Final report on AZAL plane crash investigation to be released by December
Azal plane crash report
Final report on Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) crash near Aktau will be released by December.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Transport, Talgat Lastayev, announced this at a press conference in Astana on 19 February that the final report on the investigation into the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crash near Aktau will be completed by December.
“In accordance with the standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the investigation period is one year, and the final report must be ready by December of this year,” Lastayev stated.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister added that the criminal investigation into the incident is currently under the jurisdiction of the prosecutor’s office, while an operational-investigative group is directly handling the case.
He also stated that the initial report on the accident was prepared at a high level and received positive evaluations from ICAO officials.
Responding to a question about why pilot communications were not included in the initial report, Talgat Lastaev noted that the transcripts of the conversations are available to all interested parties.
“As for the transcripts, they are in the hands of all interested parties. There can be no bias here. These include specialists from Brazil, where the decoding was conducted, as well as our experts, specialists from Azerbaijan, Russia, and ICAO. All parties have access to these transcripts,” Lastaev said.
An AZAL passenger plane operating the Baku-Grozny flight crashed on 25 December while making an emergency landing near Aktau, Kazakhstan. There were 67 people on board, including five crew members. The crash resulted in 38 fatalities, while 29 people survived.
Azerbaijani media, as well as Euronews and Reuters, published reports stating that the disaster was caused by a missile launched from a Russian air defense system.
On 28 December, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the “tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace.”
On 29 December, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that the Azerbaijani civilian aircraft sustained damage from an external impact over Russian territory near Grozny, effectively losing control.
Aliyev emphasized that the plane was shot down accidentally, but Russia sought to cover up the incident.
Additionally, the Azerbaijani president put forward demands to Russia, including an apology, punishment for those responsible, and compensation.
However, Moscow declined to comment on Kazakhstan’s initial report on the crash and called for waiting until the investigation is complete.
