen left at the stairs of Azerbaijan's Embassy in Moscow on December 26, 2024 as tribute to the victims of Azerbaijan Airlines' plane crash. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)

Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev said the crash was a “great tragedy,” that has become, “a tremendous sorrow for the Azerbaijani people”.

“The reasons for the crash are not yet known to us,” the president said in a statement.

“There are various theories, but I believe it is premature to discuss them. The matter must be thoroughly investigated.”

Azerbaijan has opened a criminal investigation into the disaster.

The Kremlin said Russian president Vladimir Putin called Mr Aliyev to “expressed his condolences,” over the incident.

Kazakhstan, another former Soviet state, has also been circumspect about jumping to conclusions about the crash.

“None of these countries – neither Azerbaijan, Russia nor Kazakhstan – is interested in hiding information. All information will be made available to the public,” said Ashimbayev Maulen, chair of Kazakhstan’s senate, as reported by The Guardian.

The allegations of a Russian missile were unfounded and “unethical,” he said.

Kazak aviation authorities have secured the black box voice recorders.