Kazakh official: investigation continues into Azerbaijani Airlines crash near Aktau

Kazakhstan’s authorities continue to investigate the crash of an Azerbaijani Airlines (AZAL) plane near Aktau, Deputy Transport Minister Maksat Kaliakparov said at a government briefing. 

He noted that the preliminary findings from the first three months of the investigation have already been presented to the relevant commission, and a more detailed, in-depth investigation is now underway, Caliber.Az reports via Kazakh media. 

Kaliakparov described the ongoing work as complex and involving difficult examinations. He said that, once completed, the full results of the investigation would be shared with the media, as was the case with the initial report, but he could not specify a precise timeline. He added that authorities aim to provide the results by the end of the year.

The crash occurred on December 25, when the plane was flying from Baku to Grozny. There were 69 people on board, including five crew members. Passengers included 42 citizens of Azerbaijan, 15 of Russia, six of Kazakhstan, and three of Kyrgyzstan.

The crash claimed 38 lives, including three crew members, while 29 people, including two crew members, survived.

Preliminary findings suggested that the aircraft had been struck by a Russian Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile during Russian air defence operations aimed at repelling a Ukrainian drone attack over Chechnya.

Brazil completed the decryption of the plane’s black boxes on January 7, and a preliminary report was published by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport on February 4. The report included a chronology of events and photographs documenting the damage.

On January 24, Caliber.Az reported that both the officer who ordered the missile launch and the individual who fired had been identified. The same report confirmed the accuracy of the initial conclusion that the aircraft had indeed been hit by a Pantsir-S1 missile. Investigators also found that, prior to being struck, the airliner had been affected by electronic warfare (EW) systems, which disrupted its navigation equipment and severely hindered the crew’s ability to control the aircraft.

Most recently, on October 9, during a meeting with President Aliyev, President Putin stated that Russia would conduct a legal assessment of the actions of all officials involved in the incident.

By Sabina Mammadli