A passenger aboard the Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan informed Reuters there was a minimum of one loud bang because the airplane neared its authentic vacation spot, Grozny in southern Russia.
Flight J2-8243 crashed Wednesday in a fiery explosion close to Aktau, Kazakhstan, after diverting from an space of southern Russia, the place Moscow has repeatedly deployed air protection methods towards Ukrainian drones.
“I thought the plane was going to fall apart,” stated Subhonkul Rakhimov, one of many survivors, talking from a hospital. He added that he started reciting prayers and making ready for the worst after listening to the bang.
At least 38 folks had been killed, and 29 survived.
Russia has stated it is very important look ahead to the official investigation to conclude earlier than figuring out what occurred.
Four sources conversant in the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan’s investigation into the catastrophe informed Reuters on Thursday that Russian air defenses had mistakenly shot the airplane down.
Azerbaijan Airlines suspended a lot of flights to Russian cities on Friday and stated it thought-about the crash to be attributable to what it termed “physical and technical external interference.”
After the loud bang, the airplane acted unusually, as if it was “drunk,” Rakhimov stated.
“It was as if it was drunk – not the same plane anymore,” he stated.
The Embraer passenger jet had flown from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny in Russia’s southern Chechnya area earlier than veering lots of of miles throughout the Caspian Sea.
It crashed on the alternative shore of the Caspian after what Russia’s aviation watchdog stated was an emergency which will have been attributable to a chicken strike.
After the turmoil of the crash touchdown, there was silence earlier than the moaning of the injured started, Rakhimov stated.
Asked about studies that Russian air defenses had mistakenly shot down the plane, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated Friday he had nothing so as to add and didn’t wish to supply any assessments till the official investigation reached its conclusions.
Rosaviatsia, Russia’s aviation watchdog, stated the captain of the airplane had been provided various airports to land at however had chosen Kazakhstan’s Aktau. It stated it will present complete help to Kazakh and Azerbaijani investigations into the crash.
Source: www.dailysabah.com