Putin Expresses Regret to Azerbaijan's Aliyev Over 'Tragic' Air Disaster

Moscow, Dec 28 (NationPress) On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin conveyed his sincere apologies to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev regarding the unfortunate incident involving the AZAL airliner that transpired in Russia's airspace. He also expressed heartfelt condolences to the families affected by this plane crash.

The Kremlin press office reported, "Vladimir Putin expressed his regret that the tragic incident occurred in Russia’s airspace and reiterated his profound and genuine condolences to the families of the plane crash victims, wishing a swift recovery to those injured." This statement was quoted by the TASS news agency on Saturday.

This incident follows a day of mutual accusations between Russia and Ukraine, each blaming the other for the plane crash. Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia's civil aviation authority, stated, "Ukrainian military drones were executing terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure... at that time," noting that the aircraft had made two unsuccessful landing attempts.

In contrast, Ukraine maintained its assertion of Russia's involvement, insisting, "Russia must be held accountable for the downing of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane."

On December 25, Azerbaijan observed a national day of mourning for the victims of the tragic crash of an Embraer 190 passenger aircraft, which was operating a flight from Baku to Grozny.

In response to the tragedy, President Ilham Aliyev issued an official decree to observe the day of mourning on Wednesday.

Azerbaijani President Aliyev was in Russia's airspace en route to St. Petersburg for a summit when he ordered his flight to return upon receiving news of the accident.

The aircraft, designated with the flight number J2-8243, crashed near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan. The Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) of Kazakhstan reported that 28 individuals survived, while rescue operations were ongoing.

According to Azerbaijan Airlines, there were 67 individuals onboard, comprising 62 passengers and five crew members, as reported by Xinhua news agency via X.

Kazakh media indicated that the passengers included 37 citizens from Azerbaijan, 16 from Russia, six from Kazakhstan, and three from Kyrgyzstan.

The preliminary investigation suggested that a bird strike might have been the cause of the tragedy.

The MES dispatched 52 personnel and 11 units of equipment to the site, where the aircraft was discovered to be ablaze.

The Embraer 190 aircraft has a capacity of 96 to 114 passengers, depending on its cabin layout, and can cover distances of up to 4,500 km.

Flight data from FlightAware indicated that the aircraft took off from Baku 11 minutes early. While flying over the Caspian Sea, it sent out an emergency signal.

Azerbaijani media reported that the aircraft was unable to land in Grozny due to fog and was redirected to Makhachkala and subsequently to Aktau.

Flight tracking applications showed the plane navigating over the Caspian Sea and heading towards its destination in Chechnya. Upon entering Russia's territorial airspace, it began circling near the airport before requesting an emergency landing.

At 6:28 a.m. local time, the aircraft crashed just a few kilometers from the airport.

Data from FlightRadar24 indicated that the plane experienced "strong GPS jamming, resulting in the transmission of faulty ADS-B data."

Azerbaijan Airlines has promised to provide further information, while local authorities and emergency services are conducting investigations into the crash.