An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190, registration 4K-AZ65 performing flight J2-8243 from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Grozny (Russia) with 62 passengers and five crew, had diverted from Grozny to Aktau (Kazakhstan) due to weather and attempted an emergency landing on Aktau’s runway 11 at 11:28L (06:28Z) about one hour after the aborted approach to Grozny.
The aircraft was turning onto the final approach but impacted the ground off the runway and caught fire.
Rescue services were able to rescue 32 people alive. 4 bodies were recovered so far. Kazakhstan’s Transport Ministry reported that 62 passengers and five crew were on board the aircraft, and 32 were rescued alive.
Four bodies have been recovered. The airline reported 37 Azerbaijani, 16 Russian, 6 Kazakh and 3 Kyrgyz citizens) and five crew on board. The aircraft made an emergency landing about 3km (1.6nm) from Aktau’s Airport.
A hotline has been set up for the family members of AZAL’s Baku-Grozny flight passengers. The numbers (+994) 12 5048280, (+994) 12 5048202, and (+994) 12 5048203 can be contacted.
The airline published a list with the names of the occupants. Kazakhstan’s Health Services report that 28 survivors were taken to hospitals, 7 of whom are in intensive care.
Due to GPS jamming and spoofing in the region, existing radar data do not tell the true flight path and can not be used to analyze the aircraft’s problems.
Taking a closer look at the aircraft, it becomes clear the plane was under a missile attack and severely damaged. The pilot tried to make it to Kazakhstan, but the plane crashed short of the airport on approach.
Most likely, Russia was preparing for a major attack on Ukraine above Grozny, and the plane was misidentified due to intentional jamming of radar data.
NATO in the meantime called for a full investigation.
