One year has passed since the crash of an Embraer 190 operating Azerbaijan Airlines’ (AZAL) J2-8243 Baku–Grozny flight near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, about 3 km from the airport.

Axar.az reports the aircraft took off from Baku at 7:56 a.m. local time (UTC+03:56).

Preliminary findings indicate that as the plane was approaching Grozny, it came under fire from Russia’s Pantsir-S air defense system.

The use of Russian electronic warfare systems also completely disabled the aircraft’s communications, causing it to disappear from radar while flying in Russian airspace.

Russian sources say air defense units were attempting to intercept Ukrainian drones over Chechnya at the time, and the Azerbaijani civilian aircraft was damaged in the process.

Disoriented after being hit by air defense fire and affected by electronic warfare, the crew diverted the aircraft toward Aktau.

Thanks to the pilots’ professionalism and bravery, the plane managed to reach Aktau but was forced to make an emergency landing about 3 km short of the airport.

There were 67 people on board — 62 passengers and five crew members. Of them, 42 were Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian, six Kazakh and three Kyrgyz. The crash claimed 38 lives, while 29 people were injured.

Captain Igor Kshnyakin, First Officer Aleksandr Kalyaninov and flight attendant Hokuma Aliyeva were killed in the crash. Two other flight attendants, Zulfigar Asadov and Aydan Rahimli, survived.

After news of the tragedy, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev cut short his trip to Russia, where he was due to attend an informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg, and returned to Baku.

Upon arrival, the president held an emergency meeting at the airport.

By presidential order, a state commission led by Prime Minister Ali Asadov was set up to investigate the causes of the crash.

The same day, President Aliyev declared December 26, 2024, a national day of mourning.

Under another presidential decree, the fallen crew members were awarded the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan. President Aliyev attended their farewell ceremony, while the surviving crew members were awarded the 1st Class Rashadat (Bravery) Order.

On October 9, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a one-on-one meeting in Dushanbe. Putin said the investigation was nearing completion and that Russia would address compensation and ensure a legal assessment of all officials involved.