RUSSIA shot down a passenger plane over Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, killing 38 in a falling fireball, according to government sources.
An initial investigation by the Azerbaijani government reportedly revealed that the plane was hit by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system.
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Emergency responders work at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the western Kazakh city of AktauCredit: AFP
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The wreckage of the Embraer 190 at the Azerbaijan airport lies on the ground, with several emergency workers and vehicles nearbyCredit: AFP
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The footage shows the interior of the plane just moments before the fatal crash Credit: X/yo2thok
The Christmas crash killed 38 people after flight J2-8243 with 67 people on board crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The flight was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan to Grozny, Russia – and was diverted from an area where Moscow has recently used air defenses against Ukrainian drone attacks.
Terrifying footage showed the Embraer aircraft nosediving before hitting the ground in a fireball.
Four government sources in Azerbaijan told Reuters the plane was shot down by Russian air defenses.
Euronews, citing Azerbaijani government sources, also said that an initial investigation indicated that a Russian surface-to-air missile was fired at the plane.
It exploded next to the plane, and shrapnel hit passengers and cabin crew, the report said.
A US official told Reuters there were “early indications” the plane had been hit by an anti-aircraft system – adding that this would indicate “Russian recklessness”.
The use of the air defense system coincides with reports of Ukrainian drone strikes in Chechnya on Christmas morning.
If confirmed, it would be the second time in a decade that Russia has shot down a passenger plane since the downing of MH17 in Ukraine in 2014.
Speaking earlier Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it would be wrong to speculate on the cause of the accident.
Horrific moment plane with 105 on board crashes in fireball explosion in Kazakhstan in Christmas horror crash
But Osprey Flight Solutions said the flight was “probably shot down by a Russian military air defense system.”
An aviation security company sent a warning to airlines after reviewing footage of the crash and damage to the plane, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Matt Borie, chief intelligence officer at aviation security firm Osprey, said: “The video of the wreckage and the circumstances surrounding the security environment of the airspace in southwest Russia indicate the possibility that the aircraft was hit by some form of anti-aircraft fire.”
Osprey provides analysis for flights still heading towards Russia amid the Ukraine war – so far it has issued more than 200 warnings of drone attacks and air defense systems.
The company’s chief executive Andrew Nicholson said: “This incident is a stark reminder of why we do what we do.
“It is painful to know that despite our best efforts, lives were lost in a way that could have been avoided.”
Images of the wreckage show what appear to be bullet holes or shrapnel damage.
Russian military analysts from the Conflict Intelligence Team previously said the holes could have been caused by a Pantsir-S1 air defense missile.
This incident is a powerful reminder of why we do what we do. It is painful to know that despite our best efforts, lives were lost in a way that could have been avoided
Andrew NicholsonOsprey CEO
Pro-Kremlin blogger Yuriy Podolyaka wrote that the aircraft “shows damage consistent with an anti-aircraft missile, detonating from the side and above.”
He said: “Survivors remember a ‘bang’ during the third attempt to land in Grozny in fog before diverting to Makhachkala.
“He may have been caught up in the defense’s response to the attack on Grozny.”
Kazakhstan’s transport minister said Thursday that authorities “have not yet reached any conclusions” that Russian air defenses downed the plane.
THE MIRACULOUS SURVIVORS
Dozens of passengers, including children, miraculously survived the horrific fall.
About 150 emergency services rushed to the scene, battling high flames and thick columns of black smoke rising ominously into the sky.
Meanwhile, an investigative team led by the Deputy Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan is working at the accident site.
They found a black box from the doomed flight that revealed the chilling last words spoken by the pilot just moments before the plane crashed to the ground.
Struggling to control the plane, one of the pilots said, “I can’t execute, control is lost!”
The pilots reportedly tried to take the plane to three different airports but were unable to land.
But they lost communication with the ground crew before disappearing from radar for 37 minutes.
Footage has emerged showing terrified passengers making final video calls and leaving messages as the craft began to sink.
Distraught people on board can be seen jumping from their seats as they try to make sense of the situation.
As oxygen masks dangled in the air, some passengers began to scream in terror, while others called their loved ones and began to pray.
