It has been one year since the crash of the AZAL plane operating the Baku-Grozny flight near the city of Aktau.
On December 25, 2024, a passenger aircraft of the type "Embraer 190-100 IGW" registered under the state registry number 4K-AZ65 and owned by "Azerbaijan Airlines" JSC (AZAL) crashed near Aktau airport on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan while performing the regular flight J2-8243 from Baku city of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Grozny city of the Russian Federation. As a result of the accident, two crew members (captain and first officer), the chief navigator, and 35 passengers died.
The preliminary report published by the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan confirms the following facts:
1. The passenger aircraft of the type "Embraer 190-100 IGW," registered under the state registry number 4K-AZ65 and owned by "Azerbaijan Airlines" JSC (AZAL), was fully airworthy along the flight route from the start of the flight until Grozny while performing the regular flight J2-8243 from Baku city of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Grozny city of the Russian Federation. This information on the airworthiness of the aircraft, including the functioning of control systems, was confirmed by FDR data;
2. Until the moment of the accident, both engines of the plane operated without technical issues. This information is also confirmed by FDR data;
3. In the airspace of the Russian Federation, including over Grozny airport, the aircraft lost GPS signals during flight;
4. Due to unfavorable weather conditions over Grozny, the plane was unable to land on the second attempt, after which the captain decided to return to Baku. After this decision was made, two external sounds were recorded on the CVR over Grozny with a 24-second interval;
5. A comparison of CVR and FDR data showed that 4 seconds after the first external sound, the third hydraulic system failed; 6 seconds later, the first hydraulic system failed; and 21 seconds later, the second hydraulic system failed;
6. Multiple damages were detected on the fuselage confirmed by photo and video records. These damages were observed primarily on the rear part of the fuselage, mainly on the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, as well as on the left wing and left engine;
7. According to the information provided, the damages detected on the fuselage were caused by the impact of external objects. The preliminary report contains no information indicating any facts of collision of the aircraft with birds;
8. Foreign objects unrelated to the aircraft, found in the damages on the fuselage, were extracted, and their photographs were presented to the public in the text of the preliminary report. Further expert examinations are planned to accurately identify the affiliation of the discovered foreign objects;
9. At 05:13:32, the main control systems on the aircraft failed, and at 05:21:42, the dispatcher informed Grozny about the implementation of the "Cover" operation regarding mutual coordination;
10. No information has been presented indicating the fact of oxygen cylinder explosion.
In accordance with the requirements of the ICAO Chicago Convention, a final report on the causes of the accident must be prepared within one year from the date of the incident after the preliminary report.
Also, it should be noted that on December 29, 2024, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree granting the honorary title of "National Hero of Azerbaijan" to the crew members who died in the aviation accident — Igor Ivanovich Kshnyakin, Aleksandr Georgiyevich Kalyaninov, and Okuma Jalil qizi Aliyeva — for the high professionalism, courage, and dedication they demonstrated during the performance of their official duties and the rescue of passengers' lives during the crash of the AZAL-owned "Embraer 190" passenger aircraft operating the Baku-Grozny flight.
