Kazakhstan’s Minister of Transport, Marat Karabayev, has announced that a preliminary report on the investigation into the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) aircraft near Aktau will be published in the coming days.
On December 25, 2024, an Embraer 190 aircraft operated by AZAL crashed approximately three kilometers from Aktau airport while attempting an emergency landing. The flight, en route from Baku to the Russian city of Grozny, was carrying 62 passengers and five crew members. Thirty-eight people were killed in the crash.
Footage from the crash site shows significant damage to the fuselage, with some reports suggesting a pattern consistent with air defense missile fragment impacts. The aircraft had initially requested permission to land at Grozny airport before abruptly changing course toward Aktau. Among the possible causes under investigation are a missile strike, and electronic system malfunctions due to radio signal suppression in Grozny linked to Russian efforts to repel Ukrainian drone attacks. Initially, the possibility of a bird strike was also mooted.
Kazakhstan is leading the investigation under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Convention, as the crash occurred within its territory. Specialists from Azerbaijan, Russia, and Brazil, along with international aviation experts and representatives from Embraer, are involved in the inquiry.
“The specialists need time to complete their work, and we will not provide comments until the preliminary report is published. However, I promise that the report will be released in the coming days,” Karabayev said at a press conference in Astana on Tuesday.
The investigation is in its final stages, he added, noting that experts from Azerbaijan, Russia, Brazil’s Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aviation Accidents (CENIPA), and ICAO have all contributed.
“I hope that in the near future, we will publish a preliminary report on our website,” the minister stated.
Karabayev specified that the report will be made available on the website of the Civil Aviation Committee, which operates under the Ministry of Transport. The Brazilian CENIPA has completed its analysis of the aircraft’s black boxes, and the decoded data has been sent to Kazakh authorities.
“The conclusions drawn from this analysis, and those published in the final crash report, are the sole responsibility of Kazakhstan’s investigative body,” CENIPA stated.
According to ICAO regulations, a preliminary report should be issued within 30 days of an incident. In late January, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Kanat Bozumbayev, expressed hope that the initial findings would be released by the end of the month, but no report has yet been published.
“Specialists need time to complete the work. It is a very complex and meticulous process,” Karabayev reiterated in response to questions about the delay.
As The Times of Central Asia previously reported, the plane crash has contributed to tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia.