Monument unveiled near Aktau airport in honour of AZAL flight crew

A monument commemorating the crew members of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) flight that crashed near Aktau in December 2024 was unveiled onn June 26 near Aktau International Airport.

According to the Public Communications Center of the Mangystau Region, the memorial honours pilot Alexander Kalyaninov and chief flight attendant Hokuma Aliyeva, both recognised as national heroes in Azerbaijan. The solemn ceremony brought together relatives of the victims, representatives of the aviation industry, and members of the local community, Caliber.Az reports via Kazakh media.

Attendees observed a moment of silence and laid flowers at the site in tribute to the fallen crew.

To recall, Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243, an Embraer 190AR went down on December 25, 2024, during an emergency landing attempt near Aktau. The flight was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, with 67 people on board — 62 passengers and five crew members. Among the passengers were citizens of Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The crash claimed 38 lives, including three of the five crew members. Preliminary investigations revealed the aircraft was mistakenly struck by a Russian surface-to-air missile system, the Pantsir-S1, during Russian efforts to intercept a Ukrainian drone over Chechnya. The plane also reportedly suffered electronic warfare interference that disrupted its navigation systems.

While Russia initially sought to obscure the true cause of the tragedy with conflicting reports, further investigation has since brought clarity to the situation.

Following the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended condolences and issued a formal apology to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Azerbaijan has since demanded accountability and compensation for the victims and their families.

On January 24, Caliber.Az's new findings confirmed that both the individual who fired on the plane and the officer who issued the order have been identified. Additionally, the initial report of the plane being struck by the Russian Pantsir-S1 has been verified.

The investigation also revealed that before the plane was struck, it was affected by electronic warfare (EW), which compromised the aircraft’s navigation systems and significantly hindered the crew’s ability to control the plane.

By Sabina Mammadli