Tengrinews.kz - Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) explained why the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was unable to land in Grozny as planned, according to Russian media.
Head of Rosaviatsiya, Dmitry Yadrov, stated that the aircraft, which later crashed near Aktau, could not land in Grozny due to the implementation of the "Kover" protocol.
He also noted that Grozny Airport was affected by dense fog.
"At an altitude of 500 meters, there was no visibility. The aircraft commander made two attempts to land in Grozny, both of which were unsuccessful," Yadrov reported.
According to Yadrov, alternative airports were offered to the commander after the failed attempts, but he chose to proceed to Aktau.
Yadrov added that Russia has expressed its readiness to provide comprehensive support to Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in investigating the plane crash.
Baku-Grozny plane crash near Aktau: What happened?
On December 25, a passenger plane of Azerbaijan Airlines, flight AHY8243, crashed near Aktau.
The plane took off at 08:49 A.M. Astana time from Baku airport, 11 minutes earlier than scheduled. Due to thick fog in Grozny, the plane was first rerouted to Makhachkala, and then to Aktau. Flying over the Caspian Sea, the crew gave the signal "emergency" (squawk 7700). The pilots requested an emergency landing, and the airport was preparing to accept the aircraft, but at 11:30 A.M. the plane crashed 3 kilometers from the airport.
The official cause of the incident remains unknown. Various theories are circulating in the media, including a bird strike in the aircraft's engine or an oxygen cylinder explosion in the cabin. The black box was recovered the same evening, and experts will now work on decoding its data.
Investigation
An interdepartmental investigative and operational group has been formed under the leadership of the Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan. The group includes specialists from the Transport Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The investigation is under the personal supervision of the Prosecutor General and the Minister of Internal Affairs. Specialists from Embraer have flown to Kazakhstan.
