Azerbaijan Airlines crash: Russia cautions against promoting 'hypotheses' about accident
On Wednesday, an Embraer E190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines (flight number J2-8243) from Baku to Chechnya's Gronzy crashed near the Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan.
Russia on Thursday (Dec 26) cautioned against promoting "hypotheses" about the Azerbaijan Airlines crash that killed 38 people.
Addressing a press conference, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, "It would be wrong to put forward any hypotheses before the investigation's conclusions."
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"We, of course, will not do this, and no one should do this. We need to wait until the investigation is completed," Peskov added.
The tragic crash that killed 38
On Wednesday, an Embraer E190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines (flight number J2-8243) from Baku to Chechnya's Gronzy crashed near the Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan.
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Of all the 67 people on board, 38 were killed in the crash.
Was the aircraft shot down by Russia?
Even though an investigation into the crash is underway, some aviation and military experts said the plane may have been accidentally shot by Russian air defence systems as it was flying in an area where Ukrainian drone activity had been reported.
Speaking to the news agency AFP, Russian military expert Yury Podolyaka said that holes seen in the wreckage of the aircraft were similar to the damage caused by an "anti-aircraft missile system."
Damage to Azerbaijan Airlines plane reminiscent of Malaysian Airlines flight
A former expert at France's BEA air accident investigation agency also said there appeared to be "a lot of shrapnel" damage on the wreckage.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, he told AFP that the damage was "reminiscent" of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was downed with a surface-to-air missile by Russia-backed rebels over eastern Ukraine in 2014.
(With inputs from agencies)