The White House said there are ‘indications’ that Russians shot down the Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, killing 38.
White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday that Russia was likely behind the deadly crash.
The U.S. has seen ‘early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems,’ he said.
Kirby didn’t get into specifics due to the ongoing investigation.
President Joe Biden is away on holiday in St. Croix and has no events on his public schedule Friday.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris jetted off to Los Angeles to ring in the New Year.
Earlier Friday, Azerbaijan government officials claimed that a Russian surface-to-air missile struck the plane, causing the crash.
Sources told Euronews that the missile was fired at Flight 8432 amid drone air activity above Grozny, the Chechen capital, citing a preliminary investigation.
They said the pilot was blocked from landing at any Russian airports despite making emergency pleas, and was instead ordered to carry on into Kazakhstan.
This is the horrific moment a passenger plane hit the ground in a fireball in a Christmas Day crash landing
President Joe Biden is away on holiday in St. Croix and has no events on his public schedule Friday
Government sources said previously the plane was hit by a missile fired from a Pantsir-S air defence system from the Naursky district of Chechnya.
Local media cited government sources in suggesting jammers then ‘paralyzed’ the plane’s communication systems.
Thirty-eight passengers were killed in the crash on Christmas Day as the plane attempted to make an emergency landing before erupting in a fireball.
Russia has tried to play down speculation the flight had been shot down by a Russian missile, urging patience while the investigation is carried out.
The two countries enjoy bilateral ties, with Azerbaijan becoming an essential partner for trade and acting as a corridor to Iran amid the war in Ukraine.
Kazakhstan has said it would be carrying out an investigation into the crash, suggesting it would cooperate with Azerbaijan but not Russia. Azerbaijan is understood to be conducting its own investigation.
A source familiar with the Azerbaijani investigation told Reuters that while ‘no one claims that it was done on purpose’, Baku ‘expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft’.
White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday that Russia was likely behind the deadly crash. Biden is on vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Emergency services are pictured above at the scene of the plane crash
There were 105 passengers and five crew members on board the fight from Azerbaijan capital Baku to Russian city Grozny. Earlier reports had suggested 67 on board
A Russian Pantsir-S1 self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery system
With 67 passengers on board, the plane had been looking to land as scheduled in Grozny in Chechnya yesterday when it crashed.
Chechnya is a region of Russia headed by close Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov. It has been under regular attacks from Ukraine in recent weeks.
Speculation in the aftermath of the crash attributed blame to Kadyrov’s forces, although the crew initially believed they had collided with a flock of birds.
Video from the fuselage appeared to show how the plane had been buffeted by shrapnel, perhaps caused by an explosion.
The explosion of an oxygen tank to supply the cockpit in the event of depressurisation was cited in earlier reports.
Russian sources reported that the plane was flying over Chechnya as Russian air defences tried to shoot down Ukrainian UAV drones.
According to Azeri officials, the plane was ordered to continue flying across the Caspian Sea towards Aktau in Kazakhstan after suffering a blow.
Struggling to control the plane with 67 people on board, the pilots asked for help from several different airports in Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
The plane was barred from landing in Grozny, with the official reason given as ‘fog’.
It ultimately came down just a few miles from Aktau, and data shows its radars were jammed as it crossed over the sea.
Most of the passengers on board were Azerbaijani. Sixteen were from Russia, and several from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
At the time the plane had been seeking to land as scheduled in Grozny in Chechnya, of which it is capital, a Russian region headed by close Vladimir Putin warlord Ramzan Kadyrov (pictured)
The Pantsir-S1 (SA-22), self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile system seen displayed under the Russian national flag during the annual Army defense technology exhibition in Kubinka, 2016
Damage to the fuselage of the plane after the horror Christmas Day crash
Sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan’s investigation into the disaster told Reuters today that Russian air defences had downed the plane, corroborating the account given to Euronews.
One of the Azerbaijani sources familiar with the Azerbaijani investigation into the crash told Reuters that preliminary results showed the plane was struck by a Russian Pantsir-S air defence system, and its communications were paralysed by electronic warfare systems on the approach into Grozny.
The source said: ‘No one claims that it was done on purpose. However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft.’
Three other sources confirmed that the Azeri investigation had come to the same preliminary conclusion. Russia’s Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Kazakhstan’s transport prosecutor for the region where the plane came down said its investigation had not yet come to any conclusions about the crash.
Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Qanat Bozymbaev said he could neither confirm nor deny the thesis that Russian air defences downed the plane.
Azerbaijan Airlines suspended a host of flights to Russian cities on Friday and said it considered the crash was caused by what it termed ‘physical and technical external interference’. It did not detail what that interference was.
At 8:12, the crew reported ‘both GPS lost’ on the Embraer E190AR, and sought help with ‘vectoring’ to head back to the take-off airport Baku, evidently after the sudden closure of Grozny airport.
At 8:16, one of the pilots said: ‘We have control failure, bird strike in the cockpit. Bird strike in the cockpit (inaudible)…’
Ground control reply: ‘AXY8243 I understand you, what kind of help do you need?’
The captain indicated he was seeking to return to his home airport Baku.