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A preliminary investigation suggests the plane was shot down by a Russian air defense systemCredit: AP
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Flowers and portraits at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in memory of the victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines crashCredit: AP
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Russian rescuers prepare to disembark passengers injured in plane crashCredit: EPA
Meanwhile, video shows plane crash survivors climbing out of the wreckage as emergency responders rush to the scene.
Injured passengers can be seen staggering out of the damaged aircraft.
Authorities said 29 people were miraculously pulled alive from the wreckage – but seven are said to be in critical condition.
The state’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said that fire services had extinguished the fire and that survivors were being treated at a nearby hospital.
Two of the hospitalized survivors are children – girls believed to be aged 11 and 16.
“They receive all the necessary medical care in hospitals in the region,” said the Ministry of Health.
The video was recorded on the plane by survivor Subkhon Rakhimov – who realized there was a problem and sent the video to his wife.
The passenger, who now has a badly bruised face, said: “The flight attendant did her job perfectly, I don’t know if she survived or not, but she did her job perfectly.
“Where there was an explosion of an oxygen cylinder, experts will say, only they can say – it happened. But, there was an explosion.”
WHAT CAUSED THE COURT?
Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24.com revealed that the aircraft made what appeared to be a figure-eight maneuver as it approached Aktau Airport.
Its height varied significantly during the last moments of the flight before the crash.
The last, desperate attempt of the cockpit to land in Aktau was recorded in terrifying detail.
The plane is seen descending too steeply, its nose pointed sharply downward, moments before the crash shattered the holiday morning.
Witnesses described a deafening explosion as the plane disintegrated and caught fire on impact.
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Images show what appeared to be shrapnel marks on the planeCredit: East2West
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Emergency specialists work at the crash site of the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger planeCredit: AFP
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38 people died in the fall of the fireball, and 29 miraculously managed to escape Credit: AFP
Images of the burning wreckage, with emergency services struggling to control the inferno, show the sheer scale of the disaster as charred parts of the plane lie strewn across the crash site.
On Wednesday, authorities in Russia and Kazakhstan claimed that the crash was caused by a bird strike.
Kazaeronavigatsiya, Kazakhstan’s air navigation authority, said: “Aircraft Embraer 190 AHY8243 flying on the Baku-Grozni route has declared an emergency due to a bird strike and a handling violation.”
A Russian aviation watchdog said: “Preliminary: after a bird collision, due to an emergency situation on board, its commander decided to ‘go’ to an alternative airport – Aktau was chosen.”
An aviation expert said it was unlikely that the crash was caused by a bird strike.
Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, told Reuters that in the event of a bird strike, planes typically land in the nearest available field and don’t go hundreds of miles off course.
He said: “This doesn’t look like crash damage. This really looks like an external impact.
“You may lose control of the plane, but you won’t fly wildly off course as a result.”
CHRISTMAS TRAGEDY
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared Thursday a day of mourning.
He canceled a planned visit to Russia for an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a group of former Soviet nations.
Aliyev’s office announced that the president “ordered the immediate initiation of emergency measures to investigate the cause of the disaster.”
“I express my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the accident… and I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” Aliyev said.
A Kazakh woman told the local Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty branch that she was close to where the plane crashed and rushed to the site to help survivors.
The woman said: “They were covered in blood. They were crying. They were calling for help.”
She said they saved some teenagers.
– I will never forget their look, full of pain and despair – said Elmira. “One girl was begging, ‘Save my mother, my mother is there’.”
The Ministry of Health announced that a special flight was sent from the Kazakh capital Astana with specialist doctors to treat the injured.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Aliyev by phone and “expressed his condolences regarding the accident,” his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said.
“The Russian Emergencies Ministry has been sent to Aktau with medical personnel and other equipment,” Putin said later opening a meeting of CIS leaders in St. Petersburg.
The first lady of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, who is also the country’s first vice president, said that she was “deeply saddened by the news of the tragic loss of life in the plane crash near Aktau.”
“I express my sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. I wish them strength and patience! I also wish the injured a speedy recovery,” she said on Instagram.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Telegram: “I express my condolences to the relatives of the passengers of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane who died.”
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education