Inside the plane cabin before the crash that killed 38 people in Kazakhstan
Videos and eyewitness accounts shed some light on what happened before an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people.
Russian newspaper Izvestia published videos on December 25 showing the moments before and immediately after Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 crashed in the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan.
One video shows oxygen masks being dropped to passengers moments before the plane made an emergency landing. Passengers on board appeared confused, not knowing what was happening.
A later recording shows passengers struggling to get up from their seats, and one of the victims on board can be heard calling for help.
Another video shows the moment survivors tried to escape the plane, which broke in two after landing.
An Embraer 190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines crashed on the morning of December 25 near the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea while landing at Aktau airport in Kazakhstan. The aircraft landed, broke in two and caught fire.
The plane crashed while en route from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Grozny in Chechnya (Russia) with 67 people on board, including 5 crew members.
According to the announcement of the Kazakh authorities, the accident killed 38 people. Of the 29 survivors, 11 were seriously injured.
Investigators have found the black box of the plane. The authorities are investigating to clarify the incident. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan Airlines announced that it would temporarily suspend its Baku-Grozny-Baku and Baku-Makhachkala-Baku routes until the investigation is completed.
Witness account
Subhonkul Rakhimov, a survivor, recounted the sequence of events that led to the plane crash.
"The plane failed to land on the first attempt, it circled around somewhere over Grozny three or four times. Then there were several loud explosions," the witness said.
The man managed to get out of the wreckage himself after the crash. According to him, many people also got out on their own, and some needed help from rescuers due to serious injuries. He said some of the victims had broken legs and backs, or were still unconscious.
Another passenger, Zaur Mamedov, confirmed hearing a loud explosion before the plane crashed.
Another witness said that after the explosion at the tail of the plane, the cabin was covered in shrapnel.
Hypotheses:
Based on eyewitness accounts and photos at the scene, experts have hypothesized the cause of the plane crash. While most favor the theory that the plane hit a flock of birds or had a technical problem, others do not rule out the possibility that the plane was shot down.
Avia Pro cited investigation information as saying that shortly before the plane crashed, the crew reported to the dispatch center that they felt a strong impact on the fuselage.
Initially, it was thought that birds could be the cause. However, new details began to emerge after the accident. Kazakhstan's emergency services said that an oxygen tank located at the front of the plane may have exploded. The tank is used to supply oxygen to the cockpit in case of decompression.
Aviation experts say the possibility of such a device exploding is extremely low.
According to them, what happened on the Embraer 190 resembled a sudden decompression that caused the shell to rupture and scattered debris, which could have affected the control of the aircraft. These data need to be analyzed further, including studying the flight recorders.
The plane was en route from Baku to Grozny, but before the crash it diverted to Aktau, possibly due to adverse weather conditions in the Chechen capital. However, on the day of the crash, Grozny was attacked by a Ukrainian drone. This adds geopolitical context to the investigation.
Experts examining the wreckage of the plane found holes in the plane's shell that resembled the impact of shrapnel from an anti-aircraft missile or an explosive device. This finding, along with the testimony of passengers, has given rise to speculation that the plane crashed due to an external impact while in flight or during landing.
