By Gleb Stolyarov and Nailia Bagirova
BAKU (Reuters) – Two passengers and a crew member of the Kazakhstan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan told Reuters they heard at least one loud bang as it approached its original destination of Grozny in southern Russia.
Flight J2-8243 crashed in a fireball near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday after diverting from an area of southern Russia where Moscow has repeatedly used air defense systems against Ukrainian attack drones. At least 38 people died and 29 survived.
“After the explosion… I thought the plane was going to fall apart,” Subhonkul Rakhimov, one of the passengers, told Reuters from the hospital.
He said he had started reciting prayers and preparing for the end after hearing the explosion.
“It was obvious that the plane had suffered some damage,” he said. “It was like I was drunk, it wasn't the same plane anymore.”
Another passenger on the plane told Reuters she also heard a loud bang.
“I was very scared,” Vafa Shabanova said, adding that a second explosion was also heard.
A flight attendant then told him to move to the back of the plane.
Both passengers said there appeared to be a problem with oxygen levels in the cabin after the explosion.
Flight attendant Zulfugar Asadov said that he was denied landing in Grozny due to fog, so the pilot circled and at that moment knocks were heard outside the plane.
“The pilot had just raised the plane when I heard a bang on the left wing. There were three bangs,” he said.
Something collided with his left arm. The cabin lost pressure.
Beyond the horror of the accident, the passengers' first-person accounts give insight into what may have caused the disaster.
Azerbaijan Airlines suspended a series of flights to Russian cities on Friday and said it believed the crash was caused by what it called “external physical and technical interference.” He did not detail what that interference was.
Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary results of Azerbaijan's investigation into the disaster told Reuters on Thursday that Russian air defenses had shot it down by mistake.
Russia has said it is important to wait for the official investigation to finish its work to understand what happened.
Forced landing
The Embraer passenger plane had flown from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny in the Chechnya region of southern Russia before diverting hundreds of miles across the Caspian Sea.
“The captain said he had been advised to land the plane at sea, but he decided to head for Aktau and land on land,” said assistant Asadov.
“He warned that there would be a forced landing and asked us to be prepared and prepare the passengers.”
It crashed on the opposite bank of the Caspian after what Russia's aviation watchdog said was an emergency that may have been caused by a bird strike.
Images taken by passengers on the plane before it crashed showed oxygen masks lowered and people wearing life jackets. Later images showed bloodied and bruised passengers exiting the plane.
After the turmoil of the crash landing, there was silence before the wailing of the wounded began, Rakhimov said.
The crash has highlighted the risks to civil aviation even when planes fly hundreds of miles from a war zone, especially when a major drone war is underway.
Previous disasters include the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 in 2020 by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, killing all 176 people on board.
In 2014, Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian BUK missile system with the loss of 298 passengers and crew.
In 1983, the Soviet Union shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007 after it veered off course and passed through prohibited airspace. In 1988, during the Iran-Iraq War, the US warship Vincennes shot down an Iran Air flight over the Gulf, killing all 290 people on board.
DRONE WAR
The Azerbaijan Airlines plane ran into trouble near Grozny, which is more than 850 kilometers (530 miles) from the front lines in Ukraine but remains a repeat target for Ukrainian drones that have struck far behind Russian lines.
Russia uses advanced electronic jamming equipment to confuse Ukrainian drone communication and tracking systems and a host of air defense systems to shoot down drones.
Since Russia sent thousands of troops to Ukraine in 2022, airlines have flown around Ukraine and Russia has closed major airports in southwestern Russia.
“We are in a conflict in that area and that is not going to change,” said Andrew Nicholson, CEO of Osprey Flight Solutions.
“The moment you put civilian aircraft in that same airspace, you greatly increase the risk, particularly when there is a drone attack and air defense activity underway, as was the case in this scenario.”
Russia's aviation watchdog said on Friday that the plane had decided to divert from its original destination in Chechnya amid dense fog and a local alert about Ukrainian drones.
Rosaviatsia said the captain was offered other airports to land on, but chose Kazakhstan's Aktau. It said it would provide comprehensive support to Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan's investigations into the crash.
Asked about reports that Russian air defenses had shot down the plane by mistake, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday he had nothing to add and did not want to give any assessment until the official investigation came in. to their conclusions.
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