On Christmas Day, the country of Azerbaijan was struck by tragedy. Azerbaijan Airliner Flight J2-8243 crashed near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau with 67 passengers onboard. 38 were killed while 29 survived with little to minor injuries. Flight J2-8243 is currently under investigation to identify the cause of the crash. Due to the plane being within the distance between Russia and Ukraine, sources have reported the possibility that Russia is the culprit.
The Azerbaijan Airliner’s Route
Sources informed the public that Flight J2-8243 was supposed to land in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia after launching from Baku, Azerbaijan. Rosavista (Russian Aviation Agency) later contacted the airliner, warning that dense fog was roaming the area. Flight J2-8243 was currently flying 1,600 feet and the pilot was offered alternative clear routes to drive passengers to safety. After two failed attempts, the pilot pressed the flight forward to Kazakhstan.
FlightRadar24 shared a detailed report on X (then Twitter) about the plane’s flight patterns. The pilot performed a figure-eight minutes before the crash. Flight J2-8243 received strong technical interferences, mainly GPS jamming and a low ADS-B signal. It couldn’t contact the Kazakh airport and soon, the Azerbaijan Airliner caught fire and split as it dragged across the ground.
Cause of the Plane’s Crash
From Dec. 26th to Dec. 27th, news outlets revealed two videos that found evidence that Flight J2-8243 was attacked. The first video showed 67 passengers did not sense any danger, even when oxygen masks were deployed. The second video shows visible holes in the plane’s rear. Osprey Flight Solutions CIO, Matthew Borie informed NBC News that the evidence points towards Russia’s anti-air defense system.
For the past year and a half, Ukraine has been battling Russia using drones. Independent Russian military expert Yan Matveyev said that the Azerbaijan Airliner’s rear was penetrated by shrapnel shells. When they burst on impact, they spread fast-paced pellets for high damage on their targets. The ammunition type matches the ballistic markings on Flight J2-8243’s rear. Matveyev identified the shrapnel from a Pantsir-S1 air defense system. These machines are designed to annihilate military aircraft, helicopters, and homing ammunition.
When the shrapnel struck, an oxygen tank exploded. One of the surviving flight attendants, Zulfuqar Asodov told BBC about the midst of the event, “We tried to calm the passengers to get them seated. At that moment, there was another strike, and my arm was injured.” The recording passenger’s video of the people around them felt calm. Sources reported that due to a lack of oxygen flow, they were losing consciousness.
There also may be another catalyst as CNN gave a recent update about the investigation. In Flight J2-8243’s cargo hold, two black boxes were discovered. Investigators informed reporters that they would take two weeks to find their purpose in the Azerbaijan Airliner’s crash. So far, researchers believed it may be related to GPS jamming and low ADS-B.
Russia and Azerbaijan’s Reaction to Crash
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov told the press, “[…]It is wrong to make hypotheses before investigators make their verdict.” Yet, the situation is difficult considering Flight J2-8243’s route. TASS also tried to persuade the Russian public that the Azerbaijan Airliner went on a collision course with a flock of birds.
Russian officials claimed someone could have mistaken the plane as a Ukrainian combat drone as they had been attacking Grozny and Vladikavkaz. The moment the dense fog appeared at Grozny Airport, the Russian Federation was executing Carpet mode. This protocol orders immediate evacuation of aircraft in their designated airspace to avoid disasters. With the current evidence on hand, there are already troubling signs showing between Azerbaijan and Russia.
The 67 passengers consisted of 42 Azerbaijan citizens, 16 Russian officials, 6 Kazakhstanis, and 3 Kyrgyzstan nationals. The majority of the 38 passengers who died in the crash were identified as Azerbaijani. On Dec. 26th, many Azerbaijan citizens paid their respects with roses to their lost loved ones. Three of Flight J2-8243’s crew members were also killed in the crash including Baku flight attendant, Hokuma Aliyeva.
To avoid increasing Azerbaijan’s anger, Vladimir Putin made a call to the country’s prime minister, Ilham Aliyev on Dec. 28th. He made a public apology about the Azerbaijan Airliner’s demise but did not confirm if Russia was at fault. When he mentioned Russian forces trying to fend off Ukrainian combat drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to not fall for the disinformation. During this time, all Azerbaijan Airlines flights to Russia are suspended in Baku.