But at 8:17, the pilot announced he was ‘heading to Mineralnye Vody’ – an airport in southern Russia.
Ground control tell him to ‘perform left orbit’ – but the flight deck reply: ‘I can’t execute, control is lost.’
At 8:19, one of the pilots states: ‘I can’t maintain 150, we have high pressure in the cabin.’
People are seen standing next to the rear of the crashed passenger jet
Ground control reply: ‘AXY8243 understood you.’
One minute later, at 8:20, the flight’s scheduled arrival time, the pilot says: ‘Left 360, my plane is losing control.’
At 8:21, according to the leaked transcript, the crew decide instead to make for Makhachkala, a Russian airport on the Caspian Sea.
At 8:22, the crew report: ‘Now the hydraulics have failed.’
Two minutes later, the pilot appears to deny he has declared a ‘distress’ on board and tells ground control: ‘The board [plane] is in order.’
But the air traffic controller then cannot properly hear the crew.
‘You are very hard to hear…. tell me your altitude.’
The plane later disappeared from radar for 37 minutes before reappearing as it sought to land in Aktau.
Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPU – close to the security services – said air defence teams loyal to Chechen leader Kadyrov in Naursky district likely attacked the plane.
Footage of the crash showed the plane bursting into flames as it hit the ground and thick black smoke then rising
Terrified passengers can be seen on the plane as oxygen masks dropped down, just before the crash
‘The pilot mistook the strong blow to the plane for a collision with a flock of birds,’ said the channel.
‘In reality, the damage indicates that, most likely, a missile fired by air defence systems exploded near the plane.’
‘According to the materials we have obtained, that very strike occurred approximately 18 kilometres [11 miles] north, northwest of the airport in Grozny, over the Naursky district at an altitude of 2,400 metres [7,875ft].’
The channel reported: ‘According to information from open sources, several military units are located in this area, including those with air defence systems…..
‘It is known that after the recent [Ukrainian] UAV attacks, several Pantsirs were also deployed in Chechnya.’
Andriy Kovalenko, a Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council official, wrote on Telegram: ‘Russia was supposed to close the airspace over Grozny, but did not do so…
‘The plane was damaged by the Russians and sent to Kazakhstan, instead of making an emergency landing in Grozny and saving people’s lives.’
Authorities in Kazakhstan said a government commission had been set up to investigate what had happened and its members ordered to fly to the site and ensure that the families of the dead and injured were getting the help they needed.
Kazakhstan would cooperate with Azerbaijan on the investigation, the government said.
Kazakhstan has reportedly refused Russia permission to join the investigation examining the crash.
‘This way we will have all the facts, the black box and the evidence,’ said a member of the Kazakhstan investigation commission.
‘A delegation of the State Civil Aviation Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as representatives of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), arrived in Kazakhstan,’ the Kazakh transport ministry wrote on Telegram.
‘Work on site is carried out in close cooperation with the aviation authorities of Azerbaijan.
‘Representatives of the aircraft manufacturer Embraer and CENIPA (Accident Investigation and Prevention Center, Brazil) also flew to Kazakhstan.’
Independent investigative journalists from Volya Telegram channel said the drone left coincided in Grozny with the plane’s expected arrival.
‘The Pantsirs began shooting down everything that was in the air at that moment.
‘Grozny airport was closed for flights. But the passenger plane was already landing, which [air traffic control] prohibited at the last moment.
‘The crew, according to the passengers, made two more attempts to land, after the last of which something exploded near the plane.
‘The damaged Embraer was prohibited from landing in Grozny and tried to reach the airport in Aktau, Kazakhstan, but crashed nearby.
‘The crew did everything possible not to crash the plane, but to land it.’
The outlet made clear that ‘traces of shrapnel damage are visible on the fuselage and vertical stabiliser (keel)’ of the jet.
The closure of airports due to drone or missile threats is called a ‘carpet plan’ in Russia.
‘Everyone switched on the mode which can be described as ‘work according to the instructions’.
The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, December 25
The front of the plane burst into flames when the aircraft hit the ground
‘The instructions don’t say to turn on your brain’.’
The outlet said: ‘Russian propagandists are trying to spread the version that the plane collided with a Ukrainian drone.
‘A collision with an attack UAV would not have left shrapnel holes in a civilian airliner, but would have led to the destruction and fall of the aircraft immediately after the impact.
‘Drones do not explode near the target, they explode upon impact with the target.’
A special aircraft of the Russian Emergencies Ministry has flown nine Russians, including one child, injured in yesterday’s plane crash to Moscow for treatment.
By this morning, Kadyrov had not spoken about the plane crash from which there were 29 survivors.
His nephew Khamzat Kadyrov, secretary of the Chechen Security Council, wrote on his Instagram that ‘everything was shot down’ and published a video in which a drone is seen exploding.
The terrifying moments before and after the plane ploughed into the ground and erupted into a ball of flames was caught on camera.
The heart-wrenching footage snapped survivors pulling themselves from the mangled wreckage.
A man is seen limping away from the scene of the plane crash in Western Kazakhstan
Half of the mangled plane can be seen in the clip, with emergency services and passengers surrounding the aircraft in the hunt to find survivors.
