Azerbaijan Airlines said that “physical and technical external interference” caused one of its passenger planes to crash in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, according to a preliminary investigation.
The airline’s flight J2-8243 crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Christmas morning, killing 38 people and leaving 29 survivors. The flight was travelling from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny.
The cause of the crash is still being investigated, but some reports have suggested that a Russian surface-to-air missile exploded next to the aircraft during its flight.
Newsweek has contacted Azerbaijan Airlines and Russia’s defense ministry for comment outside of business hours.

Uncredited/Associated Press
Why It Matters
If Russian involvement is confirmed in the plane’s crash, it risks seriously damaging relations between Moscow and Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan MP Rasim Musabekov has already called on Moscow to provide compensation for the people affected, describing the country as “unsafe” and the allegations as “impossible to deny.”
The France-based news outlet Euronews reported on Thursday that a Russian surface-to-air missile caused the crash, citing unnamed Azerbaijani government sources who reportedly said that a missile was fired during drone activity above Grozny, Chechnya’s capital.
The outlet also reported that the plane was not given permission to land in Russia despite requesting an emergency landing, according to Azerbaijani sources.
What To Know
Preliminary results from Azerbaijan’s investigation indicated that the plane was struck by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system, and that the aircraft’s communications were paralyzed by electronic warfare systems, Azerbaijani sources told Reuters.
Meanwhile, Dmitry Yadrov, the head of Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, said on Friday that the situation in Grozny at the time of the incident was “very complicated” and a closed-skies protocol had been put in place.
“The situation around Grozny Airport at that time was extremely tense. Ukrainian combat drones were launching terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz,” he said in a video statement posted on Russia’s Tass news agency.
“In response, the Kovyor plan was activated, mandating the immediate clearance of all aircraft from the affected airspace.
“In addition, there was dense fog in the area of Grozny airport.”
Separately, Azerbaijan Airlines announced the suspension of flights to a number of Russian cities on Friday citing safety concerns. The cities impacted include Grozny, Makhachkala, Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Saratov, Vladikavkaz and Nizhny Novgorod.
What People Are Saying
Rasim Musabekov, a member of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, told the Azerbaijan news outlet Turan: “The aircraft was shot down on Russian territory, in the skies over Grozny. And it is impossible to deny this.
“Those who did this should be held criminally liable, compensation must be paid for the deaths and victims.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The air incident is being investigated and we don’t believe we have the right to make any assessments until the conclusions are made as a result of the investigation.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s office said in a statement: “The heads of state expressed condolences to each other, to the family members and loved ones of those killed in the plane crash, among whom were citizens of Azerbaijan, Russia, and other countries, and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded.”
What Happens Next
An investigation into the crash is still being carried out by a coalition of countries including Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Brazil, which will use the plane’s black box to determine the cause of the crash.