A Russia-bound Azerbaijani jet that crashed in Kazakhstan in December had probably been damaged by “external objects” before it hit the ground, according to a report released Tuesday.
The 53-page preliminary report published by Kazakhstan’s transport ministry included photographs of the plane riddled with holes, but it did not identify the reason why the plane went off course and crashed in its western city of Aktau.
The crash killed 38 of the 67 people on board.
According to its probe, the crew had reported to air traffic control in Russia’s city of Grozny about losing a GPS signal, and shortly later, lost control of the plane.
The report said that the plane had “various shapes and size of damage in the tail section” and “similar damage was found on the left engine and left wing of the aircraft.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly said that Russian air defense unintentionally shot down Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243.
Russian officials had initially attributed the crash to a possible bird strike or the explosion of some sort of gas cylinder. Russian President Vladimir Putin then issued a rare public apology for what the Kremlin called in a statement a “tragic accident,” saying that Russia’s air defense system was working to repel a Ukrainian drone attack on the day the plane crashed. But Moscow stopped short of claiming responsibility for the crash.
A U.S. official previously told CBS News there were early indications a Russian anti-aircraft system may have struck the plane in a region where Ukrainian and Russian forces have traded drone and rocket fire for months.
The Kremlin statement noted that it had launched a criminal probe into the incident.
Kazakhstan is heading the investigation as the crash happened on its territory. But the country, one of Russia’s closest allies, has not directly blamed Moscow.
