The White House National Security Council announced there are early indications that the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243 on Dec. 25 was caused by Russian air defense systems.
“We … have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems,” White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told members of the press on Dec. 27. “That said, there’s an ongoing investigation right now. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are conducting this jointly. We have offered our assistance to that investigation, should they need it, should they want it, but we’re gonna ... respect that process.”
This position follows a statement made by Azerbaijani Transport Minister Rashad Nabiyev on Dec. 27, announcing that a preliminary investigation determined that the airliner experienced an “external impact” before the crash. Nabiyev did not identify a suspected weapon or where it came from.
“Preliminary conclusions by experts point at external impact,” Nabiyev told Azerbaijani media. “The type of weapon used in the impact will be determined during the probe.”
Flight 8243, operating the Brazilian-built medium-range Embraer 190 airplane, was en route to Grozny, Russia, from Baku, Azerbaijan, on Christmas Day when it was forced to make a crash landing near Aktau, Kazakhstan. The resulting crash killed 38 of the 67 passengers onboard.
Ukrainian defense official Andriy Kovalenko immediately accused Russia of shooting down the aircraft after failing to close its airspace around Grozny, an area that faced a Ukrainian drone attack amid this flight’s arrival.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared on Russian state media on Dec. 26, requesting a crash investigation take place before any conclusions are made.
“It would be wrong to build any hypotheses before the panel of inquiry presents its conclusions,” he said. “Of course, we cannot do that. No one should do it.”
Several others have also begun to come forward after coming to their own conclusions regarding the cause of the crash.
“It looks like the tail section of the plane was damaged by some missile fragments,” said Yan Matveyev, an independent Russian military expert, suggesting the damage shown in images of the crash was compatible with shrapnel from a small surface-to-air missile.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said on Dec. 27 that a Ukrainian drone attack had been underway in the Grozny area as the Azerbaijan Airlines plane was preparing to land in thick fog.
Authorities, he said, were prompted to close air traffic in the area by the drone attack. He also said the captain of the aircraft made two unsuccessful landing attempts and decided to fly across the Caspian Sea to Aktau despite being offered two alternative airports.
As to the claims the plane was hit by anti-aircraft or anti-drone fire, Yadrov did not comment.
