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Russia admits air defense systems were activated while the crashed AZAL plane was in the sky of Grozny

27 December 2024 16:25 (UTC +04:00)

The Russian side has for the first time revealed some details regarding the crash of an Azerbaijani passenger plane. Two days after the accident, Russia finally clarified the situation observed at the time in the airspace of Grozny, where the aircraft was damaged. Dmitry Yadrov, the head of the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency – "Rosaviatsiya." spoke in this regard, APA’s Moscow correspondent reports.

Dmitry Yadrov stated that the situation at Grozny airport during that time was very severe.

"At that time, Ukrainian combat drones were carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in Grozny and Vladikavkaz. As a result, a 'Carpet' regime was implemented at Grozny airport, which involved immediately removing all aircraft from the area," Yadrov explained.

He further noted that there was heavy fog in the Grozny airport area, making visibility impossible at 500 meters altitude.

The aircraft’s commander attempted to land the plane in Grozny twice, but both attempts were unsuccessful. Other airports were suggested, and the commander decided to head to Aktau airport.

"There are many different factors that need to be investigated jointly. The Russian side has immediately informed its Kazakh and Azerbaijani counterparts that it is fully ready to cooperate in the investigation of the tragic crash of the 'Embraer' aircraft near Aktau. All the circumstances of the incident need to be carefully and thoroughly examined," Yadrov emphasized.

He added, "We are fully prepared to work together with our colleagues."

There are many details in Rosaviatsiya’s statement that stand out.

The first notable point is the revelation that a drone attack on Grozny occurred at the time. As is known, on the morning of December 25, the Russian side did not officially announce the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attack on Grozny, but this is the first time it has been acknowledged. By making this statement, the head of "Rosaviatsiya" admits that when the Azerbaijani plane was in the Grozny airspace, air defense systems were activated to neutralize Ukrainian drones.

The head of "Rosaviatsiya" also mentions that the "Carpet" regime was implemented in the Grozny airspace at that time. However, on December 25, Russia did not release official information about a UAV attack or the implementation of the "Carpet" regime. Reports of the drone attack were circulated by various media outlets and on social networks, but interestingly, these reports were later removed by some media sources. This suggests that Russia may have aimed to conceal the fact that air defense systems were activated against UAVs at that time. Because it is suspected that the Azerbaijani plane was damaged by debris from a missile launched from the ground, and this is believed to be the primary cause of the crash.

Another noteworthy point is the statement about the pilot of the Azerbaijani aircraft being offered alternative airports for landing. While Dmitri Yadrov mentioned that such an offer was made, he did not specify which airports were being referred to, nor did he name them. It would be prudent for Mr. Yadrov to provide evidence to support the veracity of his claim. One such piece of evidence could be the release of the voice recording of the conversation between the pilot and the air traffic controllers. By releasing this recording, the details of the conversation between the pilot and the controllers at that moment would reveal a lot of important facts.

Note that on December 25, an Azerbaijani Airlines (AZAL) passenger plane, flying from Baku to Grozny, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan. There were 62 passengers and 5 crew members on board.

As a result of the crash, 38 people lost their lives, while 29 survived.