The crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, which fell in Kazakhstan, resembles the 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine by Russian forces, reports The Telegraph.
The Embraer E190AR, with dozens of people on board, crashed on 25 December in Aktau, located in western Kazakhstan. Of the 67 people on board, 38 died. Other 29 people, including two children, were hospitalized, with 11 in serious but stable condition.
An unnamed French aviation expert noted that the Christmas crash in Aktau “resembles” the MH17 tragedy, when Russian soldiers in Ukraine downed a passenger plane with a surface-to-air BUK missile over Donbas, resulting in 298 deaths.
The Embraer 190, en route from Baku to Grozny, deviated from its route for unknown reasons and crashed during its approach to Aktau.
Video footage from the scene shows the plane descending sharply and exploding upon impact with the ground. Other footage captures damage to the aircraft, including the fuselage separating from the wings and signs of alleged shrapnel damage.
Speaking anonymously, the former expert at France’s BEA air accident investigation agency said the wreckage appeared to have “a lot of shrapnel” damage.
Baku-based publication AnewsZ has reported that the crash could have been caused by a surface-to-air missile fired from a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system near Grozny, the capital of Chechnya.
On the day of the crash, Russian air defense systems were actively deployed to protect the city against Ukrainian drones. Official sources report that Russian airports refused the plane’s request for an emergency landing, directing it to Aktau instead.
It is reportedly the second incident in the past decade where a Russian-made missile may have struck a civilian aircraft. MH17, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was also allegedly identified by pro-Russian forces as a Ukrainian military aircraft.
Investigations determined that a surface-to-air missile hit MH17. Fragmentation holes found on the wreckage of MH17 are similar to the damage observed on the Embraer 190.
According to the military website Army Recognition, Russia integrated the Pantsir-S defense air system, the Buk missile, and the S-Triumph into a “structured air defense” network in 2021.
It could be possible that the same type of missile downed the Azerbaijani aircraft as MH17.
A 2023 report by international investigators found “strong indications” that Russian ruler Vladimir Putin had approved the use of Buk missile systems before the MH17 disaster, citing intercepted phone calls.
The Kremlin denied this claim, saying it “could not accept” the investigation’s results since it did not participate in the process.
Related:
- Real justice for MH17 is Ukraine’s victory
- Drones target Chechnya, other north Caucasus regions in Russia (video)
- Ukraine targets Russian command center in Kursk Oblast, eliminates marine brigade commander
- “We need to see the Christmas star in the skies, not Iranian Shaheds or Russian missiles,” Zelenskyy says in holiday address (video)
