Azerbaijan Plane Crash Survivors: Explosions Heard Before the Crash

One of the passengers on the Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan told Reuters that he heard a loud explosion as the plane approached its destination in Grozny, southern Russia.

Flight “J2-8243” crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday after being diverted from a southern Russian region where air defense systems are deployed to intercept Ukrainian drones. At least 38 people died in the incident, while 29 survived.

Survivor Subkhunkul Rakhimov told Reuters from the hospital: “After the explosion… I thought the plane was going to crash.” He added that he began praying and preparing for death after hearing the blast.

“It was clear that the plane was somehow damaged, as if it was drunk. The plane was no longer itself,” he said.

Another survivor, Fafa Shapanova, also reported hearing a loud noise, telling Reuters: “I was very scared.” She added that a second explosion occurred, prompting a flight attendant to instruct her to move to the back of the plane.

Both survivors said oxygen levels in the cabin appeared to drop after the explosion.

Flight attendant Zulfugar Asadov said the request to land in Grozny was denied due to fog. “At that point, we heard explosions outside the plane,” he said.

“The captain had just gained altitude when I heard an explosion from the left wing. There were three explosions,” he added. “Something hit my left arm, and the cabin lost pressure.”

These firsthand accounts not only describe the terror of the crash but also offer potential clues about what caused the disaster.

Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended several flights to Russian cities as of Friday, stating that the crash was likely due to what they called “external physical and technical interference.” The airline did not elaborate further.

Four sources familiar with Azerbaijan’s preliminary investigation told Reuters on Thursday that Russian air defenses mistakenly shot down the plane.

Russia said it was necessary to wait for the official investigation to conclude to determine what happened.

The Embraer aircraft was flying from Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya region before veering hundreds of miles off course over the Caspian Sea.

“The captain was advised to ditch the plane into the sea, but he decided to head to Aktau and attempt a landing on land,” said flight attendant Asadov.