Azerbaijan Plane Crash: Pilots Requested Emergency Landing Before Tragedy; 30+ Dead, 32 Survive

Twenty-five people survived a tragic plane crash near Aktau in Kazakhstan, AFP reported on Wednesday. Among the survivors, 22 individuals, including an 11-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy, have been hospitalized. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergencies confirmed the loss of 42 lives. In a Telegram statement, the ministry revealed the flight had five crew members on board, and at least 29 individuals are currently hospitalized, according to Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.

The Azerbaijan Airlines flight, en route from Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya, reportedly requested an emergency landing before the crash. Carrying 67 passengers, including the crew, the plane was diverted to Aktau due to heavy fog in Grozny.

Fog at the intended destination forced the Azerbaijan Airlines flight to divert to Aktau, approximately 1,800 kilometers away. As the Embraer ERJ-190 jet approached Aktau International Airport, an unspecified emergency led the crew to request an emergency landing. Tragically, the aircraft crashed three kilometers from the airport and burst into flames upon impact.

Videos circulating on social media captured the plane rapidly losing altitude before the crash. Initially, Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry reported 25 survivors, but as search and rescue efforts continued, the number was updated to 27, 28, and eventually 29, reducing the estimated death toll.

Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office later announced that at least 32 people had survived, though this figure remains provisional. Medical sources cited by Russian news agency Interfax stated that four bodies had been recovered, and emergency responders confirmed that initial findings suggest both pilots perished in the crash.

Azerbaijan Airlines previously confirmed the plane went down three kilometers from Aktau.

FlightRadar24, an online flight tracking platform, reported that the aircraft experienced “strong GPS jamming,” which resulted in the transmission of inaccurate ADS-B data. The flight path showed the plane circling near its intended destination in Chechnya before diverting to Aktau. At 6:28 AM UTC (11:58 AM local time), the plane crashed near the Caspian Sea shoreline, just a few kilometers from Aktau International Airport.

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergencies reported that the Embraer ERJ-190 jet had attempted an emergency landing three kilometers from Aktau, an oil and gas hub on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.

Azerbaijan’s state news agency, Azertac, confirmed that an official delegation, including the country’s minister of emergency situations, deputy general prosecutor, and the vice president of Azerbaijan Airlines, had been dispatched to Aktau to oversee the investigation.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who was en route to St. Petersburg for an informal summit of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leaders, returned to Azerbaijan upon hearing of the crash. In a social media statement, President Aliyev expressed his condolences to the victims’ families, saying, “It is with deep sadness that I extend my condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin also conveyed his condolences to President Aliyev, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “President Putin called President Aliyev to express his sympathy and support following the Azerbaijani plane crash in Aktau,” Peskov stated. President Aliyev, visibly moved by the tragedy, emphasized his sorrow over the loss of life, adding, “We deeply sympathize with those who lost loved ones in this tragic accident and wish the injured a swift recovery.”