Russian air defence missile likely reason behind Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash
- 26 December, 08:11
A preliminary investigation carried out in Azerbaijan into the deadly crash in Kazazkhsan has revealed that the fatal incident had been caused by Russian air defence system.
Unnamed Azerbaijani officials familiar with the investigation told local Caliber media outlet on Thursday that the plane crash that killed 38 passengers was damaged by Russian Pantsi-S air defence system while approaching Chechnya. Flight 8432 was denied landing in Groznyy and another two Russian cities Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody and was diverted to Kazakhstan “where all witnesses would perish and the aircraft would sink.” This disruption caused the aircraft to disappear from radar within Russian airspace and only reappeared in the area of the Caspian Sea.
Referring to the video footage from the crash site, Caliber stated that the plane had traces of shrapnel. In addition, the surviving passengers reported hearing explosions outside the aircraft, which is yet another indication that the Russian air defence system might have fired at the plane mistaking it for a Ukrainian drone. The source demanded an apology from Russia for the crash. “Baku expects the Russian side to acknowledge its responsibility for shooting down the Azerbaijani aircraft, issue an official apology to the Azerbaijani people.”
Russia’s involvement in the crash was also pointed out by the US and Ukraine. An unnamed US official said on Thursday that there were early indications that a Russian anti-aircraft system may have struck the plane that was flying from Baku to Groznyy. Twenty-nine passengers survived the crash.
The US assertion followed similar allegations voiced by Ukrainian national security official earlier.
Russia has not confirmed its air defence systems downed Azerbaijan Airline’s Embraer 190 plane, with Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov stating on Thursday it was wrong to make any speculations before the investigation concluded.
Azerbaijan on Thursday held a day of mourning for the victims of the crash.
