Following preliminary investigations into the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432, which resulted in the deaths of 38 passengers near Aktau, Kazakhstan, it has been revealed that a Russian missile was responsible for the incident, according to sources from the Azerbaijani government. The flight, which was en-route from Baku, Azerbaijan to Grozny, Russia, was carrying 62 passengers and 5 crew members. The Embraer 190 aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing about three kilometers from Aktau on Wednesday.
Citing government sources, that the missile was fired during a drone operation over Grozny, hitting the aircraft mid-flight and causing shrapnel to injure passengers and crew. Despite requests from the pilots, the damaged plane was denied permission to land at any Russian airports and was directed to continue its flight across the Caspian Sea toward Aktau. The missile was reportedly launched from a Pantsir-S air defense system.
Russian sources confirmed that, at the time of the incident, Russian air defense forces were targeting Ukrainian drones in the region. Khamzat Kadyrov, head of Chechnya’s Security Council, acknowledged a drone attack in Grozny that morning, though there were no casualties or damage reported. If the preliminary findings are confirmed, this incident would mark the second time in a decade that Russian forces have downed a commercial aircraft, following the 2014 MH17 tragedy in Ukraine. The situation is also reminiscent of an incident in November 2018, when an Air Astana flight, losing hydraulics over Portugal, was safely landed with the assistance of the Portuguese Air Force.
