Aktau Plane Crash - The Times Of Central Asia

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Russia Azerbaijan Disaster Response Aktau Plane Crash

How the Azerbaijan Airlines Crash Could Shake Relations with Russia

The crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) airplane in Aktau, Kazakhstan, has the potential to significantly effect Azerbaijan's relations with Russia if Moscow mishandles the situation. To date, there has been a lack of transparency and responsiveness on the part of the Kremlin. The implications could include accelerating the deterioration of Moscow's influence in the region. These implications, therefore, concern not only the local countries, but any international actor having strategic interests in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, or otherwise concerned with their future role and place in the evolving post–Cold War international system. The Facts of the Disaster Given the rapid dissemination of information in the 2020s by electronic means, whereby authentic real-time videos made by first responders to the fuselage on the ground were uploaded to social media and available worldwide within minutes, the overall outline and some details of the incident are by now generally well known. The airplane was en route from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, when explosions in the air damaged the cabin. Very soon after, but not as a result of these explosions, the pilots completely lost all electronic orientation and navigation capabilities. According to one source close to Azerbaijan's investigation into the crash, preliminary results showed the plane was struck by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system and its communications were then paralyzed by electronic warfare systems on the approach into Grozny. Ukrainian military drones have repeatedly targeted Russia’s southern regions, triggering Russian air defenses. “No one claims that it was done on purpose,” the source said; but “taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft.” After being hit, the plane was refused emergency landing permission at Grozny (2.5 kilometers from where the incident occurred) and at least two other Russian airports in the North Caucasus (Makhachkala, 155 kilometers away, and Mineral’nye Vody, 225 kilometers), before being directed by local air control out over the Caspian Sea. Once there, the pilots made the decision to try to land in Aktau (435 kilometers away). Against all odds, they succeeded in avoiding the need to ditch the aircraft into the sea, which would have undoubtedly killed all on board and also destroyed the craft, making any investigation into what had happened impossible. In the event, according to the Kazakhstani authorities, out of 62 passengers and five crew, 32 survivors were initially rescued. Captain Igor Kshnyakin, Co-pilot (First Officer) Alexander Kalyaninov, and Purser Hokuma Aliyeva died when the front wheel touched down ahead of the back wheels, as a result of which the cockpit was thrown violently away from the ongoing wreck. However, this is what created the conditions for at least some of the passengers to survive, as it split the fuselage in two. The event has garnered international attention, including for the professionalism of the crew. What Has Happened Since At first, Kazakhstan declared its own unilateral competence to investigate the crash, which occurred on...

Russia Migration Visa Azerbaijan Aktau Plane Crash visas

Azerbaijan Tightens Visa Rules for Russians Amid Aktau Crash Fallout

The Azerbaijani government has announced new restrictions on the temporary stay of Russian citizens, effective January 1, 2025. Under the new rules, Russian citizens and stateless persons residing in Russia will be limited to a maximum of 90 days per calendar year without a visa. The announcement comes in the wake of a tragic plane crash involving an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) aircraft near the Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25. The plane, which had taken off from Baku headed to Grozny, Chechnya, crashed, killing 38 people and injuring 29 others. Kazakhstan is currently leading the investigation into the incident. Accusations and Responses Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has stated that the plane was struck by Russian ground fire while flying over Russian territory. He accused Russia of attempting to obscure the truth by spreading “absurd theories” about the crash. Russian President Vladimir Putin had issued an apology for the incident one day before Aliyev's remarks, but did not admit responsibility for the alleged ground fire. International Reactions The crash has prompted flight suspensions to Russia by several airlines, citing safety concerns. Turkmenistan: Flights on the Ashgabat-Moscow-Ashgabat route have been canceled from December 30, 2024, to January 31, 2025. The reason for the decision has not been disclosed, but the airline previously operated twice-weekly flights to Moscow. Kazakhstan: Kazakh Air has suspended its Astana-Yekaterinburg route from December 28, 2024, to January 27, 2025, to ensure passenger safety. Israel: Israeli airline El Al has halted flights on the Tel Aviv-Moscow route until next week, citing “events in Russian airspace.” UAE: Flydubai has suspended flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody due to technical reasons. Flights to Sochi are expected to resume on January 2, while services to Mineralnye Vody will restart on January 3. In a symbolic gesture, an Uzbekistan Airways plane circled Aktau Airport twice in memory of the Azerbaijan Airlines crash victims. Broader Implications The tragedy and subsequent allegations have heightened tensions in the region and raised concerns about air travel safety in Russian airspace. While investigations are ongoing, the incident underscores the geopolitical sensitivities and potential risks associated with the aviation sector in this area.

