Several reports cited Azerbaijani officials as saying that Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 was shot down by Russian air defenses.
Azerbaijan’s preliminary investigation in one Fatal plane crash in Kazakhstan has concluded that the plane was shot down by Russian air defense systems, several media outlets reported.
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 crashed near the city of Aktau on Wednesday en route to Grozny, the capital of the Chechnya region in southern Russia, killing 38 people and injuring 29 others.
While Azerbaijan has not yet publicly announced the results of its investigation into the disaster, officials have concluded that a Russian anti-aircraft missile was responsible, Euronews, The Wall Street Journal, Anadolu News Agency and Reuters News Agency reported on Thursday, citing unnamed people sources familiar with the investigation.
Reuters quoted a source as saying the plane was hit by a Russian Pantsir-S battery after its communications were crippled by electronic warfare systems on the approach to Grozny.
It cannot be assumed that the shooting at the plane was deliberate, Reuters quoted the source as saying.
Euronews quoted government sources as saying that the plane was not allowed to land in Russia after the pilots requested an emergency landing and was instead ordered to fly over the Caspian Sea towards Aktau.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claims.
The Russian Aviation Authority initially said the plane was forced to make an emergency landing after hitting a flock of birds.
The reports of Russian involvement came after aviation experts suspected that Russian air defenses could be responsible due to visible damage to the plane’s tail.
The Embraer 190 flew over a part of Russia’s North Caucasus that has been attacked by Ukrainian drones in recent weeks, and the Russian Defense Ministry reported shooting down dozens of drones on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
Footage of the stricken plane on social media showed the plane making a steep descent before hitting the ground and bursting into flames.
Russia has warned against speculation about the cause of the crash. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “It would be wrong to put forward any hypotheses before the conclusions of the investigation.”
Kazakhstan, which is also investigating the crash, declined to speculate on the cause before releasing its own findings.
Azerbaijan held a day of mourning for the victims of the crash on Thursday, with residents of the former Soviet country observing a minute’s silence as national flags were lowered and traffic came to a standstill nationwide.
“This is a great tragedy that has become a great suffering for the Azerbaijani people,” said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
