Emergency specialists work at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet near the western Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25, 2024. The Embraer 190 aircraft was supposed to fly northwest from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to the city of Grozny in Chechnya in southern Russia, but instead diverted far off course across the Caspian Sea. It crashed on December 25, 2024 near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
Issa Tazhenbayev | Afp | Getty Images
An investigation into the deadly crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines flight in Kazakhstan earlier this week came after the passenger plane experienced “physical and technical external interference,” the carrier said on Friday.
The Embraer 190 crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday, killing 38 of the 67 people on board while en route from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, Russia.
According to a U.S. official, early evidence indicated the plane may have been struck by a Russian anti-aircraft system.
Two U.S. military officials told NBC News on Friday that the U.S. has intelligence indicating that the Russians may have misidentified the Azerbaijani airliner and shot it down.
The intelligence suggests the Russians believed it was a drone and engaged their air defenses, in part because of the aircraft’s irregular flight pattern and altitude, the officials said. Both stressed that an investigation is still ongoing.
On Thursday, Matthew Borie, chief intelligence officer at the aviation security firm Osprey Flight Solutions, told NBC News that “the flight was likely shot down by a Russian air defense system.”
At the time of the incident, Russian air defense forces were defending against a Ukrainian military-grade weaponized drone attack that involved Russia shooting down drones, he said.
While Russian officials have cautioned against speculation about what caused the flight to crash, on Friday, the country’s aviation authority said the situation around Grozny, Chechnya, was “very complicated” when the plane was diverted to Kazakhstan where it crashed.
Rosaviatsia, Russia’s aviation authority, cited the presence of “Ukrainian combat drones” around Grozny. Chechnya is close to Ukraine and the ongoing war with Russia.
Rosaviatsia also reported that dense fog in the area of Grozny airport meant there was no visibility at an altitude of about 1,600 feet. The pilot was offered alternative airports, but chose to proceed to the Kazakh city of Aktau after two unsuccessful attempts to land in Grozny, according to a statement issued by Dmitry Yadrov, head of Rosaviatsia.
On Friday, Azerbaijan Airlines said it had also suspended flights from Baku to five additional Russian airports. This decision follows the suspension of flights from Baku to Grozny and Makhachkala, introduced on Wednesday.
“The suspension will remain in effect until the completion of the final investigation,” according to a statement posted on the airline’s Telegram channel on Friday.