Survivors of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan have reported hearing loud bangs and explosions while the aircraft was in flight, shedding light on the catastrophic event that claimed 38 lives on Wednesday morning.
The Embraer 190, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, when it crashed, leaving 29 survivors among the 67 passengers and crew on board. An anonymous crew member, speaking from a hospital bed, described hearing three distinct thuds as the plane flew over Grozny. He believed these sounds originated from outside the aircraft, marking the beginning of the plane’s descent into disaster.
Passenger Subhonkul Rakhimov, also hospitalized, recounted a chilling moment when he heard a loud bang, followed by the deployment of oxygen masks and visible damage to the plane’s fuselage. “It was obvious the plane had been damaged,” Rakhimov told Reuters, describing the aircraft’s behavior as “drunk” – erratic and unlike its normal flight pattern. Another passenger reported feeling “two explosions” about 20 to 30 minutes after takeoff.
Preliminary findings from Azerbaijan Airlines suggest the crash resulted from “physical and technical external interference,” though specifics on the nature of this interference were not disclosed. In response, Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended flights to several Russian cities, citing potential risks to flight safety.
