Kazakhstan's transport minister details dramatic AZAL aircraft crash near Aktau

Kazakhstan's Transport Minister, Marat Karabaev, said that the airport emergency services were prepared to receive the AZAL aircraft, and after entering Kazakhstan's airspace, the crew established contact with the Aktau tower controller.

During a briefing in Aktau, Karabaev noted that, the controller promptly took all necessary actions to facilitate the aircraft's landing at the aerodrome, Caliber.Az reports via Kazakh media.

"Moreover, to assist with visual contact with the runway, the runway lights were turned on. The crew made two attempts to approach Aktau aerodrome's runway, during which erratic altitude changes were observed. The aircraft deviated towards the coastline,” he said.

According to Karabaev, at 11:28, contact with the crew was lost, and the aircraft crashed. The airport's rescue service was the first to arrive at the crash site and immediately began evacuating the passengers on board.

“An investigation is currently underway by a special commission, which includes specialists from the Department for Investigation of Incidents and Accidents in Transport of the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan," the minister remarked.

To recap, fatal incident occurred on December 25 involving an Embraer 190 aircraft operating flight J2-8243, traveling from Baku to Grozny. The plane crashed during an emergency landing attempt near Aktau, Kazakhstan, resulting in 38 fatalities and 29 survivors. The flight carried 67 people, including 62 passengers and 5 crew members, with nationalities including Azerbaijani, Russian, Kazakh, and Kyrgyzstani.

At the time of the crash, President Ilham Aliyev was en route to a CIS summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Upon hearing of the incident, he ordered his immediate return to Baku to manage the national response.

The international community has expressed condolences and solidarity with Azerbaijan, and the country has declared December 26 as a day of mourning to honour the victims. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.

By Aghakazim Guliyev