One year has passed since the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243, an Embraer 190 operating from Baku to Grozny, which crashed three kilometers from Aktau, Kazakhstan, The Daily Baku reports.
The aircraft departed at 07:56 by Baku time.
According to preliminary investigation results, the aircraft was attacked by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system while approaching Grozny. Furthermore, due to the use of electronic warfare by the Russian side, the Azerbaijani aircraft's communications system was completely disabled, causing the aircraft to disappear from radar in Russian airspace.
According to Russian sources, during the Azerbaijani aircraft's flight over Chechnya, Russian air defenses attempted to repel an attack by Ukrainian drones, resulting in damage to the Azerbaijani civilian aircraft.
The disoriented crew of the aircraft, exposed to air defense fire and electronic warfare systems, decided to divert to Aktau, Kazakhstan.
Thanks to the heroism of the pilots, the plane reached Aktau, but had to make an emergency landing 3 km from the airport.
There were 67 people on board the aircraft at the time of the crash – 62 passengers and 5 crew members. Thirty-eight people died in the crash, and 29 were injured.
As a result of the tragedy, the aircraft's captain, Igor Kshnyakin, first officer, Alexander Kalyaninov, and flight attendant, Khokuma Aliyeva, died. Two other flight attendants, Zulfugar Asadov and Aydan Rahimli, survived.
After receiving information about the crash, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev cut short his visit to Russia, where he was scheduled to participate in an informal summit of CIS heads of state in St. Petersburg, and returned to Baku.
Upon returning to Baku, the head of state held a meeting at the airport regarding the incident.
At the direction of President Ilham Aliyev, a State Commission, led by Prime Minister Ali Asadov, was established to investigate the causes of the air crash.
On the same day, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree declaring December 26, 2024, a day of mourning in Azerbaijan.
By decree of President Ilham Aliyev, the deceased crew members were posthumously awarded the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan, and the head of state attended a farewell ceremony for them.
The surviving crew members were awarded the Rashadad (Valor) Order of the first degree. On October 9, 2025, a one-on-one meeting was held in Dushanbe between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the meeting, the Russian president announced that the investigation was nearing completion, that Russia would take all necessary measures to ensure compensation, and that the actions of all officials would be legally assessed.
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