Astana (Kazakhstan) (AFP) – The publication of the black box data from an Azerbaijani plane that crashed in Kazakhstan last month has been delayed, a Kazakh official said Friday, after Azerbaijan accused Russia of shooting down the airliner. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stated that Russia’s military accidentally fired from the ground at the Azerbaijani Airlines jet, which later crash-landed in Kazakhstan on December 25, killing 38 of the 67 people aboard.
Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev mentioned at a press conference that there were “difficulties” with compiling the report, adding: “we hope that next week the preliminary part will be published.” According to the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the results should have been published by Friday, or 30 days after the crash near the city of Aktau. Aliyev has demanded that Moscow admit it mistakenly fired on the plane as it attempted to make a scheduled landing at the Grozny airport.
Russia has stated that its air defenses were active at the time in Grozny, repelling Ukrainian drones, but has stopped short of confirming that it shot at the plane. Bozumbayev noted that the contents of the black boxes had been “completely deciphered,” but the commission needed to formally verify the identities of those speaking by getting relatives to confirm, calling this a “big international task.”
He also mentioned that a criminal case had been opened and that the investigation would build a complete picture through ballistics and explosives tests. Kazakhstan, Russia, and Azerbaijan have all initiated criminal investigations into potential violations leading to the crash. Bozumbayev said that Kazakh investigators and authorities are in “close contact” with Moscow and Baku.
The plane’s black boxes were sent to Brazil – where the Embraer jet was manufactured – for analysis, with the involvement of Azerbaijani, Kazakh, and Russian experts, before being returned to Kazakhstan, which must publish the analysis. Kazakhstan has found itself in a politically challenging position regarding the crash since it is allied with both Moscow and Baku.
Several independent experts have already indicated the likelihood that the plane was accidentally shot down, with images of the fuselage drawing comparisons to the MH17 incident. The Malaysian Airlines jet – en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur – was shot down by a Russian BUK anti-aircraft missile while flying over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 passengers, as concluded by a Dutch-led investigation.
© 2024 AFP
