Azerbaijan officials claimed Thursday that Russian anti-aircraft fire brought down their passenger jet over Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, allegedly after electronic warfare systems disabled the aircraft’s communications and Russian forces mistook it for a Ukrainian attack drone, according to local reports.
The crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines flight killed 38 of the 67 people aboard when the Embraer 190 aircraft, diverted far from its intended flight path between Baku and Grozny, crashed near the Kazakh coastal city of Aktau. Investigators have recovered two black boxes that could help explain why the plane disappeared from radar in Russian airspace before reappearing over the Caspian Sea with its communications systems reportedly “completely paralyzed.”
Officials in Baku told ANEWZ, a local television news channel, that Russian electronic warfare systems targeted the commercial airliner as it approached Grozny, a city whose airport has previously been struck by Ukrainian forces during the ongoing war. The plane’s planned 330-mile route would have taken it northwest across Azerbaijan into southern Russia, but instead, the aircraft diverted across the Caspian Sea.
According to Kazinform, Kazakhstan’s state news agency, air traffic controllers in Aktau observed “chaotic changes” in the plane’s altitude after the crew established contact. Despite illuminated runway lights, the pilot made two unsuccessful landing attempts before the aircraft veered toward the coastline and crashed.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, who cut short a trip to St. Petersburg for a Commonwealth of Independent States meeting, ordered a full investigation while urging restraint in public speculation about the cause.
“The commission’s task is to fully investigate the matter, examine the causes of the crash and all its details,” he said after declaring a national day of mourning.
Read more: Russian air defense reportedly fired on Azerbaijan airliner, causing fatal crash
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