An Azerbaijan Airlines commercial jet carrying 62 passengers and five crew members crashed in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau. The Embraer ERJ-190 attempted an emergency landing following initial reports of a "bird strike." Early reports indicate there are 28 survivors.
"Flight #J28243 that crashed near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan is an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 with registration 4K-AZ65," flight tracking website Flightradar24 wrote on X.
Flightradar24 said, "J28243 took off from Baku at 03:55 UTC time and was flying to Grozny. The aircraft was exposed to strong GPS jamming which made the aircraft transmit bad ADS-B data. At 04:40 UTC we lost the ADS-B signal. At 06:07 UTC we picked up the ADS-B signal again before it crashed at 06:28 UTC."
Flight #J28243 that crashed near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan is an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 with registration 4K-AZ65.#J28243 took off from Baku at 03:55 UTC time and was flying to Grozny. The aircraft was exposed to strong GPS jamming which made the aircraft… pic.twitter.com/rM1Q0jmMPt
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) December 25, 2024
"The aircraft was struggling to maintain altitude for more than 1 hour," Flightradar24 noted.
Here is a graph with altitude and vertical speed data for flight #J28243
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) December 25, 2024
The aircraft was struggling to maintain altitude for more than 1 hour (05:14 UTC to 06:28 UTC) pic.twitter.com/mLItiOkzS1
The flight-tracking website also noted: "The aircraft was exposed to GPS jamming and spoofing near Grozny."
What we know about Azerbaijan Airlines flight #J28243
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) December 25, 2024
Aircraft: Embraer ERJ-190
Registration: 4K-AZ65
Age: 11 years
Origin: Baku (GYD)
Destination : Grozny (GRV)
Average flight time: 57 minutes
The aircraft was exposed to GPS jamming and spoofing near Grozny.
The altitude was… pic.twitter.com/degVXopts2
Russian media outlet RIA News said the loss of partial flight controls was due to a "collision with birds," forcing the pilot to declare an emergency and attempt a landing at Aktau.
Dramatic videos of the landing approach and crash were posted on X.
New video shows plane carrying 72 people crashing near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan. At least 10 survivors pic.twitter.com/SKGdc1vqFa
— BNO News (@BNONews) December 25, 2024
Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190AR has reportedly crashed at Aktau Airport after having declared an emergency. There were five crew and 67 passengers onboard. More details to follow. pic.twitter.com/8DLjed1tsT
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) December 25, 2024
Another video showing the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 pic.twitter.com/Ze5pQ7Grv9
— BNO News Live (@BNODesk) December 25, 2024
Footage of the survivors.
Survivors of Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan coming out from the wreckage. pic.twitter.com/icUjPSrsGj
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 25, 2024
"Stabilizer changes position downwards in the last seconds, reminds me of the cases of the 737max," one X user said.
#AHY8243 stabilizer changes position downwards in the last seconds, reminds me of the cases of the 737max pic.twitter.com/p48xzqfuiV
— Vetu Asaber (@Vetu_asaber) December 25, 2024
Were the flight controls locked up?
#J28243
— Jeffery骞 (@JefferyK_EntH) December 25, 2024
So from the wreckage we can know:
-maintenance hatches are opened.
-stablizer was trimmed at maximum nose down position.
Don't know if it was indeed set at this position inflight or just being moved by the impact force, but it could tell us something. pic.twitter.com/4Fu57XaOGa
*Developing...
