A passenger plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near Aktau city in Kazakhstan, catching fire shortly after the impact, as confirmed by the country’s Emergencies Ministry.
The Embraer 190 aircraft, traveling from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, was diverted due to heavy fog in Grozny. The plane was carrying 62 passengers and five crew members. Twenty-five survivors were taken to the hospital, including five in critical condition.
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A video from the scene showed the aircraft rapidly descending and tilting before crashing into an open field and bursting into flames.
The crash occurred near the airport, where the plane had been circling, attempting an emergency landing before it stalled and crashed.
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Azerbaijan Airlines confirmed that flight J2-8243, operating on the Baku-Grozny route, made an emergency landing about 3 kilometers from Aktau city. The airline stated that more information would be provided soon.
Footage from the crash site showed ambulances and survivors exiting the plane through emergency exits. The aircraft’s registration number, 4K-AZ65, matched data listed on the flight tracking site, FlightRadar24.
FlightRadar24 data indicated that the plane had been flying over the Caspian Sea, heading toward its destination in Chechnya. As it entered Russian airspace, the plane started circling near the airport and requested an emergency landing.
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The crash occurred at 6:28 am UTC (11:58 am local time), just a few kilometers from the airport. FlightRadar24 also reported that the plane experienced “strong GPS jamming,” which caused faulty data transmission.
The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system, used for tracking aircraft positions and monitoring by air traffic control, was also affected by the GPS interference.