17:36 - 28.12.2024

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December 28, Fineko/abc.az. The passenger plane belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) was subjected to an external physical and technical impact while in Russian airspace.

ABC.AZ reports that President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated about this in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

President Aliyev said the AZAL passenger plane completely lost control and was diverted towards the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. It was only through the courage and professionalism of the pilots that the plane managed to make an emergency landing.

The head of state emphasized that the presence of multiple holes in the aircraft's fuselage, injuries to passengers and crew members from external fragments that pierced the plane's skin while still in the air, and the testimonies of surviving flight attendants and passengers all confirm the fact of external physical and technical interference.

On December 25, an Embraer aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau. There were 62 passengers on board, including 37 citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 from Russia, 6 from Kazakhstan and 3 from Kyrgyzstan, as well as five crew members. As a result of the incident, 38 people died, 29 survived.