Azerbaijan is building a case to take the AZAL plane crash in Aktau to an international court, AzVision.az reports.

The Russian side has not ceased its biased attitude toward the incident even after the preliminary report of the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan on the crash of an airplane belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines on December 25 last year was made public.

The preliminary report makes it clear that the passenger airplane Embraer 190-100 IGW type, owned by Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC and registered in the state register under number 4K-az65, performing regular flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny, located in the airspace of Russia, including Grozny, encountered a loss of GPS signals over the airport.

The report notes that after the aircraft failed to make a second landing over Grozny due to unfavorable weather conditions, the captain opted to turn back to Baku. Following this decision, the CVR recorded the arrival of an extraneous voice over Grozny at intervals of 24 seconds.

It was found that hydraulic system 3 failed 4 seconds after the first false sound, followed by hydraulic system 1 6 seconds later, and then hydraulic system 2 21 seconds later. This was done by comparing CVR and FDR data.

Photographs and videos revealed numerous pinholes and blind damage on the aircraft's fuselage. These damages were found in large numbers in the rear part of the aircraft fuselage, especially in its vertical and horizontal stabilizers, as well as in the left wing and left engine.

Foreign objects caused the damage to the airplane fuselage, according to the presented information. The initial report did not show evidence of any facts indicating that the aircraft had collided with birds.

The foreign objects not belonging to the airplane were found and recovered from the blind damage to the wreckage, and photographs of these foreign objects were made available to the public in the text of the initial report.

The report indicates that at 05:13:32, the aircraft's primary control systems were lost, and at 05:21:42, the coordinating dispatcher informed Grozny about Operation Carpet.

The report fails to mention any information containing the fact that the oxygen tank exploded.

The photos as well as audio and digital recordings related to the evidence listed here are provided in the text of the preliminary report.

The purpose of providing these extracts from the report is to once again remind the Russian side of its responsibility. Thus, after yesterday's publication of the report, the relevant Russian structures, in particular Rosaviation, made unsubstantiated statements about avoiding responsibility. The Russian press is not lagging in this matter either.

The Russian side would seem to want to cover up the case and shift responsibility to the airplane crew. This can be seen from the statements of officials and individuals, as well as from the materials running in the Russian press.

Therefore, the Russian side aims to create a scenario similar to that of the Malaysian Boeing-2. Recall that in July 2014, a Boeing 777 airplane flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, belonging to Malaysia Airlines, was shot down in the southeastern part of Ukraine, killing 298 people on board. Although it has been confirmed that it was Russian weapons that shot down the plane in the airspace of Russian-occupied Donbas, Moscow has yet to claim responsibility, baselessly blaming Ukraine.

The footsteps of Russian officials, experts, and the press regarding the AZAL airplane suggest that they chose the same tactics. However, the results of investigations, the crash sequence, facts, and evidence suggest otherwise.

The report indicates that the Azerbaijani airplane was shelled over Grozny, several shots were fired in sequence, the main control systems of the aircraft failed at 05:13:32, and the dispatcher-coordinator reported the “Carpet” operation to Grozny 8 minutes later—at 05:21:42. It follows that the Azerbaijani side and the crew of the airplane could not have known about Operation Carpet. It also demonstrates that the Russian side wanted to cover up the matter.

The preliminary report published by Kazakhstan indicates that numerous punctures and blind damages were found in the fuselage of the aircraft and were recorded by photo and video. These damages were found in large numbers in the rear part of the aircraft's fuselage, especially in its vertical and horizontal stabilizers, as well as in the left wing and left engine.

The detected damage to the airplane fuselage was caused by the impact of foreign objects. The report does not provide data on any facts indicating that the aircraft collided with birds.

It is impossible to fathom why the Russian side is unwilling to back down from its insistence after such a clear report drawn up with facts and evidence.

Referring to the impact of foreign objects, it is worth emphasizing that the incident is currently being investigated in a military unit stationed in the Khankala settlement of Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. There is information that the Azerbaijani airplane was fired at from the territory of this military unit.

The identities of those who gave the order to open fire and those who opened fire are known to the Azerbaijani side. Russian investigators want to find out the reasons for the shooting, and this is the question they are trying to get an answer to during the interrogation.

It is also known from what weapons the Azerbaijani side was fired. A source in the Azerbaijani government told Reuters on February 4 that the plane was shot down by Russia's Pantsir-S air defense system.

“The Azerbaijani side has a fragment of a Pantsir-S missile that was extracted from the plane and identified through international expertise,” the source said.

Whereas so many facts, evidence, and proof are in the middle of Russia's intention to turn the case around, attempts to place blame on the crew are bitterly regrettable. In addition to Kazakhstan, specialists from Azerbaijan, Russia, and Brazil, the producing country, are involved in the investigations. In other words, the Russian side is also aware of the points reflected in the preliminary report.

Azerbaijan's conditions and desires are clear, and they have been voiced at the highest level. As already mentioned, Azerbaijan also has parts of the Pantsir-S missiles that shot down the airplane. The evidence base is being formed, facts and proofs are being collected, and preparations are being made to appeal to the international court.

However, the dialogue door with Russia is open. Moscow must openly recognize its guilt and take responsibility. Otherwise, Baku is ready for the next steps.

To note, an AZAL Airlines passenger plane crashed near Aktau airport in Kazakhstan on December 25, 2024. As a result of the crash, 38 people were dead and 29 were injured.

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