Azerbaijan Airlines Crash Near Aktau: Emergency Landing Attempt Ends in Disaster: What We Know

This December 25th at 10:28 (+05:00), flight J2 8243, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines on an Embraer 190AR, with registration 4K-AZ65, crashed near Aktau International Airport (SCO), Kazakhstan, after being diverted due to fog and subsequently due to an emergency.

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The Embraer was covering the route between Baku (GYD), Azerbaijan, and Grozny (GRV), Russia. The flight proceeded normally until reaching the Russian airport, which was below minimums due to fog, forcing a diversion to Makhachkala, about 155 kilometers from Grozny.

However, for reasons under investigation, a second emergency forced the aircraft to cross the Caspian Sea and divert 445 kilometers to Aktau.

According to Flightradar24, during the last 74 minutes of the flight, the application recorded erratic readings of the Embraer’s speed, altitude, and trajectory, although it cannot rule out that the data was affected by intense GPS signal interference in the area. One hour after declaring an emergency, the aircraft attempted to land at Aktau for the first time without success and, in an attempt to return to the airport, crashed near a densely populated area.

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Several witnesses managed to film the final moments of the flight, observing that the aircraft was in a stabilized approach and in the last stage descended at a steep angle at low altitude, first impacting with its right wing. It then flipped, exploded, and broke into two major pieces.

“Onboard were 67 people, including 62 passengers and 5 crew members. There were no children onboard; information about the victims will be provided soon. According to preliminary information, there are survivors who are receiving first aid,” declared Azerbaijan Airlines.

Due to the impact, the rear fuselage detached from the rest of the Embraer; as a result, 32 passengers were rescued alive with varying degrees of injuries. However, both pilots, three cabin crew members, and 30 passengers have died, according to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan.

Law enforcement authorities in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan have opened criminal investigations into the crash. In Azerbaijan, in addition to charges related to safety violations, a case has been opened for negligence. A 48-hour mourning period has been declared in both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

In some Russian media, a hypothesis has begun to circulate suggesting that during its diversion to the second Russian airport, the aircraft was attacked by missiles. Some images circulating on social media of the tail and rear stabilizers appear consistent with the impact of a missile with a proximity fuse, which could affect the aircraft’s control surfaces. However, as of the publication of this article, local authorities have not established potential causes for the crash.

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