According to the report, after two unsuccessful attempts to land at the Grozny airfield, the crew decided to return to Baku. It is noted that during the return, at 05:13:32, the main flight control systems of the aircraft were lost.
"Then, at 05:42, the crew decided to divert to the backup airfield in Aktau for an emergency landing. There were five crew members and 62 passengers on board the aircraft. As a result of the aviation incident, the captain, the first officer, the senior flight attendant, and 35 passengers (a total of 38) lost their lives (including six citizens of Kazakhstan, 25 from Azerbaijan, and seven from Russia), while two flight attendants and 27 passengers sustained injuries of varying severity. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact with the ground and partially burned," the statement said.
It is clarified that the aviation disaster occurred about 5 km northwest of the threshold of runway 11 at the Aktau airfield (approximately 25 km northwest of the city of Aktau). As a result of the aviation incident, the aircraft was completely destroyed and partially burned in a ground fire.
The document also includes the pilots' remarks:
– Grozny, the control has failed, bird strike in the cockpit. And the bird strike caused two seats in the cockpit to explode.
– Azerbaijan eighty-two forty-three, I understand you, what assistance do you need?
– We need, we need, the nearest airfield where the weather is normal.
– There was a strong impact, the rear seats, they say, exploded, the flight attendant reported. We are heading to Mineralnye Vody, please give us the weather for Mineralnye Vody.
– Azerbaijan eighty-two forty-three, is the aircraft in order?
– Aircraft is in order, we are heading to Mineralnye Vody.
However, the pilot was not satisfied with the weather conditions. He then requested the weather for Makhachkala, Baku, and subsequently Aktau:
– I ask you, it’s not the right time. What is the weather in Aktau?
– Azal eighty-two forty-three, actual weather in Aktau, uniform alpha tango echo, for the past 30 minutes, wind zero forty degrees, 6 m/s, visibility over 10 km, significant cloud cover at 1080 meters, temperature 4, dew point minus one, QNH one zero.
– Then we are going to Aktau.
The pilot then reported that there were "no dangerous goods on board."
"So, our situation is like this, oxygen is running out in the passenger cabin, which means an oxygen tank has exploded, and the smell of fuel is affecting some passengers, who are losing consciousness; please allow us to descend to a lower altitude," the transcription states.
Then the pilot stated that "the flight controls have failed, and we are controlling the engine sectors; we request an emergency landing on runway eleven."
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbaev promised that the investigation into the plane crash near Aktau would be completed this week.
You can read the full version of the report here.
On December 25, 2024, a passenger plane of "Azerbaijan Airlines," flying from Baku to Grozny, crashed 3 km from Aktau airport. There were 67 people on board the crashed Embraer 190 (62 passengers and five crew members). As a result of the incident, 38 people lost their lives, and 29 sustained injuries.
On January 15, 2025, it became known that Kazakhstan had received the transcripts of the black boxes from the Azerbaijani plane that crashed near Aktau.