Airline chiefs have launched preliminary investigations into the crash after the Embraer EMBR3.SA hit the ground hard while en route to Grozny in Chechnya, Russia, on Wednesday.
Azerbaijan Airlines has blamed "external interference" for the Kazakhstan plane crash in which 38 people died on Christmas Day.
However, in a statement issued this afternoon, airline chiefs said the results from a preliminary investigation showed "physical and technical external interference" to be the cause. The early ruling follows growing suspicion that Russian air defence systems may have been involved in the doomed flight's fate, with aviation experts and pro-government journalists alleging it was damaged by shrapnel from a Russian air-defence missile explosion.
Speaking to local media in Azerbaijan, Tahir Agaguliev, an Azerbaijani veteran pilot, alleged that missile fragments "damaged the hydraulic system". Russian officials, who were quick to conclude the plane was downed after it hit a flock of birds on its descent into the country, have now changed tune, and are warning against putting forward "hypotheses before the investigation's conclusion".
While also waiting for the results of a Kazakhstani investigation, Azerbaijani officials have gone in a separate direction, stating they expect the Russian government to admit shooting down the plane. A number of television channels, all of which are under strict supervision by the presiding Azerbaijani government, have broadcast interviews with experts openly speaking about possible Russian involvement.
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