Tengrinews.kz - Aktau airport was fully prepared to receive the plane, with the air traffic controller taking all necessary actions to ensure a safe landing, Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev said during a briefing.
Responding to journalists' questions in Aktau, Karabayev confirmed that the airport’s emergency services were ready for the arrival of the aircraft.
"After entering Kazakhstan’s airspace, the crew established communication with the air traffic controller at Aktau airport. The controller promptly implemented all measures to secure a safe landing on the airfield.
Additionally, runway lights were activated to facilitate visual contact with the strip. The crew made two attempts to approach the runway, during which erratic altitude changes were observed. The aircraft then veered towards the coastline. At 11:28 A.M. (local time), communication with the crew was lost, and the plane subsequently crashed," Karabayev explained.
Emergency services from Aktau airport were the first to arrive at the crash site and immediately began evacuating passengers, the minister added.
"A special commission, comprising experts from the Ministry of Transport’s Department for Investigating Incidents and Accidents, is currently conducting an investigation," Karabayev noted.
On December 25, the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, flying from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Grozny (Russia), crashed three kilometers from Aktau at 11:30 A.M. local time. The passenger flight was unable to land in Grozny due to heavy fog. It was first redirected to Makhachkala, and then to Aktau.
Azerbaijan Airlines published a full list of passengers.
What is known about the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed near Aktau
The aircraft that crashed near Aktau was an Embraer ERJ-190, a twin-engine jet widely used for short and medium-haul flights. The aircraft is manufactured by a Brazilian company. The ERJ-190 (E190) is designed to carry between 96 and 114 passengers, depending on the cabin configuration. These aircraft can fly up to 4500 kilometers.
According to FlightAware, the aircraft took off from the airport 11 minutes ahead of schedule. While cruising over the Caspian Sea, the aircraft issued an emergency squawk 7700.
