An Embraer passenger plane en route from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people while 29 survivors were treated in hospital, Kazakh authorities said.
Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 took off hundreds of miles off its scheduled route and crashed on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea, after what Russia's aviation watchdog said was an emergency possibly caused by a bird collision. But an aviation expert indicated that the reason seemed unlikely.
Officials did not immediately explain why it crossed the sea, but its crash came shortly after drone strikes in southern Russia. Drone activity has closed airports in the region in the past, and the closest Russian airport on the plane's flight path was closed on Wednesday morning.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said, according to the information he received, that the plane changed its course due to bad weather conditions, but he added that the cause of the crash is unknown and a full investigation must be conducted.
“It is a great tragedy that has become a source of great sadness for the Azerbaijani people,” he said.
A video clip of the crash showed the plane landing quickly before it caught fire when it collided with the seashore, and then thick black smoke billowed out. Bloodied and bruised passengers were seen stumbling from a piece of the plane's fuselage that remained intact.
Reuters was able to verify visual features that the video was filmed on the shore of the Caspian Sea near Aktau.
There were 62 passengers and five crew members on board. Russia's Interfax news agency reported that Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev announced the death toll during a meeting with an Azerbaijani delegation in Aktau.
The Kazakh Emergencies Ministry said in a statement that fire services extinguished the fire and that survivors, including two children, were receiving treatment in a nearby hospital. The bodies of the dead were recovered.
Azerbaijan Airlines said the Embraer 190 plane was on its way from Baku to Grozny, the capital of the Chechnya region in southern Russia, but was forced to make an emergency landing about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The Russian aviation watchdog said on Telegram: “Olia: After colliding with birds, and due to an emergency on board the plane, its pilot decided to go to an alternative airport – and Aktau was chosen.”
Colliding with birds usually results in the plane landing in the nearest available field, said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at consulting firm AeroDynamic. “You can lose control of the plane, but you don't fly violently off course as a result.”
Aktau is located on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea from Azerbaijan and Russia. Commercial aviation tracking websites tracked the northbound flight on its scheduled route along the West Coast before its flight path stopped being recorded. It then reappeared on the east coast and flew close to Aktau Airport before crashing into the beach.
Authorities in two Russian regions bordering Chechnya, Ingushetia and North Ossetia, reported drone strikes on Wednesday morning.
An official at Makhachkala Airport in Russia on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, which is the airport closest to where the plane disappeared from the route, told Reuters that the airport was closed to incoming traffic for several hours on Wednesday morning. Reuters was unable to immediately reach officials at Grozny airport.
The authorities in Kazakhstan said that a government committee had been formed to investigate what happened and ordered its members to travel to the site and ensure that the families of the dead and wounded received the help they needed.
The government said Kazakhstan will cooperate with Azerbaijan in the investigation. Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended flights from Baku to Russia's Chechnya region until the investigation is completed. Russian news agency TASS reported, citing the company.
President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences. Aliyev, Azerbaijan's president, has decided to return home from Russia, where he was scheduled to attend a summit on Wednesday, his office said.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, expressed his condolences in a statement, saying some of those being treated in hospital were in very serious condition, and that he and others would pray for their speedy recovery.
In a statement, aircraft manufacturer Embraer expressed its condolences and said that it would support the efforts of the authorities.
