Azernews.Az

Qabil Ashirov

Read more

The Azerbaijani side has released a statement in response to an interim announcement published by Kazakhstan marking the anniversary of the crash involving an aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), Azernews reports, citing Azertag.

The statement notes that the investigation into the crash of an Embraer 190-100 IGW passenger aircraft is ongoing in line with Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. The inquiry is being conducted by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport with the participation of representatives from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Azerbaijan, Brazil, and Russia. In parallel, investigative authorities from three countries—Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia—are carrying out criminal investigations into the incident within their respective jurisdictions.

In accordance with ICAO requirements, Kazakhstan published a preliminary report on February 4 of this year. The preliminary report presented only the facts identified at that stage and did not include any analysis or conclusions.

It was not possible to complete the final report—expected to contain the results of the investigation conducted under the Chicago Convention—by the date marking the anniversary of the crash. For this reason, Kazakhstan released an interim statement to the public in compliance with ICAO procedures.

The interim statement emphasizes that the oxygen cylinders remained undamaged, thereby ruling out the possibility of an internal explosion. It also notes that foreign metal objects identified as fragments of an explosive device that damaged the aircraft were linked to a weapons system. However, the interim statement does not specify the model of that weapons system. It is recalled that the affiliation of the weapons system with Russia’s air defense forces had already been acknowledged in a political statement by the President of the Russian Federation.

At the next stage, the Kazakh side is expected to present the final report reflecting the completed investigation. Unlike the interim statement, the final report should be more detailed, incorporating all factual findings, an analysis of the causes of the crash, and recommendations aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future.