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Russia’s aviation chief mentioned Friday {that a} Ukrainian drone assault was underway within the Russian area that an airliner was destined for earlier than it diverted and crashed earlier this week.
Dmitry Yadrov, of Rosaviatsia, didn’t touch upon statements by an Azerbaijani lawmaker and a few aviation experts who blamed Wednesday’s Azerbaijan Airways crash on Russian air defenses responding to a Ukrainian assault.
The airplane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, when it turned towards Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land there. The crash killed 38 individuals and left all 29 survivors injured.
Azerbaijan Airways on Friday blamed the crash on unspecified “bodily and technical interference” and introduced the suspension of flights to a number of Russian airports. It didn’t say the place the interference got here from or present any additional particulars.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash informed Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the plane because it was circling over Grozny.
Flight attendant Aydan Rahimli mentioned that after one loud noise, the oxygen masks routinely launched. She mentioned that she went to carry out first assist on a colleague, Zulfugar Asadov, after which they heard one other bang.
Asadov mentioned that the noises gave the impression of one thing hitting the airplane from exterior. He denied Kazakh officers’ declare that an oxygen canister exploded contained in the airplane.
Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of digital growth and transportation, pointed to the survivors’ accounts to emphasise that the airplane suffered an outdoor impression whereas flying over Grozny. Talking to Azerbaijani media, he added that “the kind of weapon used within the impression from exterior will probably be decided to investigators.”
Authorities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia have been tight-lipped a couple of attainable trigger pending an official probe. However a member of Azerbaijan’s parliament, Rasim Musabekov, informed the Azerbaijani information company Turan on Thursday that the airplane was fired on whereas within the skies over Grozny and urged Russia to supply an official apology.
Requested about Musabekov’s assertion, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to remark, saying that it will likely be as much as investigators to find out the reason for the crash.
“The air incident is being investigated, and we don’t imagine we’ve the best to make any assessments till the conclusions are made because of the investigation,” Peskov mentioned in a convention name with reporters.
Yadrov, the Russian aviation chief, mentioned that because the airplane was getting ready to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones have been concentrating on town, prompting authorities to shut the world to air visitors.
Yadrov mentioned that after the captain made two unsuccessful makes an attempt to land in Grozny, he was provided different airports however determined to fly to Aktau in Kazakhstan, throughout the Caspian Sea.
“The state of affairs within the space of Grozny airport was fairly tough,” he mentioned in an announcement. “There are various circumstances that it’s vital to analyze collectively.”
Investigators from Azerbaijan are working in Grozny as a part of the crash probe, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor Basic’s workplace mentioned in an announcement.
Because the probe started, some aviation consultants identified that holes seen within the airplane’s tail part instructed that it may have come beneath fireplace from Russian air protection techniques heading off a Ukrainian drone assault.
Ukrainian drones have beforehand attacked Grozny and different areas within the nation’s North Caucasus.
FlightRadar24 mentioned in an internet submit that the plane confronted “sturdy GPS jamming” that interfered with flight monitoring knowledge. Russia has extensively used subtle jamming gear to fend off drone assaults.
Following Wednesday’s suspension of flights from Baku to Grozy and Makhachkala, Azerbaijan Airways introduced Friday that it could additionally halt service to eight extra Russian cities.
The corporate will proceed to function flights to 6 Russian cities, together with Moscow and St. Petersburg. These cities even have been repeatedly focused by Ukrainian drone strikes prior to now.
Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air additionally introduced Friday that it was suspending flights from Astana to the Russian metropolis of Yekaterinburg within the Ural Mountains for a month.
FlyDubai additionally halted flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody in southern Russian till Jan. 5.
The day earlier than, Israel’s El Al service suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow citing “developments in Russia’s airspace.” The airline mentioned it could reassess the state of affairs subsequent week.
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Related Press author Aida Sultanova contributed to this report from London.
