Kazakhstan publishes preliminary report on plane crash near Aktau – photos
Pravda Ukraine
On Tuesday, 4 February, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport released a report with preliminary findings regarding the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane near the city of Aktau on 25 December.
Source: Tengri News, a Kazakh media outlet, citing the report, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The report, spanning 53 pages, notes that the investigation conducted under its scope “does not aim to establish liability or fault”.
The document includes photographs of foreign objects, including metal fragments, found embedded in the wreckage.
It emphasises that the information presented is “preliminary and may be refined or expanded as further studies and material reviews are conducted”.
The report shows that an early assessment of the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190’s remains revealed multiple puncture and non-puncture damages of various shapes and sizes across the aircraft’s tail section, vertical stabiliser, horizontal stabilisers, and rudders. The aircraft’s left engine, wing, and other components all sustained similar damage.
The report notes that some of the damages have a perfect rectangular shape. A considerable number of foreign objects recovered from the wreckage were sent for forensic study.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport also presented a flight reconstruction outlining events following the emergence of a “critical situation”. Additionally, the report includes data from the aircraft’s black box recorder.
The flight data revealed two loud impacts during the flight. A flight attendant reported an explosion involving two airplane seats.
The report states that before the aircraft struck the ground, its hydraulic systems 1, 2 and 3, as well as the electrical wiring for the stabiliser drive, had been damaged – likely by external influence.
The investigative commission is continuing to conduct a detailed examination of the damage to the aircraft’s structure. A final report on the crash will be prepared upon completion of these investigations.
Part of foreign metal objects extracted from the left stabiliser and auxiliary power unit (APU) compartment. Screenshot: report
Background:
- On 25 December, an Embraer aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan. The crash resulted in 38 fatalities.
- At the time, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev stated that the plane had been shot down from the ground. He also asserted that Russia should acknowledge its responsibility, issue a timely apology to Azerbaijan – a country considered a friend – and communicate this publicly.
- Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Digital Development and Transport, mentioned that eyewitness testimonies and puncture marks on the plane’s fuselage indicated external interference, with the exact type of weapon used to be determined by the investigation.
- On 4 February, a source within Azerbaijan’s government told Reuters that they had conclusive evidence that the plane was downed by a Russian Pantsir-S air defence system.
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