The Azerbaijan Airline’s plane that crashed in Kazakhstan this week suffered “physical external interference,” the airline and Azerbaijan’s transport minister stated on Friday.
The PUNCH reports that preliminary findings from the investigation have fuelled speculation that the aircraft was struck by a Russian air defence system.
The jet crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday, killing 38 of the 67 passengers on board. The incident occurred after the plane attempted to land in the Russian city of Grozny but diverted far off course over the Caspian Sea.
Russia’s aviation chief revealed on Friday that Grozny was under attack by Ukrainian drones when the plane tried to land, but the Kremlin has refrained from commenting on claims that Russian air defence missiles accidentally shot down the aircraft.
Statements from Azerbaijan, referencing the investigation, suggest that the plane was struck mid-air.
“Based on the opinion of experts and eyewitness accounts, it can be concluded that there was external interference,” Azerbaijan’s transport minister, Rashad Nabiyev, told reporters.
“It is necessary to identify the type of weapon,” he added, citing survivors’ reports of hearing “three explosions” as the plane passed over Grozny.
