After Russia Downs Azerbaijan Airlines’ E190, El Al Suspends Service To Moscow

Never Miss Another Deal - Follow DansDeals on Facebook

El Al announced that they will suspend service to Moscow, Russia for at least the next week. “Over the next week, a renewed assessment of the situation will be carried out to decide whether the route will be resumed.” 

It has been 10 years since Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, operated by a 777 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down by Russian backed forces over Eastern Ukraine.

Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243, departed yesterday from Baku, Azerbaijan (GYB) to Grozny, Russia (GRV). The flight was operated by an 11 year old Embraer 190, with 62 passengers and 5 crew members.

The flight departed the gate at 7:49am and took off at 7:56am Azerbaijan time.

Due to poor weather conditions in Grozny, it was diverted to Makhachkala, Russia (MCX), and due to poor weather there, it was diverted to Aktau, Kazakhstan (SCO).

The plane was at its cruising altitude of 30,000 feet when it dropped off of radar coverage to cross the Caspian Sea at 8:40am Azerbaijan time.

At 9:35am Azerbaijan time, it declared an emergency over the Caspian Sea for the failure of its control system.

The aircraft circles around several times and the right wing of the plane hit the ground near Aktau Airport at 10:30am Azerbaijan time/11:30 Kazakhstan time.

The tail section broke off upon impact, and 26 passengers and 3 flight attendants in that section survived. 11 of the 29 survivors are in critical condition.

The front of the plane was destroyed by an explosion upon impact and fire, killing 36 passengers and both pilots.

Reuters is reporting that Russian air defense systems targeted and hit the flight. There were shrapnel marks on the vertical stabilizer and wings, so it may not have been a direct hit, but the plane may have been damaged by an explosion.

It’s unclear if the Russian air defense systems fired on their own or if they were ordered to shoot down what may have been mistaken for a Ukrainian drone.

The plane survived the hit and the crew flew for nearly an hour afterward as they tried to regain control of the aircraft, making erratic movements for the duration of the flight.

Subkhon Rakhimov, a passenger onboard the flight who survived due to be being seated in the rear of the plane, shared footage from in-flight and the aftermath of the crash:

Video from the cabin of the Azal plane a few minutes before crashing near the Kazakh city of Aktau.

Subkhon Rakhimov sent this footage to his wife as soon as he realized that something was wrong with the plane. People are worried, praying, and oxygen masks have already fallen… pic.twitter.com/35u7E8MAEx

— War&Peace (@realpeacenotwar) December 25, 2024

NEW: The man who filmed a video for his wife as the Azerbaijan Airlines fell from the sky, miraculously survived, filmed another video showing apparent shrapnel damage.

It is now suspected that the plane crashed after being hit by Russian air defenses.

Subkhon Rakhimov, the man… pic.twitter.com/Gln20M8FjL

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 26, 2024

This all seems eerily reminiscent of United Flight 232 in 1989, which I’ve written about many times. That DC-10 lost all hydraulic controls, but managed to land after a series of maneuvers that involved controlling the plane only via differential thrust. 185 of the 296 passengers survived that accident.

Did the Russian air defense systems damage the Azerbaijan flight’s hydraulic controls as well? Will more airlines avoid Russian airspace due to the accident?