Hikmət Babaoğlu: "This is an Incomplete Report"

The preliminary report by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport on the investigation into the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) aircraft in Aktau has reignited discussions on the issue. Since the crash occurred in Kazakhstan's territory, the investigation is being conducted by that country.

The report states that the crashed AZAL aircraft was exposed to external impact before colliding with the ground. At the same time, the aircraft was in good technical condition before the flight.

The report also dismisses previously suggested theories that the crash was caused by a "bird strike" or an "oxygen tank explosion."

Member of Parliament from the New Azerbaijan Party, Hikmət Babaoğlu, told Turan that the preliminary report includes expert opinions in 10 points: “First of all, these opinions confirm that there was no technical failure in the aircraft before the crash, no defects were detected, and the aircraft sustained damage due to interference from an external object. Azerbaijan had put forward this version from the very beginning because we had sufficient information about it. However, unfortunately, the report does not specify what this external interference was.”

The MP believes that this should have been noted in the preliminary findings: “There are fragments of the external objects that hit the aircraft, and identifying them is quite easy. I believe that the preliminary investigation should have explicitly stated that the aircraft was attacked. At the same time, it would have been possible to determine and disclose what this external object was, what weapon it belonged to, and its characteristics. The preliminary report states that this information will be provided in the final report, which may be released within a year.”

Babaoğlu stressed that such an approach is unacceptable: “If such a tragedy has occurred, an immediate assessment should be conducted.”

According to him, there are also some positive aspects in the preliminary report: “It is noted that the pilots decided to return to Baku. However, it is not explained why they later proceeded to Aktau. Yet, the commission has information on this matter. They have retrieved data from the ‘black boxes’ and the pilots’ communications with air traffic controllers. There is a gap here as well. At this point, we can say that this is an incomplete report, although it could have been more comprehensive. We hope that a more detailed preliminary conclusion will be announced in the coming days, rather than waiting for a full year.”

Babaoğlu also noted that the conditions addressed to Russia regarding the aircraft crash remain in effect.

Elxan Shahinoglu, head of the "Atlas" Research Center, told Radio Azadlıq that the report simply states what was already known: “A few days after the crash, it became evident that there were holes in the aircraft, and everyone understood that it had been hit by a missile. Even the name of the missile was mentioned. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in an interview, stated that the ‘bird strike’ and ‘oxygen tank explosion’ theories were mere excuses.”

He emphasized that while the report does not explicitly mention the word "missile," it does contain the phrase "external interference": “This essentially means that the aircraft was struck by a missile. Although Russian media covered the report’s release, they largely avoided discussing its contents. This indicates that, in reality, Russia will neither pay compensation nor hold the perpetrators accountable.”