Three external Explosions ripped into the #Azerbaijaniairlines jet on Christmas day before it limped across the #caspian_sea sea and crashed killing 38.

Survivors of the tragic Azerbaijan Airlines have told investigators that they heard three explosions when the E190 jet was above Grozny as it prepared to land.
It is now almost certain that Russian Defence systems mistook the jet for a Ukrainian aircraft or drone as it tried to land in Russia's southern republic of Chechnya.

After the attack the jet diverted to Aktau and crashed 3km short of the runway killing 38.

The head of Russia's civil aviation agency has told media that the situation in Grozny was "very complicated" at the time.

Azerbaijan Airlines has said that a preliminary inquiry had blamed both "physical and technical external interference", without going into details. Apparently, the pilot had asked to make an emergency landing in Grozny but was directed away across the Caspian Sea.

It is clear that the shrapnel damaged the hydraulics that controlled the aircraft and the missile itself did not hit the E190. It is reported that the missile – a proximity weapon - exploded about 10m away.

#flightradar24 data shows that the vertical speed of the aircraft changed more than 100 times during the last 74 minutes of the flight pointing to a serious flight control issue. This would have been an utterly terrifying ride for the passengers and crew.

Azerbaijan has demanded an international inquiry. Typically, the country where the crash occurred, the airline, the aircraft manufacturer and the engine maker will be involved in the crash inquiry.

Remains on embedded shrapnel will also tell them the type of missile fired.

Azerbaijan Airlines and several other airlines have now suspended flights to some Russian cities in response to the crash.

The tragedy begs critical questions.

1. Why wasn’t the airspace closed by authorities
2. Why wasn’t the jet allowed to make an emergency landing

Sadly, this is just one of juts over 100 shoot downs of commercial aircraft since 1946.

Please subscribed to Airlines News with Geoffrey Thomas, please like us please leave us comments and do tune in tomorrow for another edition on Daily Airline News.

More Information:
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]

0:00 - Explosive Incident Overview
0:50 - Complicated Situation in Grozny
1:20 - Indications of Russian Air Defense Involvement
1:55 - In-Flight Panic After Explosions
2:06 - Impact of Shrapnel on Aircraft Control
2:46 - Demand for International Inquiry
3:00 - Recovery of Black Boxes and Evidence


3:27 - Critical Questions Raised Post-Tragedy

свернуть