The Azerbaijan Airlines flight was seen hurting to the ground before seemingly rolling over on the tarmac before bursting into flames, yet somehow there are survivors.
Earlier today the Daily Star reported how an Azerbaijan Airlines flight forced to circle Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan several times crashed landed after allegedly hitting a flock of birds.
Filmed by several horrified onlookers, the plane was seen flying at speed with its nose angled towards the ground as it hurtled towards the runway. It left Baku airport at 7.55am on Christmas Day and was scheduled for Grozny in Russia, with local reports claiming that it had 67 passengers on board as well as five crew members.
The plane was seen landing upside down before rolling over and exploding into a fiery blaze – and yet 28 survivors have so far been confirmed.
The plane’s final moments were caught on camera
Another clip shows that the craft was coming in at such speed that there appeared to be no attempt to slow down – although no confirmation on what happened during the plane’s final moments have been given.
Onlookers can be heard screaming and expressing shock in Russian on least two clips of the crash, while one person can be heard shouting “make sure you record this” on another.
It rolled and crashed before exploding
Footage on the ground after the impact shows the plane in several pieces, with the main body somehow still in tact. It also shows officials scouring the site for survivors, with the search ongoing at the time of writing.
Despite several confirmed deaths, the fact that there are survivors has been dubbed a “miracle” on social media. One person wrote: “Folks, the initial reports said there were ‘survivors’. On examination of this sole footage, it would be a Christmas Day miracle if there were any survivors.”
Another posted: “It is a minor miracle . . . as apparently several people survived, some with just slight injuries.” And a third commented: “Oh thank god… glad some survived but rip the passed.”
Miraculously, there are survivors
RIA Novosti citing the Kazakhstan Ministry of Emergency later claimed that “28 survivors were taken to hospital after the plane crash in Aktau, including three children”.
According to Minival news in Azerbaijan: “Due to fog in Grozny, a plane from Baku was rerouted to Makhachkala and then to Aktau, the press service of the airport of the capital of Chechnya reported.
“The Embraer 190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines, operating flight number J2-8243 on the Baku-Grozny route, made an emergency landing 3 km from the city of Aktau. According to preliminary information, the incident was caused by the aircraft colliding with a flock of birds.
“Due to fog, the plane flew to Makhachkala, from there to Aktau (Kazakhstan) – AZAL plane crashed in Aktau because it did not receive permission to land in Grozny.”
Daily Star
