President Aliyev addresses AZAL aircraft incident, criticises Russian theories on crash UPDATED

In an interview with Azerbaijan Television, President Ilham Aliyev shed light on the causes of the recent crash involving an AZAL-owned aircraft near Aktau, offering detailed insights and strongly criticising initial Russian explanations for the incident, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

President Aliyev dismissed certain theories presented by Russian officials as "absurd," particularly the claims involving a flock of birds or a gas cylinder explosion onboard. “The fact that the fuselage is riddled with holes indicates that the theory of the plane hitting a flock of birds, which was brought up by someone, is completely removed from the agenda,” he said.

He expressed disappointment with the approach taken by some Russian circles, stating: “Unfortunately, however, some circles in Russia preferred to put forward this theory. Another regrettable and surprising moment for us was that official Russian agencies put forward theories about the explosion of some gas cylinder on board the plane. In other words, this clearly showed that the Russian side wanted to cover up the issue, which, of course, is unbecoming of anyone.”

While ruling out any deliberate act of terror, the President stressed the importance of transparency and responsibility in addressing such incidents. “Of course, our plane was hit by accident. Of course, there can be no talk of a deliberate act of terror here. Therefore, admitting the guilt, apologizing in a timely manner to Azerbaijan, which is considered a friendly country, and informing the public about this – all these were measures and steps that should have been taken. Unfortunately, for the first three days, we heard nothing from Russia except for some absurd theories,” President Aliyev noted.

Providing additional details on the crash, the President outlined the sequence of events and pointed to external factors as the primary cause. “Of course, the final version will become clear after the black boxes have been examined. However, the initial theories are also quite reasonable and are based on facts. The facts are that the Azerbaijani civilian plane was damaged from the outside over Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and almost lost control. We also know that electronic warfare systems put our plane out of control. This was the first impact on the plane. At the same time, as a result of fire from the ground, the tail of the plane was also severely damaged.”

Addressing unresolved questions, President Aliyev stressed the importance of uncovering all aspects of the incident. “Let me repeat that after the flight recorders are examined and we obtain more detailed information, the full picture of what happened will be revealed, and many questions that remain unanswered today will be clarified. For example, why couldn’t the plane land in Grozny? To what extent did the electronic warfare systems affect the plane’s controls? What was the extent of the damage caused by the strike and the explosion near the plane? I must also emphasize that attempts to deny obvious facts or mislead people in this matter are both nonsensical and absurd,” he stated.

The president also commended the crew of the aircraft for their exceptional courage and professionalism in handling the emergency. “I highly appreciate their performance, professionalism and dedication,” he said.

“The pilots showed both professionalism and heroism, controlling the plane that was out of control in various ways. Of course, they were experienced pilots and knew that they would not be able to survive this emergency landing. However, they displayed tremendous heroism to save the passengers, and it is thanks to them that there are survivors in this plane crash. It is thanks to them that a section of the fuselage did not burn, and it is thanks to them that we can clearly say today that the plane was shot down by Russia,” President Aliyev noted.

President Aliyev elaborated on Azerbaijan’s official demands to the Russian side, which were formally communicated on December 27.

“We have clearly expressed our demands to the Russian side,” said Aliyev.

“These demands were officially communicated to them on December 27. What do they consist of? First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must acknowledge its guilt. Third, those responsible must be punished, brought to criminal responsibility, and compensation must be paid to the Azerbaijani state, as well as to the injured passengers and crew members. These are our conditions. The first of these was fulfilled yesterday. I hope the other conditions will also be accepted. All these demands are fair. There are no extraordinary requests or issues here; all of this is based on international experience and normal human conduct,” the president stressed.