Russia’s aviation chief mentioned Friday {that a} Ukrainian drone assault was underway within the Russian area that an airliner was destined for earlier than it diverted and crashed earlier this week.
Dmitry Yadrov, of Rosaviatsia, didn’t touch upon statements by an Azerbaijani lawmaker and a few aviation specialists who blamed Wednesday’s Azerbaijan Airways crash on Russian air defenses responding to a Ukrainian assault.
The airplane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, when it turned towards Kazakhstan and crashed whereas attempting to land there. The crash killed 38 folks and left all 29 survivors injured.
Azerbaijan Airways on Friday blamed the crash on unspecified “physical and technical interference” and introduced the suspension of flights to a number of Russian airports. It didn’t say the place the interference got here from or present any additional particulars.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash instructed Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the plane because it was circling over Grozny.
Flight attendant Aydan Rahimli mentioned that after one loud noise, the oxygen masks mechanically launched. She mentioned that she went to carry out first assist on a colleague, Zulfugar Asadov, after which they heard one other bang.
Asadov mentioned that the noises seemed like one thing hitting the airplane from outdoors. He denied Kazakh officers’ declare that an oxygen canister exploded contained in the airplane.
Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of digital improvement and transportation, pointed to the survivors’ accounts to emphasise that the airplane suffered an outdoor impression whereas flying over Grozny. Chatting with Azerbaijani media, he added that “the type of weapon used in the impact from outside will be determined to investigators.”
Authorities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia have been tight-lipped a few doable trigger pending an official probe. However a member of Azerbaijan’s parliament, Rasim Musabekov, instructed the Azerbaijani information company Turan on Thursday that the airplane was fired on whereas within the skies over Grozny and urged Russia to supply an official apology.
Requested about Musabekov’s assertion, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to remark, saying that will probably be as much as investigators to find out the reason for the crash.
“The air incident is being investigated, and we don’t believe we have the right to make any assessments until the conclusions are made as a result of the investigation,” Peskov mentioned in a convention name with reporters.
Yadrov, the Russian aviation chief, mentioned that because the airplane was making ready to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones had been focusing on the town, prompting authorities to shut the realm to air site visitors.
Yadrov mentioned that after the captain made two unsuccessful makes an attempt to land in Grozny, he was supplied different airports however determined to fly to Aktau in Kazakhstan, throughout the Caspian Sea.
“The situation in the area of Grozny airport was quite difficult,” he mentioned in a press release. “There are many circumstances that it’s necessary to investigate jointly.”
Investigators from Azerbaijan are working in Grozny as a part of the crash probe, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor Basic’s workplace mentioned in a press release.
Because the probe started, some aviation specialists identified that holes seen within the airplane’s tail part steered that it might have come underneath hearth from Russian air protection techniques heading off a Ukrainian drone assault.
Ukrainian drones have beforehand attacked Grozny and different areas within the nation’s North Caucasus.
FlightRadar24 mentioned in a web based submit that the plane confronted “strong GPS jamming” that interfered with flight monitoring knowledge. Russia has extensively used refined jamming tools to fend off drone assaults.
Following Wednesday’s suspension of flights from Baku to Grozy and Makhachkala, Azerbaijan Airways introduced Friday that it could additionally halt service to eight extra Russian cities.
The corporate will proceed to function flights to 6 Russian cities, together with Moscow and St. Petersburg. These cities even have been repeatedly focused by Ukrainian drone strikes up to now.
Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air additionally introduced Friday that it was suspending flights from Astana to the Russian metropolis of Yekaterinburg within the Ural Mountains for a month.
FlyDubai additionally halted flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody in southern Russian till Jan. 5.
The day earlier than, Israel’s El Al provider suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow citing “developments in Russia’s airspace.” The airline mentioned it could reassess the state of affairs subsequent week.
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Related Press author Aida Sultanova contributed to this report from London.
