US official says Russian air defences may have caused Azerbaijani plane to crash

The White House has said there are "early indications" that Russian air defence systems may have brought down an Azerbaijani passenger plane that crash landed in Kazakhstan earlier this week.

Friday's assessments by national security spokesman John Kirby echoes those made by some Azerbaijani officials and aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russia's response to a Ukrainian aerial attack.

The statements have raised pressure on Russia, where officials said a drone attack was under way in the region where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was heading for a landing.

They did not however address statements blaming air defences.

Kirby told reporters on Friday that the US has seen evidence "that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defence systems," but refused to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation.

Pressed on whether Washington had intelligence that helped lead to that conclusion, or was simply relying on informed speculation from experts based on visual assessments of the crash, Kirby answered yes but said he’d "leave it at that."

The investigation into the Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 crash in Aktau on Wednesday is now focusing on what weapon caused the incident, Azerbaijan's Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev said after speaking with survivors in Kazakhstan.

On Thursday, Azerbaijani government sources confirmed to Euronews that an initial investigation revealed a Russian surface-to-air missile was fired at the plane as it flew over Chechnya.

Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was flying from the country's capital Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya.

During the flight, the plane crashed whilst attempting an emergency landing in the city of Aktau in southwestern Kazakhstan, killing 38 people and leaving 29 survivors injured.

Sources said that despite the pilot's requests for an emergency landing, the aircraft was not allowed to land at Russian airports, leaving it to divert from its path across the Caspian Sea towards Kazakhstan.

An official probe into the crash has not yet finished but survivors told authorities they heard three blasts that seemed to come from outside as the aircraft flew over Grozny.

"During our visit to survivors, including those with Russian citizenship, all of them, without exception, stated that they heard three blast sounds when the aircraft was above Grozny city," Nabiyev told the Baku-based international outlet AnewZ.

"They indicated that these sounds came from outside, suggesting there was an external impact on the plane," he added.

One flight attendant sustained injuries to her hand, while another passenger suffered injuries to her hand and leg as a result of the explosions, Nabiyev added.

"In other footage, holes are visible on the plane's wing, along with various signs of damage inside the plane, particularly in its interior parts, caused by what appears to be an impact from sharp external objects," he explained.

"Our investigation team, along with aviation specialists invited for this case, will now examine what kind of weapon — or rather what kind of rocket — was used."

An official from the Kazakh transport department said the aircraft’s second black box has been located and handed over to the investigation team.

Restricted flights in Russian airspace

On Friday, Azerbaijan Airlines announced it would suspend flights from Baku to seven Russian airports, including Grozny, until the final results of the investigation are released.

Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air said it would suspend flights from Astana to Yekaterinburg, citing an ongoing risk assessment of flights to Russia.

Israel's El Al said flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow for this week would be cut due to "developments in Russia's airspace".