Kazakhstan plane crash claims lives after bird strike tragedy
As a result of the Embraer 190 plane crash in western Kazakhstan, several dozen people lost their lives. According to preliminary findings, a system failure likely caused the tragedy after the plane collided with a flock of birds.
On Wednesday morning in western Kazakhstan, an Embraer 190 plane belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines crashed.
The aircraft was en route from Baku to Grozny, but due to dense fog over Grozny, it was redirected to an alternative airport in Makhachkala. It collided with birds during the flight, prompting the crew to make an emergency landing in Aktau, near the Caspian Sea. During the landing attempt, the plane broke apart and caught fire.
Onboard were between 67 and 69 people, including a five-member crew. Kazakh authorities reported that 29 people survived the crash, with several requiring surgery. The passengers included citizens of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan.
Possible cause
In response to the tragedy, the Azerbaijani government declared December 26 a national mourning.
According to the Kazakh portal Orda, the most likely cause of the crash was a collision with a flock of birds, which caused the flight control system to fail.
11-year-old aircraft
The Embraer 190, manufactured in 2013 in Brazil, was named "Qusar". It was used for international flights, including Russia, Turkey, Iran, Georgia, the Czech Republic, and Bahrain. 2017 it briefly operated for Buta Airways before returning to Azerbaijan Airlines. On December 15, the plane again did not reach Grozny due to the airspace closure over the city.
The Embraer 190 is considered a relatively safe aircraft, with a 0.1 percent probability of a fatal accident. Before the Aktau crash, there had been three fatal accidents worldwide. The last major incident occurred on February 18, 2024, when a Danish airline's plane crashed in Belgrade, but fortunately, there were no fatalities.
