Two passengers who survived the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan heard a loud bang as it approached its original destination of Grozny, Reuters reported on Dec. 27.
The plane, en route from Baku on Dec. 25, carried 67 passengers, including 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyz citizens. Thirty-eight people have been confirmed dead.
Initial reports suggest it could have been downed by a Russian surface-to-air missile.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, on Dec. 27 said the aircraft had been hit by "a Russian Pantsir S1 air defense system on Russian terrain."
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) initially attributed the crash to a collision with a flock of birds, causing the pilot to attempt an emergency landing.
Speaking to Reuters, passenger Subhonkul Rakhimov said he heard a loud bang as it approached Grozny, after which he "thought the plane was going to fall apart."
The missile allegedly targeted Flight 8432 during drone activity over Grozny, Chechnya on Dec. 25. The plane had attempted to land in Grozny, but Russian airports reportedly denied it permission for an emergency landing, forcing the pilots to divert toward Aktau in Kazakhstan.
According to Euronews sources, shrapnel from the explosion reportedly struck the passengers and cabin crew as the missile detonated mid-flight near the aircraft.
Footage analyzed by independent media outlets Meduza and Mediazona shows damage consistent with surface-to-air missile impacts, including holes in the fuselage and traces of a missile strike on the tail section.
Russian officials have said the pilots decided to reroute from their original destination Grozny amid dense fog and a local alert over Ukrainian drones, but said it’s important to wait for the definitive results of the investigation before speculating about the cause.
Rasim Musabekov, a member of Azerbaijan's parliament and foreign affairs committee member, told Azerbaijani news agency Turan that it was evident that the plane was "shot down over Russian territory, in the sky above Grozny. It is impossible to deny this."
"Those responsible for this must be held criminally accountable, and compensation must be paid for the deaths and injuries. If this doesn't happen, the relations will certainly shift to a different level," Musabekov added.
Chris York
