Azerbaijan Airlines announced on Friday (December 27) that early investigation results showed that the plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day had experienced “external physical and technical interference.”
Authorities in Kazakhstan confirmed that at least 38 out of the 67 people on board had died in the accident, including two pilots and one flight attendant.
A U.S. official told CNN on Thursday that preliminary evidence indicated that the Russian air defense system may have shot down the plane. Reuters also reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the investigation, that the plane was shot down by the Russian air defense system.
The Russian aviation regulatory agency stated on Friday that the plane had diverted from its original route from Grozny in Chechnya before the crash, partly due to the closure of airspace in the area due to Ukrainian drone attacks and also because of heavy fog in the region.
Dmitry Yadrov, the head of the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, said the pilots of the plane attempted to land in Grozny twice without success. They were offered the opportunity to land at other airports, but the pilots decided to head towards Aktau Airport near the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan.
Russia emphasized the importance of waiting for the investigation to be completed to understand what had happened.
NATO called for a comprehensive investigation into the cause of the plane crash on Thursday. The Chairman of the Kazakh Senate expressed earlier on Thursday that the cause of the plane crash was still unclear.
In a statement on Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russian media of “lying about the crash reason,” adding that Moscow “forced the damaged plane to cross the sea, likely in an attempt to cover up its criminal evidence.”
“The photos and videos from inside the cabin and after the crash are concrete evidence,” Sybiha said, urging for a “fair and just investigation to ensure accountability of those involved.”
Russian official media had previously reported that the plane changed course due to heavy fog in Grozny. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency had also stated earlier that the plane crashed after colliding with birds.