An Azerbaijani passenger plane, which crashed in December after being redirected from Russia to Kazakhstan, was shot down by the Russian Pantsir-S air defense system, a source in the Azerbaijani government told Reuters on Tuesday.
"The Azerbaijani side has a fragment of the Pantsir-S missile, which was extracted from the plane and identified with the help of international expertise," the source said.
The Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan today published the initial report on the investigation of the causes of the air crash and photos of metal pieces extracted from the plane. The report includes a transcript of the tower controller's conversations at Grozny airport with a crew member of the plane, who spoke about GPS issues on approach, a "bird strike" on the aircraft, "explosion of two rear seats in the cabin," and an oxygen tank. This was followed by control problems — "failure of the aileron and elevator control system." The crew began inquiring about the weather in nearby cities, including Baku and Aktau, and decided to turn around.
The report also provides a transcript of the conversations between the controllers about the introduction of the "Carpet" plan in Grozny and the problems with the Embraer. The crew of the plane was not informed about the "Carpet" plan.
OSINT analyst Kirill Mikhailov told the "Agency"* that the fragments published in the photos resemble deformed debris of rods — striking elements of the warhead of the Pantsir missile system.
Thirty-eight people died when the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashed on December 25 near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, after being redirected across the Caspian Sea from southern Russia.
* Recognized in Russia as a "foreign agent."