Ilham Aliyev: Azerbaijani Plane Crashed In Kazakhstan Due To Russian Ground Fire

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed in Kazakhstan last week had been hit by Russian ground fire while flying over Russian territory. He also said that there had been efforts by Russia to cover up what had happened by spreading “absurd theories.” After several days of international speculation and scrutiny, Aliyev spoke in detail with Azerbaijan Television in Baku about the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane on Wednesday that killed 38 people. His remarks came one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the crash but did not acknowledge that the aircraft had been accidentally hit by Russian fire. Kazakhstan is leading the investigation of the crash, which occurred near the Caspian Sea city of Aktau after the plane diverted from its original destination of Grozny in the Russian republic of Chechnya. Officials said 29 people survived. “The facts indicate that the Azerbaijani civilian plane was damaged from the outside over Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and almost lost control. We also know that means of electronic warfare put our plane out of control. This was the first impact on the plane. At the same time, as a result of fire from the ground, the tail of the plane was also severely damaged,” Aliyev said in the interview. Aliyev said that fact that “the fuselage is riddled with holes” indicates that initial speculation that birds hit the plane is false, and he criticized “some circles in Russia” for proposing that theory. “Another regrettable and surprising moment for us was that official Russian agencies put forward theories about the explosion of a gas cylinder on board the plane. In other words, this clearly showed that the Russian side wanted to cover up the issue, which, of course, is unbecoming of anyone. Of course, our plane was hit by accident. Of course, there can be no talk of a deliberate act of terror here,” the Azerbaijani president said. “Therefore, admitting guilt, apologizing in a timely manner to Azerbaijan, which is considered a friendly country, and informing the public about this – these were measures and steps that should have been taken. Unfortunately, for the first three days, we heard nothing from Russia except for some absurd theories.” Azerbaijan refused Russian suggestions that the Russian-led Interstate Aviation Committee investigate the crash, saying there were concerns about the objectivity of the regional agency. Aliyev said he told Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev that he didn’t want the agency involved and that his position was “met with understanding.” In his apology in a phone conversation with Aliyev on Saturday, Putin said the Azerbaijani plane had been trying to land at a time when Russian air defenses were repelling attacks by Ukrainian drones. But he didn’t say that those air defenses hit the plane. Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended flights to 10 Russian cities since the crash.

Putin Apologizes for Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash in Kazakhstan

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized for the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that diverted from its Russian destination to Kazakhstan, the Kremlin said on Saturday, as investigators focused on the possibility that Russian air defenses had mistaken the plane for a Ukrainian drone and fired on it. Putin made the apology in a telephone conversation with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, according to a Kremlin statement. “During the conversation, it was noted that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was strictly on schedule, repeatedly attempted to land at the Grozny airport. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian combat unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks,” the statement said. Putin did not offer further detail about what exactly caused the plane to crash. In an account of the conversation, Aliyev’s office gave more detail to support the contention that Russian air defenses and communications jamming targeted the plane when it tried to land as scheduled in Grozny in Russia-controlled Chechnya, saying the aircraft “was subjected to physical and technical external interference in Russian airspace.” In the call with Putin, Aliyev “emphasized that the presence of numerous holes in the fuselage of the plane, the injuries of passengers and crew members by foreign particles that penetrated the deck of the plane while still in the air, and in this regard, the statements of the surviving flight attendants and passengers establish the fact of external physical and technical interference,” the Azerbaijani president’s office said. “During the conversation, the heads of state discussed a serious and thorough investigation of all the details of this tragedy and bringing the perpetrators to justice,” the office said. The Embraer 190 plane was flying on the Baku-Grozny route but diverted and crashed near the Caspian Sea city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday killed 38 people, according to Kazakh and Azerbaijani officials. A total of 67 people, including five crewmembers, had been on board. Kazakhstan is leading the investigation and its prosecutors have opened a criminal case. The Kremlin said two employees from the office of Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general are in Grozny and are working with Russian counterparts on the investigation.

