Azerbaijan says plane hit by 'external interference' over Russia before crash
Azerbaijan's transport minister has said the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed on 25 December was subjected to "external interference" and damaged inside and out, as it tried to land in Russia's southern republic of Chechnya.
"All [the survivors] without exception stated they heard three blast sounds when the aircraft was above Grozny," said Rashad Nabiyev.
The plane is thought to have come under fire from Russian air defence systems before being diverted across the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan, where it crashed with the loss of 38 lives.
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"Ukrainian combat drones were launching terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz," said Dmitry Yadrov, head of Rosaviatsia, in a video statement posted on Russia's Tass news agency.
"Because of this a 'Carpet plan' was introduced in the area of Grozny airport, providing for the immediate departure of all aircraft from the specified area," he said. "In addition, there was dense fog in the area of Grozny airport."
Ukrainian presidential spokesman Andriy Yermak has said Russia must be held responsible for the crash.
Azerbajian Airlines said on Friday that a preliminary inquiry had blamed both "physical and technical external interference", without going into details.
However, aviation experts and others in Azerbaijan believe the plane's GPS systems were affected by electronic jamming and it was then damaged by shrapnel from Russian air-defence missile blasts.
The transport minister said investigators would now examine "what kind of weapon, or rather what kind of rocket was used."
The government in Baku has so far avoided directly accusing Russia, possibly to avoid antagonising President Vladimir Putin.
However, pro-government MP Rasim Musabekov was clear: "The plane was shot down over Russian territory, in the skies above Grozny. Denying this is impossible."
He told AFP news agency the plane had been damaged and the pilot had asked to make an emergency landing in Grozny. Instead of being directed to nearby airports, he said it was "sent far away" across the Caspian Sea without GPS.
Flight attendant Zulfuqar Asadov described the moments when the plane was hit by "some kind of external strike" over Chechnya.
"The impact of it caused panic inside. We tried to calm them down, to get them seated. At that moment, there was another strike, and my arm was injured."
Veteran Azerbaijani pilot Tahir Agaguliev told Azerbaijani media that shrapnel had damaged the hydraulics that controlled the plane: "The missile itself did not hit the plane; it was shrapnel from the missile that struck. The missile exploded about 10m (30ft) away, before reaching the plane."
The pilots of the Embraer 190 plane are credited with saving 29 of those on board by managing to land part of the plane, despite themselves being killed in the crash.
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