MOSCOW
Large holes on the tail of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday sparked speculation that the plane had been downed by an attack.
The holes, clearly visible in photos and video of the Embraer 190 plane, appeared to have been caused by weapons fire, according to some commentators and members of the public online.
As investigators from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have yet to comment on the holes, people on social media have speculated that the plane was shot down.
The debate was supported by reports about the plane’s inability to land in Grozny, Chechnya due to a Ukrainian drone attack several hours before the crash.
The pilot reportedly redirected the flight to the city of Makhachkala in the neighboring Dagestan region, but was deterred by fog and ultimately requested to land in Aktau, a city on the Caspian Sea.
The Kazakh Transport Ministry said Thursday that staffers from its Department for the Investigation of Transport Accidents and Incidents are currently in the field stage of their probe.
The ministry said as a delegation of the State Civil Aviation Agency of Azerbaijan, as well as representatives of Azerbaijan Airlines arrived in Kazakhstan, the probe is being done in close cooperation with them.
Azerbaijan Airlines suspended flights from Grozny to the Azerbaijani capital Baku and Makhachkala until the end of the investigation.
In a separate statement, the Kazakh Emergency Ministry said that seven of the 38 people killed in the accident were identified, adding that six injured people remain in intensive care.
For its part, Russia’s Emergency Ministry said nine of its nationals injured in the crash were returned to the country.
An Azerbaijan Airlines flight with 67 people on board – 62 passengers and five crew members – traveling from Baku to Grozny crashed on Wednesday near the Kazakh city of Aktau.
Kazakhstan Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev reported that 38 people lost their lives in the crash and 29 survived.
Dec. 26 was declared a day of national mourning in Azerbaijan over the crash.
