Azerbaijan Airlines crash reason: Russia responds with warning after reports link Moscow to plane crash

An Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday — killing 38 people and leaving several others in a critical condition. The Embraer passenger jet was diverted for unknown reasons while heading to the Russian city of Grozny and went down about 3 kilometers from Aktau in south-west Kazakhstan. Multiple sources and experts have since indicated that the flight was downed by a Russian air defence system — a claim that prompted a sharp rebuttal from Moscow on Thursday evening.

Grozny has been struck repeatedly by Ukrainian drones in recent weeks and speculative reports suggest the Russian military may have mistaken the passenger jet for a drone.

What happened on Wednesday?
Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 was en route from Baku to Grozny when it crashed while attempting to land in Aktau. Cellphone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before hitting the ground and exploding in a fireball. The matter is under investigation by Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani and Russian authorities — with no clear cause being announced at present.

According to the Russian civil aviation authority, preliminary information indicated that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board. Azerbaijan Airlines had also initially said the plane flew through a flock of birds before withdrawing the statement. Russian news agency TASS had initially reported that the plane was first diverted to Makhachkala and then to Aktau due to fog in Grozny.

Did Russian missile down the aircraft?
According to an Euronews report quoting official sources, surviving passengers recalled hearing an explosion while nearing the Russian city of Grozny. This was followed by what appeared to be shrapnel hitting the plane and damaging the fuselage.

Meanwhile Russian military blogger Yury Podolyaka told AFP and other publications that the photos of the downed plane featured holes similar to damage caused by “anti-aircraft missile system”. He suggested that the plane may have been “accidentally struck by an air-defence missile system”.

A former expert with the BEA air accident investigation agency in France also noted that there was "a lot of shrapnel" damage on the wreckage. He found it “reminiscent” of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 — which was downed with a surface-to-air missile by Russia-backed rebels over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

What does Russia say?
The Kremlin has cautioned against "hypotheses" over the crash as reports of a missile attack emerged.

"It would be wrong to make any hypotheses before the investigation's conclusions," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

(With inputs from agencies)