A Russian air defence system is believed to have been responsible for the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines flight that killed 38 people, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
The Embraer passenger jet, flight J2-8243, crashed on Wednesday near Aktau, Kazakhstan, after deviating from its planned route between Baku, Azerbaijan, and Grozny, Chechnya. The crash occurred on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea.
Initially, Russia’s aviation authorities suggested a bird strike might have caused the crash. However, investigators revealed the plane had entered an area where Moscow has deployed air defence systems to counter recent Ukrainian drone strikes.
Authorities in Russia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan are investigating the incident, but no explanation has been provided yet for the flight’s deviation across the Caspian Sea.
