Fragments of Russian Pantsir-S1 missile found in downed Azerbaijani ERJ-190 passenger plane
Azerbaijani experts have recovered a fragment of a Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile from the downed Embraer ERJ-190 aircraft flying from Baku to Grozny.
Here's What We Know
The missile fragment was identified by international experts. At the end of December, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev blamed Russia for the tragedy and called on the Russian government to admit guilt, apologise and provide a truthful explanation. However, in the first three days after the accident, Moscow put forward only contradictory versions and did not confirm its involvement.
As a result, Azerbaijan refused to hand over the investigation to the Interstate Aviation Committee, as it considers it a pro-Russian structure, and initiated the creation of an international investigation team.
The Embraer ERJ-190 aircraft declared an emergency at 11:20 a.m. local time, but was not allowed to land at any Russian airport. The pilots were ordered to fly across the Caspian Sea to Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The downed Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 in Kazakhstan. Illustration: tengrinews.kz
According to Aliyev, the aircraft was disoriented by electronic warfare, and the tail section was severely damaged by ground fire. At the time of the crash, Russian media published a photo of the remains of Pantsir-S1 missiles, confirming that it was used in the incident.
The crash killed 38 people, including 7 Russian citizens, 23 Azerbaijanis and 6 Kazakhs.
Source: Reuters
