Tengrinews.kz - The title of National Hero of Azerbaijan has been posthumously awarded to pilots Igor Kshnyakin, Aleksandr Kalyaninov, and flight attendant Hokuma Aliyeva in Azerbaijan.
This was reported by Azerbaijan Airlines.
Surviving flight attendants of the Baku-Grozny flight, Aidan Ragimli and Zulfuqar Asadov, were awarded the "Rashadat" Order of the first degree by the decree of President Ilham Aliyev.
Earlier, the funerals of the two pilots and flight attendant of the plane that crashed near Aktau took place in Azerbaijan.
We reported that the President of Kazakhstan awarded a large group of citizens of the country who showed courage, professionalism, and civic responsibility in rescuing passengers of the Azerbaijani airline Azal plane, which crashed in Aktau on December 25.
Baku-Grozny plane crash near Aktau: what happened?
Azerbaijan Airlines plane, flying from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Grozny (Russia), crashed three kilometers from Aktau at 11:30 AM local time on December 25. The passenger flight was unable to land in Grozny due to heavy fog, first it was redirected to Makhachkala, and then to Aktau.
The official cause of the incident is still unknown. The media are spreading various theories, including a bird getting into the plane's engine, as well as an oxygen tank exploding in the cabin. The black box was found in the evening of the same day, now experts will have to decipher its data.
Investigation
An interdepartmental investigative task force has been created under the leadership of the Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan. It includes specialists from the transport prosecutor's office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The investigation is under the special control of the Prosecutor General and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Embraer specialists have flown to Kazakhstan.
How many people were on board?
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, there were 69 people on board, including 5 crew members:
42 citizens of Azerbaijan;
16 citizens of Russia;
6 citizens of Kazakhstan;
3 citizens of Kyrgyzstan;
two unidentified women of unknown citizenship, one about 32 years old, the other about 40 years old.
Azerbaijan Airlines also 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 are 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.
