Azerbaijan confirms evidence complete in Aktau AZAL crash case

Russia has yet to share concrete findings from its investigation into the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) flight near Aktau, Kazakhstan, according to Azerbaijan's Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev.

Speaking during a visit to Ankara, Aliyev emphasised that Azerbaijan has consistently maintained communication with the Russian Investigative Committee following the December 2024 incident, Caliber.Az reports, citing domestic media.

The Azerbaijani side has submitted formal written inquiries regarding the status of the investigation.

"They have not yet provided us with specific results of the investigation, citing the conduct of expert examinations, the continuation of the investigation, and the performance of investigative actions. However, we ourselves have sufficient evidence from the initial stage of the investigation. We are well aware of the circumstances of the incident and have gathered all the necessary evidence. We are coordinating our activities with the Kazakh side," Aliyev stated.

Immediately after the aircraft went down near Aktau, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office opened a criminal case under appropriate articles of the national Criminal Code. Subsequently, both Kazakhstan and Russia also launched their own criminal proceedings.

Aliyev explained that criminal investigations are now underway in three countries. He questioned why this single incident has prompted separate legal cases in three jurisdictions, and provided the rationale:

"Thus, criminal cases are currently being investigated in three countries. The question arises: why were criminal cases initiated in three different states for the same incident? Because this event affects the interests of all three countries in one way or another. It is known that during this incident, citizens of all three countries were killed or suffered injuries of varying degrees. For this reason, we are cooperating with both the Investigative Committee of Russia and Kazakhstan," he said.

He also mentioned that Azerbaijan has been liaising with Brazilian authorities from the beginning, as the aircraft involved—an Embraer 190—was manufactured in Brazil.

“As you know, the plane was manufactured in Brazil. In any case, we hope that the Russian side will provide us with information about the progress of the investigation and its specific results as soon as possible, as well as about the prosecution of those who committed the crime. Although we do not claim that it was done intentionally,” he added.

Aliyev warned that if Russia fails to share the investigation’s outcomes, Azerbaijan will consider taking the matter to international courts.

The crash occurred in December 2024, when AZAL Flight J2-8243, en route from Baku to Grozny, was forced to make an emergency landing near Aktau due to adverse weather conditions. The Embraer 190 aircraft was struck by a missile attributed to Russian air defense activity in the area, resulting in the deaths of 38 people. Among the casualties were both pilots, who were later posthumously recognized as national heroes for their courage.