Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 was on its way to Grozny in Russia on Christmas Day but was diverted because of fog. It then attempted to make an emergency landing near the Kazakh city of Aktau before plummeting into the ground in a fiery crash.
Russia's aviation watchdog was quick to blame the incident on a bird strike, however the crash happened shortly after drone strikes hit southern Russia, Fox News reports. Aviation-security firm Osprey Flight Solutions said the flight was "likely shot down by a Russian military air-defense system" in response.
"Video of the wreckage and the circumstances around the airspace security environment in southwest Russia indicates the possibility the aircraft was hit by some form of antiaircraft fire," said Osprey chief intelligence officer Matt Borie in an interview.
Ukrainian national security official Andriy Kovalenko posted to X: "This morning, an Embraer 190 aircraft of an Azerbaijani airline, flying from Baku to Grozny, was shot down by a Russian air defense system. However, admitting this is inconvenient for everyone, so efforts will be made to cover it up, even the holes in the remaining parts of the aircraft. There is also video footage from inside the plane during the flight, showing punctured life vests and other damage."
"Russia should have closed the airspace over Grozny but failed to do so. The plane was damaged by the Russians and was sent to Kazakhstan instead of being urgently landed in Grozny to save lives," he continued. "In one word – Russia."
He showed still images taken from video footage during the flight he deemed as proof of an "explosion of an air defense missile with shrapnel."
The airline, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have been conducting investigations into the crash, which Embraer, the maker of the aircraft said it was ready to assist with. Most of the passengers on board were Azerbaijani nationals with others being from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Both of the pilots of the plane were killed in the crash.
