Plane Crashes In Kazakhstan, Bursts Into Flames
A passenger plane from Azerbaijan Airlines burst into flames after crashing near the Aktau city of Kazakhstan, the country’s Emergencies Ministry said.
The Embraer 190 plane was en route from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grzony in Russia’s Chechnya but was rerouted due to fog in Grozny. Sixty-two passengers were onboard the plane along with five crew members.
“According to preliminary information, there are 32 survivors of whom 22 have been hospitalised,” the ministry said on Telegram.
The crash took place near the airport. The plane reportedly took several circles, requesting an emergency landing, but it stalled and crashed.
The Kazakh transport ministry said that of the plane’s passengers, 37 were from Azerbaijan, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan and 16 from Russia, AFP reported.
The plane transmitted a distress signal before the crash due to a collision with a flock of birds and a steering malfunction. The pilots tried to gain speed and altitude until the very end, but the controls completely failed.
Another video showed the aircraft trying to gain altitude. It rapidly ascends but starts stalling. Later the pilot tries to control the aircraft to gain height. The aircraft started circling near the airport and later crashed.
