Transport Agency neither confirmed nor denied reports claiming plane was hit by Russian anti-aircraft missile
The head of the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said on Friday that the Embraer E190 plane of the Azerbaijani Airlines that crashed in Kazakhstan could not land in the city of Grozny due to Ukraine's drone attack and heavy fog.
The Russian side immediately informed its Kazakh and Azerbaijani authorities of its full and comprehensive readiness to cooperate in the investigation of this tragedy, Dmitry Yadrov said in a statement.
The official neither confirmed nor denied reports claiming the aircraft was shot down by a Russian anti-aircraft missile, saying: "It is necessary to carefully and completely verify all the circumstances of the incident."
"I would like to note that the situation on this day and at these hours in the area of Grozny airport was very difficult. At that time, Ukrainian combat drones were launching terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz," he added.
The plane attempted landing when a “Carpet” plan was in effect -- a mode when skies are closed for all aircraft and all aircraft or helicopters in the air are forced for the immediate landing or withdrawal from a certain area.
"In addition, there was dense fog in the area of Grozny airport. ... The pilots made two attempts to land the plane in Grozny, which were unsuccessful. The commander was offered other airports. He decided to go to Aktau airport," he said.
Yadrov pointed at "many different circumstances that need to be jointly investigated," and reiterated Russia's readiness for cooperation with engaged parties.
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau on Wednesday, killing 38 people and leaving 29 survivors among the 67 onboard.
While Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan launched investigations, Azerbaijani officials attributed the crash to a Russian missile system.
The crash occurred amid Russian air defense activity against Ukrainian drones, and GPS jamming was detected in the region.
