Everything About the Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash That is Known So Far

By
Chew Ming Hui
-

By now, you’ve probably heard of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash. If you haven’t, here’s a summary of everything that is known about the crash so far.

Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 Crashes in Kazakhstan

On Wednesday (25 December), Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 took off from Baku, Azerbaijan, and headed for Grozny, a city in Southern Russia.

However, the flight never reached Grozny. Instead, it crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.

Not great news to be hearing on Christmas. 

For those of you who didn’t do very well in Geography, here’s a map showing where the three cities (Grozny, Baku, and Aktau) are, relative to one another.

Image: Google Maps

As you can see from the map, Grozny is to the north-west of Baku. However, flight J2-8243 flew hundreds of miles off its scheduled route from Baku to Grozny to crash near Aktau, which sits on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea.

According to plane tracking sites, the Grozny-bound flight was indeed heading north on its scheduled route initially.

However, the flight suddenly “disappeared”. Flight tracking sites then saw the Azerbaijan Airlines flight reappear on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea, circling Aktau airport before crashing.

Since the crash, many videos have emerged online showing what happened before and after the flight crashed.

For one, a video showed the plane descending quickly before bursting into flames upon hitting the ground. Thick plumes of smoke could then be seen rising from the crash site.

Image: X (@BNODesk)

Injured passengers who survived the crash could then be seen stumbling out from a piece of the aircraft which remained intact post-crash.

38 Killed in the Plane Crash; 29 Receiving Hospital Treatment

The Azerbaijan Airlines flight carried 62 passengers and five crew members. In other words, a total of 67 people were on board.

Unfortunately, of the 67 people on board, 38 were killed in the crash according to Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev, during a meeting with an Azerbaijani delegation in Aktau.

Kazakhstan’s fire services fortunately managed to put out the fire caused by the crash, and the 29 people who survived the crash were conveyed to a nearby hospital to be treated.

Of the 29 who survived, two of them were children.

Cause of the Plane Crash Unknown

If you looked at the map showing the three cities earlier, you may have wondered: “Wait, but why did the plane have to divert its flight path all the way across the Caspian Sea? What stopped the plane from landing somewhere nearer?”

Well, that’s precisely the million-dollar question. Many have questioned the cause of the plane crash, and why the plane went so far off its ordinary course.

For one, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has shared that the plane had changed course due to poor weather conditions. However, he did acknowledge that the cause of the crash was unknown.

On the other hand, Russia’s aviation watchdog has shared that the plane veered off course and eventually crashed because of a collision with birds and an emergency situation on board.

“Preliminary: after a collision with birds, due to an emergency situation on board, its commander decided to ‘go’ to an alternate airfield – Aktau was chosen,” it said on Telegram.

Azerbaijan Airlines also initially said that the plane flew through a flock of birds. However, it later withdrew the statement.

It’s no wonder that some have questioned whether a collision with birds would necessarily cause a plane to go off course the same way flight J2-8243 did.

According to flight analyst Richard Aboulafia, a plane usually lands in the nearest available field if it collides with birds. A plane would not fly “wildly off course”.

Additionally, the Makhachkala airport in Russia, which is the airport closest to where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight “disappeared” from tracking, was allegedly closed to incoming flights for several hours on Christmas morning.

So, that could also be a reason why flight J2-8243 flew across the Caspian Sea to make its emergency landing lah.

For now, it’s unclear what exactly caused the Azerbaijan Airlines flight to attempt an emergency landing across the Caspian Sea, and to eventually crash. However, the plane’s black box has since been found — presumably, the flight data contained in the black box will help to demystify the cause of the plane crash.

Kazakhstan will also cooperate with Azerbaijan on the investigation into the plane crash.

Flights operated by Azerbaijan Airlines from Baku to Russia’s Chechnya region, which is the Russian republic where Grozny is located, will be suspended pending the investigation’s completion.

So, we’ll have to wait and see what the investigations reveal.

Reactions to the Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has since declared a day of mourning. He was meant to visit Russia for an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), but cancelled it.

The reason? Because the plane crash takes precedence. The President called for “the prompt initiation of urgent measures to investigate the causes of the disaster”.

Aside from wishing a “speedy recovery” to those injured in the crash, the 63-year-old President also added: “I extend my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the crash.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin similarly expressed his condolences.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, also expressed his condolences. He added that some of the survivors being treated were in extremely serious conditions, and shared that he and others would pray for these survivors’ rapid recovery.

Brazilian planemaker Embraer, which manufactured the aircraft involved in the crash, also expressed its condolences. It added that it would support the authorities’ efforts.

If you watch at least 10 minutes of brain rot content daily, you must know this:

Read Also:

Advertisements
 
Chew Ming Hui
Email: [email protected]