The AZAL plane that crashed near Aktau was exposed to external influences before it hit the ground.

Axar.az reports that this is stated in the preliminary report on the investigation into the AZAL plane that crashed in Aktau.

According to the information, after the aircraft was unable to make a second landing over Grozny due to unfavorable weather conditions, the captain decided to return to Baku. After making this decision, the CVR over Grozny recorded two extraneous sounds with an interval of 24 seconds.

According to the report, as a result of comparing the CVR and FDR data, it was determined that 4 seconds after the first extraneous sound, the 3rd hydraulic system, 6 seconds later the 1st hydraulic system, and 21 seconds later the 2nd hydraulic system failed, losing their functionality.

"The fact of the presence of numerous penetrating and blind damages on the fuselage of the aircraft was discovered and recorded by photo and video. These damages were found in the rear part of the fuselage of the aircraft, especially in the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, as well as on the left wing and left engine," the report says.

It was noted that foreign objects not belonging to the aircraft in the blind damages of the aircraft wreckage were detected and removed, and photographs of these foreign objects were presented to the public in the text of the preliminary report. In the future, additional examinations are planned to be conducted to determine the exact belonging of the detected foreign objects.

It should be noted that on December 25, 2024, an AZAL passenger plane operating a Baku-Grozny flight was shot down by the Russian anti-aircraft missile system in Grozny. The plane, which was heading to Kazakhstan after being denied permission to land, crashed near Aktau airport. Of the 67 people on board, 38 died, 29 survived.