December 25, 2024
A Russian anti-aircraft system may have downed the passenger jet that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, a US official told CNN. The signs point to a Russian system striking Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 before it crashed near the city of Aktau, the US official said Thursday. Russian air defense units may have fired on the commercial airliner believing it was a long-range Ukrainian attack drone, they added Friday.
On Saturday, Putin “apologized for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace” in a phone call with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, adding that Russian air defenses were active at the time but stopping shot of admitting fault. The aircraft attempted to land twice without GPS, but heavy fog made them abort and return to their origin at Baku. Minutes after diverting from Grozny, the Embraer was hit by Russian anti-aircraft fire, lost control, and crashed near Aktau while attempting an emergency landing.
Thirty-eight of the 67 people on board died in the crash. Among the survivors were two children.