Azerbaijan probe finds Russian missile caused deadly crash, reports sayAzerbaijan officials cited in multiple reports say Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 was downed by Russias air defences.The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on December 25, 2024 [The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP Photo]Published On 27 Dec 202427 Dec 2024|Updated:2 hours agoAzerbaijans preliminary investigation into a deadly air crash in Kazakhstan has concluded that the airliner was downed by Russias air defence systems, multiple media outlets have reported.Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 crashed near the city of Aktau on Wednesday while en route to Grozny, the capital of the Chechnya region in southern Russia, killing 38 people and injuring 29 others.Azerbaijan Airlines suspended a host of flights to Russian cities on Friday and said preliminary findings showed the crash was caused by what it termed physical and technical external interference. It did not detail what that interference was.While Azerbaijan has yet to publicly announce the findings of its probe into the disaster, officials have concluded that a Russian anti-aircraft missile was to blame, Euronews, The Wall Street Journal, Anadolu Agency and the Reuters news agency reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the investigation.Reuters cited a source as saying that the aircraft was struck by a Russian Pantsir-S battery after having its communications paralysed by electronic warfare systems on its approach to Grozny. Advertisement The firing on the plane was not believed to be intentional, Reuters quoted the source as saying.Euronews cited government sources as saying the aircraft was not allowed to land in Russia after pilots requested an emergency landing and was instead directed to fly across the Caspian Sea towards Aktau.Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claims.Complicated conditionsRussias Federal Air Transport Agency initially said that the plane had been forced to make an emergency landing after striking a flock of birds.The reports of Russias involvement came after aviation experts suggested Russian air defences were likely to blame, based on visible damage to the planes tail section.The Embraer 190 had been flying over a part of Russias North Caucasus that has been targeted by Ukrainian drones in recent weeks, and Russias Ministry of Defence reported shooting down dozens of drones on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.Footage of the stricken aircraft on social media showed the plane making a steep descent before hitting the ground and bursting into flames.Russia has cautioned against speculation about the cause of the crash, with the Kremlin refusing to comment on Friday on claims about a Russian missile being responsible.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: It would be wrong to make any hypotheses before the investigations conclusions.Separately on Friday, the head of Russias civil aviation agency, Dmitry Yadrov, said Ukrainian drones were attacking Grozny as the plane was trying to land there, before it later crashed in Kazakhstan. Advertisement Yadrov said on Telegram that there was heavy fog over Grozny when the incident occurred and conditions that day and in those hours around the airport were very complicated.Ukrainian military drones were carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure at the time, he said. Due to the danger posed by the drones, no departures and arrivals were permitted in Grozny and the plane had to divert, he added.Kazakhstan, which is also probing the crash, has declined to speculate on the cause before the release of its own findings.Azerbaijan on Thursday held a day of mourning for the victims of the crash, with residents of the former Soviet country observing a moment of silence as national flags were lowered and traffic came to a halt nationwide.This is a great tragedy that has become a tremendous sorrow for the Azerbaijani people, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said.Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies