Preliminary investigation results for AZAL plane crash to be announced next week

The preliminary findings of the investigation into the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crash near Aktau, Kazakhstan, are expected to be revealed next week, according to Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev.

The preliminary results of the investigation into the crash of the AZAL airplane near Aktau may be published next week, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, head of the government commission to investigate the causes of the crash, Kanat Bozumbayev said at a briefing, Trend reports.

“This is a huge international effort. We hope that next week a preliminary part of it will be published by the Ministry of Transportation. It is recommended to publish the results within 30 days from the day of the air accident. I think that the International Commission should meet this deadline,” he said.

In addition, the deputy minister recalled that a criminal case on the fact of the accident under the auspices of the General Prosecutor's Office has been opened.

“This case is under the control of the transport prosecutor. There is ballistic expertise and explosion-technical expertise. The work is continuing there now,” Bozumbayev added.

To note, the passenger plane Embraer-190 of AZAL Airlines, flying on the Baku-Grozny route, crashed on December 25, three kilometers from Aktau airport. As many as 67 people were on board, including 62 passengers and 5 crew members.

In related developments, the Kazakh authorities clarified that the transcripts of the pilots' conversations, shared by Russian channels, are not a leak. They emphasized that the content of the data retrieved from the black box differs from these published transcripts.

These findings and clarifications are expected to shed light on the causes of the accident and guide further steps in the investigation.

As a result of the crash, 27 people were taken to the hospital. Among them are 15 citizens of Azerbaijan, 8 citizens of Russia, and 3 citizens of Kyrgyzstan. The identity of one injured person has not yet been established.

Both pilots and a stewardess were dead; two other crew members survived.