An Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday was downed by a Russian air defence system, four sources in Azerbaijan with knowledge of the investigation told Reuters.
Analysis of marks on the aircraft's fuselage are strongly suggestive it was hit by air defence systems, experts have said
Azerbaijan on Thursday observed a nationwide day of mourning for the victims of the plane crash that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured as speculation mounted about a possible cause of the disaster, with some experts saying that the airliner was damaged by Russian air defense fire.
The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 flight left Baku, Azerbaijan, on Christmas to Grozny, Russia. Instead, the plane crashed in Aktau, Kazakhstan.
An Azerbaijan Airlines flight from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Russia crashed, hospitalizing survivors while dozens are feared dead.
Azerbaijan held a day of mourning on Thursday for the dozens of victims of an airliner crash in Kazakhstan, as questions were being asked over the cause of the disaster.
An Embraer passenger jet crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Dec 25, killing 38 people. Read more at straitstimes.com.
An Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday was downed by a Russian air defense system, four sources in Azerbaijan with knowledge of the investigation told Reuters.
Russia and Kazakhstan have tried to calm speculation about the cause of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, following claims it had been shot down by Russian air defence systems. On Thursday, Moscow urged calm as its foreign minister said it would be wrong to come to conclusions before an investigation into the crash was complete.
An Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash on Christmas Day has prompted speculation the plane was shot down by Russia after it took a detour of hundreds of miles in the wrong direction and crash-landed with holes in the fuselage.
Flight J2-8243 had flown hundreds of miles off its scheduled route from Azerbaijan to Russia to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea,