On the morning of this Wednesday, December 25, an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 plane crashed in the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, leaving a balance of 38 people dead of the 67 who were on boardaccording to authorities. While investigations into the causes of the accident continue, new information They point to the possible involvement of a missile in the tragedywhich adds a disturbing twist to this case.
The Euronews news portal reported that uNone of the surviving passengers reported hearing an explosion in mid-flight.followed by shrapnel-like impacts that pierced the aircraft’s fuselage.
“There was an explosion, I wouldn’t say it was inside the plane. At the place where I was sitting, the wall next to me flew away.”, explained Subhonkul Rakhimov, survivor of the incident, in his testimony to Russia Today.
Likewise, Rakhimov narrated several details that he observed inside the plane before it crashed and was the presence of shrapnel damage to your life jacketwhich points to a possible military origin of the incident. On the other hand, evidence at the scene, evidenced in videos that have gone viral on the networks, show patterns of shrapnel damage in the fuselage and tail section of the plane.
These statements coincide with a report by AnewZ, an Azerbaijan-based media outlet, which quotes a Russian military blogger and details the damage to the plane, suggesting that may have been accidentally hit by an air defense missile system (SAM).
The aircraft was approaching Grozny, an area heavily defended by Russian forces due to the strategic presence of Kadyrov’s Chechen fighters, crucial for the Kremlin. The possibility of an error on the part of the Russian air defense cannot be ruled out, in a context of high military sensitivity in the region.
If confirmed, this tragedy would recall the downing of flight MH17 in 2014, when a SAM missile hit a commercial airliner over eastern Ukraine.
Aircraft data and technical problems
Before the accident, the plane attempted an immediate landing after reporting failures in the control systems, according to the Aktau operational headquarters. FlightRadar24 tracking data indicated abnormal behavior of the aircraftwith irregular upward and downward movements in the moments before impact.
At the same time, FlightRadar24 reported that the aircraft faced “strong GPS interference,” which generated erroneous ADS-B data, making it difficult to track its trajectory.
heartbreaking images
Videos spread on social media show the plane desperately trying to make an emergency landing, before turning into a fireball upon hitting the ground. These shocking records reinforce the hypothesis of a possible catastrophic failure related to external damage caused by the explosion.
In response to the incident, Azerbaijan Airlines expressed its condolences to the affected families and announced that a high-level delegation, consisting of the Minister of Emergency Situations, the Deputy Prosecutor General and a vice president of the airline, traveled to Aktau to lead a investigation. The company also modified its social media profiles, adopting a black background as a sign of mourning.
Perspectives and upcoming research
Although Embraer has not issued statements in this regard, the initial analysis of the wreckage of the plane and the circumstances of the flight will be key to determining whether an air defense missile was really responsible for this tragedy.
The crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane could set a devastating precedent in civil aviation, if the involvement of a defense system is confirmed. For now, The world awaits answers to a tragedy that combines elements of human error, technical failures and a dangerous geopolitical environment.
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