• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Tragic footage shows commercial flight crash near airport killing 38 passengers

Home> News> World News

Updated 10:42 26 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 10:23 26 Dec 2024 GMT

Tragic footage shows commercial flight crash near airport killing 38 passengers

67 people were on board the flight when it crashed near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton

Heartbreaking footage has emerged of the Azerbaijani plane which crashed on Christmas Day, killing 38 people.

The flight from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus was diverted and the plane attempted to make an emergency landing 3km from Aktau.

There were 29 survivors of the crash, with 67 onboard in total

Speaking at a news conference, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said: “The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing."

It's unclear what caused the pilot to attempt an emergency landing, but Russia's aviation watchdog said preliminary reports suggested it may have been a bird strike, CNN reports.

Advert

According to Kazakh officials, those aboard the plane included 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhs and three Kyrgyzstan nationals.

At the time of writing, 27 passengers are reported to have survived the devastating ordeal, while 38 lost their lives.

The Azerbaijan Airlines flight had 67 people on board (Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight had 67 people on board (Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Because the plane burst into flames when it crashed, the deceased were discovered 'in poor condition'.

Advert

Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said: "The bodies are in poor condition, mostly burnt, all collected.

"Now they will be in the morgue, and identification will take place."

Of the survivors, only one remains unidentified.

"She is unconscious, has no documents, and is in the hospital," Bozumbayev said of the woman in question.

Advert

Mobile phone footage circulating online of the fatal crash appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before smashing into the ground in a fireball.

Other footage showed part of its fuselage ripped away from the wings and the rest of the aircraft lying upside in the grass.

The footage corresponded to the plane’s colours and its registration number.

Warning: Distressing content

Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24.com showed the aircraft making what appeared to be a figure eight once nearing the airport in Aktau, its altitude moving up and down substantially over the last minutes of the flight before impacting the ground.

Advert

FlightRadar24 separately said in an online post that the aircraft had faced 'strong GPS jamming', which 'made the aircraft transmit bad ADS-B data', referring to the information that allows flight-tracking websites to follow planes in flight.

Russia has been blamed in the past for jamming GPS transmissions in the wider region.

The remains unclear what caused the fatal crash (Issa Tazhenbayev/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The remains unclear what caused the fatal crash (Issa Tazhenbayev/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Azerbaijan’s state news agency, Azertac, said that an official delegation of Azerbaijan’s emergency situations minister, the deputy general prosecutor and the vice president of Azerbaijan Airlines were sent to Aktau to conduct an 'on-site investigation'.

Advert

Meanwhile, Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani and Russian authorities have announced that they are investigating the crash as well.

Today, December 26, has been declared as a day of mourning in Azerbaijan by President Ilham Aliyev.

Featured Image Credit: @‌fl360aero/Twitter/ISSA TAZHENBAYEV/Getty

Topics: News, Travel, World News, Russia

Niamh Shackleton
Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

X

@niamhshackleton

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

14 mins ago
11 hours ago
13 hours ago
  • 14 mins ago

    Virginia Giuffre's family issue scathing response after Trump claimed Epstein 'stole' her

    Trump explained what Epstein was doing that rubbed him the wrong way

    News
  • 11 hours ago

    Hulk Hogan’s daughter Brooke reveals shocking reason she didn’t attend dad’s tributes

    Brooke Oleksy shut down previous reports that she and her late father were on bad terms

    Celebrity
  • 11 hours ago

    Expert reveals the 3 common names you should never give your baby for surprising reason

    All three are strong names that are popular today, but there's a reason why this expert doesn't think you should name your child them

    News
  • 13 hours ago

    James Gunn responds to Trisha Paytas naming baby ‘Aquaman’ following bizarre Ozzy Osbourne conspiracy

    DC Studios' co-CEO has reacted to the internet celeb having named her baby Aquaman - something she revealed on the day Ozzy Osbourne died

    Celebrity
  • Chilling plea pilot of Air India plane gave security guard before crash killing 260
  • Commercial flight that killed 38 passengers was downed by Russian air defence system, sources claim
  • Tragic footage shows passenger plane moments before it skids off runway and explodes killing at least 167 people
  • Vladimir Putin speaks out following reports Russian air defence shot down plane that killed 38 passengers