One person can be seen being dragged to safety, their legs dangling.
In the background cries and screams can be heard from surrounding people.
One bloodied man can seen limping away from the wreckage.
Another video shows the moment the plane hits the ground, bursting into flames on impact and sending a huge black smoke cloud into the air.
Footage filmed by a passenger shows terrified people praying and some oxygen masks lowered with damage inside the cabin minutes before the plane crashed and broke apart in Kazakhstan, leaving 38 dead.
Other footage shows mayhem inside the plane after the crash as rescuers went inside the severed rear of the aircraft, where several people can be seen lying on the ground. Astonishingly, some were found still alive.
One trapped woman shouted at rescuers: ‘Help me please!’. A firefighter asked her whether she needed help to get up, and she confirmed that she would need to be lifted out of the debris.
Rescuers enter the back of the plane to try and reach any survivors trapped in the aircraft
A person’s feet are seen being dragged away from the wreckage of the aircraft
The camera then pans to show the person sat upright with their head in their hands
It is understood that the 29 people reported to have survived the crash were found in the rear section of the aircraft, with the front being badly destroyed by fire.
Latest figures indicate 22 of the 29 survivors are being treated in hospital, seven of whom are in serious condition. At least ten people dying after reportedly being thrown out of the cabin.
One terrifying video shows the moment the plane burst into flames and broke into several parts as it hit the ground, with thick black smoke rising up from the wrecked aircraft after.
Later bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen stumbling from a piece of the fuselage that had remained intact.
Azerbaijan Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, said the Embraer 190 had ‘made an emergency landing’ around three kilometres from Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.
‘A plane doing the Baku-Grozny route crashed near the city of Aktau. It belongs to Azerbaijan Airlines,’ the Kazakh ministry said on Telegram.
The Embraer E190AR with registration number 4K-AZ65 sent out a distress signal at an altitude of 2,125 feet over the Caspian Sea.
The footage taken moments before the plane crashed were filmed by a passenger who sent it to his wife
Latest figures indicate 22 of the 29 survivors are being treated in hospital, seven of whom are in serious condition. One survivor is pictured in hospital above
One trapped woman shouted at rescuers: ‘Help me please!’. A firefighter asked her whether she needed help to get up, and she confirmed that she would need to be lifted out of the debris
Footage from the crash site shows rescuers looking for survivors of the horrific crash
Dramatic footage showed the pilot pulling the plane out of a steep fall as he sought to regain control, but the aircraft still suffered a catastrophic crash exploding in fire. The two main sites of the wreck at Aktau airport were hundreds of yards apart.
Mangled human remains from the horror crash were strewn on rough ground at the airport.
Dazed and bloodied passengers are seen emerging from the severed rear of the plane. Some sat in shock on the ground after escaping from the aircraft. Others managed to walk clear.
Meanwhile, the front of the aircraft – torn asunder by the crash – could be seen ablaze in the distance.
Plane crash survivor Kristina Evstigneeva, 34, a travel agent from Vladivostok, was in a serious condition and had to undergo brain surgery after the plane crash in Kazakhstan.
Another survivor Zaur Mamedov, 36, was returning from his father’s funeral in Baku.
The plane attempted to land at Aktau in western Kazakhstan after being rerouted from Grozny and another Russian city Makhachkala due to fog.
Two of the 29 survivors are children, believed to be girls aged 11 and 16.
Bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen stumbling from a piece of the fuselage that had remained intact
The front of the aircraft – torn asunder by the crash – could be seen ablaze in the distance
At least ten people died after being thrown out of the plane
‘They are receiving all the necessary medical care in hospitals in the region,’ said the Ministry of Health. ’23 ambulance teams were mobilised to the scene of the incident.’
Unconfirmed reports said that both pilots died in the crash, and from the crew only a female flight attendant survived.
Tengrinews reported 37 citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 of Russia, six of Kazakhstan and three of Kyrgyzstan were on board the stricken plane.
Following the crash, Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, was returning home from Russia where he had been due to attend a summit on Wednesday, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, expressed his condolences in a statement and said those being treated in hospital were in an extremely serious condition and that he and others would pray for their rapid recovery.
Another angle shows a massive fireball where the aircraft hit the ground
A drone view shows emergency specialists working at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan December 25
Reports said the plane collided with a bird and suffered a steering failure. The aircraft is seen coming in steeply descending its nose pointing down too steeply
In this handout picture released by Kazakhstan’s emergency situations ministry, emergency specialists work at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet near the western Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to Aliyev over the loss of life, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
‘Unfortunately, Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev was forced to leave St Petersburg (where he had a summit). Putin has already called him and expressed his condolences in connection with the crash of the Azerbaijani plane in Aktau,’ Peskov said.
‘We deeply sympathise with those who lost their relatives and friends in this plane crash and wish a speedy recovery to all those who managed to survive.’
Aktau residents have been asked to donate blood for the survivors.
Grozny – the destination – is the capital of the Chechnya republic, a Russian region controlled by Vladimir Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov which regularly sends troops to fight in the war against Ukraine.
