Russian air defence systems may have brought down Azerbaijani plane, U.S. official suggests

Russian air defence systems may have brought down an Azerbaijan Airlines plane this week, a U.S. official said Friday after an Azerbaijani minister also suggested the plane was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor testimony.

Friday's assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House national security spokesperson John Kirby echoed those made by outside aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defence systems responding to a Ukrainian attack. 

These statements raised pressure on Russia, where officials said a Ukrainian drone attack was underway in the region where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was heading for a landing. They did not address statements blaming Russian air defences.

Kirby told reporters on Friday that the U.S. "have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defence systems," but refused to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation. 

Pressed on whether the U.S. has intelligence that helped lead to that conclusion, or was simply relying on informed speculation from experts based on visual assessments of the crash, Kirby characterized the short answer as "yes," but said he'd "leave it at that," without providing further details.

MSNBC reported Friday that Russia may have mistakenly shot down the flight after misidentifying it as an incoming drone, citing two unidentified U.S. military sources. 

WATCH | Missile may have brought flight down, say experts: 

Missile may have brought down Azerbaijan flight, experts say

1 day ago

Duration 1:49

As Azerbaijan mourns 38 people killed aboard a flight that crashed in Kazakhstan, experts are pointing to signs they say suggest a missile, potentially one from Russia, was responsible.

The plane was flying from Azerbaijan's capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, on Wednesday when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land there, killing 38 people and injuring 29 survivors.

Nabiyev, Azerbaijan's minister of digital development and transportation, told Azerbaijani media that "preliminary conclusions by experts point at external impact," as does witness testimony. 

"The type of weapon used in the impact from outside will be determined during the probe," he said.

Survivors heard loud noises as aircraft circled

Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.

Flight attendant Aydan Rahimli said that after one loud noise, the oxygen masks automatically released. She went to perform first aid on a colleague, Zulfugar Asadov, and then they heard another bang.

Asadov said that the noises sounded like something hitting the plane from outside. Shortly afterward, he sustained a sudden injury like a "deep wound. The arm was lacerated as if someone hit me in the arm with an axe," he said.

He denied a claim made by Kazakh officials that an oxygen canister had exploded inside the plane.

Two other survivors recounted hearing explosions before the plane went down: Jerova Salihat told Azerbaijani television in an interview in the hospital that "something exploded" near her leg, and Vafa Shabanova said "there were two explosions in the sky, and an hour and a half later the plane crashed to the ground."   

Dmitry Yadrov, the Russian aviation chief, said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area for air traffic.

Yadrov said that after the captain made two unsuccessful attempts to land in Grozny, he was offered other airports as an alternative but decided to fly to Aktau in Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea.

He didn't comment on statements from some aviation experts, who pointed out that holes seen in the plane's tail section suggested that it could have come under fire from Russian air defence systems.

Ukrainian drones had previously attacked Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, and other regions in the country's North Caucasus.

Azerbaijan Airlines blamed the crash on unspecified "physical and technical interference" and announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports. It didn't say where the interference came from or provide any further details.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that Russia was at fault for the crash.

"We can see how the clear visual evidence at the crash site points to Russia's responsibility for the tragedy," Zelenskyy wrote on the social media platform X.

Kremlin declines to comment

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the claims that the plane was hit by Russian air defences, saying that it will be up to investigators to determine the cause of the crash.

"The air incident is being investigated and we don't believe we have the right to make any assessments until the conclusions are made as a result of the investigation," Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

If it's proven that the plane crashed after being hit by Russian air defences, it would be the second deadly civil aviation accident linked to fighting in Ukraine.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people aboard, as it flew over the area in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.

Russia has denied responsibility, but a Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian man for their role in downing the plane with an air defence system brought into Ukraine from a Russian military base.

Investigators from Azerbaijan are working in Grozny as part of the crash probe, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's office said in a statement.

Airlines pause flights to some Russian cities

Following Wednesday's suspension of flights from Baku to Grozy and Makhachkala, Azerbaijan Airlines announced on Friday that it would also halt service to eight more Russian cities.

The company will continue to operate flights to six Russian cities including Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air also announced Friday that it was suspending flights from Astana to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg for a month.

FlyDubai also halted flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody in southern Russia for the next few days.

The day before, Israeli El Al suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow citing "developments in Russia's airspace." The airline said it would reassess the situation next week.