Kazakhstan says foreign lab findings on AZAL crash still pending

Kazakhstan has yet to receive data from two foreign laboratories participating in the investigation into the crash of an AZAL aircraft, the country’s transport minister said.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Mazhilis, Kazakhstan’s parliament, Transport Minister Nurlan Sauranbayev explained that laboratory analyses had been shared under an internal agreement with two parties — the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani side, he noted, subsequently forwarded the materials to foreign expert laboratories for further examination, Caliber.Az reports, citing Kazakh media.

“As part of our internal arrangements, we agreed to submit the laboratory research to two sides — the Russian Federation and the Azerbaijani side. Azerbaijan then passed the materials on to foreign experts,” Sauranbayev said.

On December 25, 2024, AZAL Flight 8243, an Embraer 190AR operating from Baku to Grozny, crashed near the city of Aktau in western Kazakhstan during an emergency landing attempt. There were 67 people on board — 62 passengers and five crew members. The crash claimed 38 lives, including three crew members, while 29 people survived, among them three children.

The passengers included citizens of Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, making the tragedy an international one that deeply affected Azerbaijani society.

Preliminary findings of the investigation, led by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport, ruled out technical malfunctions of the aircraft or its engines. Instead, investigators identified a series of critical anomalies: the loss of GPS signals over Russian airspace, serious external damage to the fuselage, stabilisers, and wings, and the presence of foreign objects embedded in the wreckage. These findings pointed to external interference rather than an internal systems failure.

Subsequent assessments indicated that the aircraft was struck by a Russian Pantsir-S1 air defence missile amid Russian air defence activity aimed at countering a Ukrainian drone attack over Chechnya. Investigators also concluded that electronic warfare systems had disrupted the aircraft’s navigation, significantly complicating the crew’s ability to control the plane after it was damaged.

The aircraft’s black boxes were decoded in Brazil on January 7, 2025, and a preliminary report was published by Kazakhstan on February 4, providing a detailed timeline of events and photographic evidence of the damage. Two parallel investigations were launched: a criminal probe coordinated between Kazakh and Russian authorities, and a technical investigation by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport, which is now nearing completion.

On October 9, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the incident in talks with Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, stating that Russia would conduct a legal assessment of the actions of all officials involved and provide compensation. He attributed the tragedy to a combination of factors, including drone activity, air defence system failures, and human error, signalling Moscow’s intention not to leave the matter unresolved.

By  Vafa Guliyeva