Kazakhstan Announces Preliminary Investigation Results on AZAL Crash

Kazakhstan's Transport Ministry has released a report with initial findings from the investigation into the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) aircraft crash near Aktau on December 25, 2024, The Caspian Post reports, citing Caliber.az.

The crash of an Embraer 190 aircraft resulted in 38 deaths out of 67 people on board, including both pilots and one flight attendant.

Some 29 people, including two flight attendants, were rescued. The commission, consisting of representatives from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Brazil, conducted a thorough analysis of the flight data recorders and other technical data. This allowed them to reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the disaster.

On December 25, 2024, Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243, an Embraer 190AR, tragically crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, while attempting an emergency landing. The flight was traveling from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, and had 67 people on board, including 62 passengers and five crew members. Among the passengers were 42 Azerbaijanis, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyz nationals. The crash resulted in 38 fatalities, while 29 survivors, including three crew members, were rescued. Of the five crew members, three died, and two survived. Initial investigations point to a Russian surface-to-air missile striking the aircraft while attempting to intercept a Ukrainian drone over Chechnya.

On December 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to offer condolences and apologize for the tragedy, which occurred in Russian airspace. President Aliyev demanded that those responsible be held accountable and that compensation be provided to Azerbaijan, the injured passengers, and the families of those who perished.