With Russia Under Scrutiny, Kazakhstan Promises Thorough Investigation into AZAL Crash

The investigation of the fatal crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan after it diverted from Russia is a major international test for Kazakh authorities, who have promised a full and impartial inquiry even as the theory that Russian air defenses had fired on the aircraft gains traction. Kazakhstan, which is in charge of the probe of the crash that killed 38 people near the Caspian Sea city of Aktau on Wednesday, has cautioned against a rush to judgment before all the evidence has been assessed. But it must navigate emerging tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia, which have put forth conflicting narratives about what happened, as well as the possible challenge of collecting evidence from the plane’s original destination of Grozny, the capital of Russian Chechnya. Azerbaijan and Russia say they are collaborating with the investigation by Kazakhstan, which comes amid geopolitical rifts over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the efforts of countries in Central Asia to balance their interests among major trading partners and rival powers. In a sign of the growing international complexity of the crash inquiry, Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said Friday that his ministry was dispatching an eight-person team to Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, “to examine all aspects of the incident” at the request of Azerbaijan's civil aviation authorities. Also, a team from the Brazilian company that produced the Embraer 190 plane has arrived in Kazakhstan to help with the investigation. On Friday, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev updated his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, on the investigation and and “assured that the Kazakh side will make every effort to ensure a comprehensive and objective clarification of all the circumstances of the air crash,” Tokayev’s office said. The two leaders agreed that their governments will stay in close contact during the investigation. Azerbaijan Airlines, meanwhile, said on Friday that preliminary results of the investigation showed that the Brazil-produced Embraer 190 plane on the Baku-Grozny route had crashed because of “physical and technical external interference,” a possible reference to an attack by the city’s air defenses and alleged communications jamming at a time when Russian authorities said there was a threat from Ukrainian military drones. The airline, also known by the acronym AZAL, said it had suspended flights from Baku to a total of 10 Russian cities because of concerns about flight safety. Also Friday, Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, gave an account of the circumstances surrounding the crash that did not address the airline’s version. Yadrov said the plane was unable to land in Grozny because of a restriction requiring all aircraft to leave the area due to alleged Ukrainian attempts to attack civilian infrastructure there, according to Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti. There was dense fog around the airport and the Azerbaijan Airlines plane tried to land twice before deciding to proceed across the Caspian Sea to Aktau, he said. Some commentators in Azerbaijan have expressed frustration with varying initial accounts from Russian official sources of what caused the crash,...

Questions Mount After Azeri Plane Crash with Focus on Russian Air Defenses

On December 25, an Azerbaijani Embraer 190 aircraft operating a Baku-Grozny flight made a hard emergency landing near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan. The aircraft, carrying five crew members and 62 passengers, suffered devastating consequences. Both pilots were killed, along with 36 passengers. Additionally, 29 people, including three children, were hospitalized. The aircraft disintegrated on impact, and a fire engulfed its midsection. Initial reports suggested a bird strike, but alternative theories have since emerged. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations detailed the timeline: at 11:02 Astana time, the crew issued a distress signal while flying over the Caspian Sea. By 11:37, the plane made a hard landing in the steppe near Aktau. Before official rescue teams arrived, employees of a local energy company working nearby provided critical first aid and captured the first videos of the crash. They managed to pull 15 passengers from the wreckage of the tail section. Specialized rescue teams and medics, stationed at Aktau airport in anticipation of the emergency landing, arrived promptly thereafter. According to Nurdaulet Kilybay, Akim of Mangystau Region, "22 ambulance teams and six units from the Center for Disaster Medicine worked at the crash site." The regional multidisciplinary hospital had prepared “30 surgical and trauma beds, along with 10 intensive care beds” for victims. Speculations and Investigations Journalists questioned Bozumbayev during the briefing about theories which are currently circulating, including those suggesting air defense involvement. The official avoided drawing conclusions, stating: "It is impossible to establish even a preliminary cause because there are specialists for this. They will carry out work. Then it will be clear. I can't speak now. I watched what people are posting... While [the plane] fell to the ground, and turned over, a lot of things could have happened. So, I am far from reaching conclusions." Speculation on Russian Telegram channels has posited that perforations in the aircraft’s tail section resemble shelling damage. One theory links the crash to Ukrainian drone (UAV) raids over Grozny, suggesting that air defense systems mistakenly targeted the plane. The Telegram channel VChK-OGPU claimed that "Initially, the aircraft appears to have fallen victim to UAV jammers that were operating at the time because of a drone attack. As soon as the airliner started to descend for landing, its GPS stopped working and the dispatcher lost 'radar contact.' The pilot could not land the plane in such conditions and decided to fly to Baku. When he began to turn around to do so, there was an explosion nearby — all indications are that the plane was hit by air defense equipment." The report further alleges that the strike occurred over Chechnya’s Naursky District, home to military units equipped with air defense systems. Kazakh officials stressed the need for patience, as forensic and aviation experts work to analyze the wreckage and flight data, with Bozumbayev emphasizing that “An interdepartmental investigative and operational group has been set up. Both forensic experts and experts from our Aviation Administration, who investigate such air incidents, came with me. As part...