A flight attendant who was killed when Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 crashed and burst into a ball of flames in a field close to Aktau, Kazakhstan, has been hailed as a national hero as she attempted to reassure petrified passengers onboard the disabled aircraft that “everything will be fine.”
Tributes were paid to Purser Hokuma Aliyeva on Thursday, just hours before Azerbaijani government sources confirmed to Euro News that the Embraer E90 regional jet was struck by a Russian surface-to-air missile as it attempted to land in Grozny following an otherwise routine flight from Baku.
After the fuselage of the aircraft was peppered with shrapnel, piercing the cabin and injuring several passengers, the passengers heroically attempted to divert the plane to Kazakhstan and make an emergency landing in Aktau.
Tragically, the pilots lost control of the plane just three kilometers from the airport on Aktau. Video taken by eyewitnesses on the ground showed the moment that the plane entered a steep descent before crashing into the ground and breaking into two parts.
Miraculously, many of the passengers in the rear part of the aircraft were able to walk away from the wreckage.
Of the 62 passengers and five crew members onboard, 38 were killed, and several remain in critical condition. Both pilots, Captain Igor Kshnyakin and First Officer Aleksandr Kalyaninov, were also killed in the crash.
Initial reports suggested that the 11-year-old single-aisle regional jet had experienced a bird strike, although images of the crash site quickly started circulating online, showing what appeared to be shrapnel damage across the fuselage.
Azerbaijani officials believe the aircraft was hit by a Russian air defense system after drone activity was reported in the area of Grozny at the time of the incident. The Russian government is yet to confirm the reports.
Despite flying close to several Russian airports, the Azerbaijanis have briefed Western media that the pilots were denied permission to make an emergency diversion to these airports near Grozny.
Instead, the pilots were forced to fly across the Caspian Sea to Aktau. There is already speculation that Russian officials planned for the plane to go down in the water where evidence of their mistake would be destroyed.
According to local media, a Pantsir-S air defense system took down flight J2-8243. Russian air defenses had been on high alert due to drone activity, known as ‘unmanned air vehicles’ or UAVs, in the area of Grozny.
Russian sources claim the UAVs belonged to Ukraine. No damage or casualties was reported in the Grozny area.
Azerbaijan is marking an official day of mourning on Thursday as the country remembers all of the victims of flight J2-8243.
In a statement, Azerbaijan Airlines said it planned to transport the bodies of all of the victims back to Azerbaijan, along with survivors who were well enough to travel.
The airline has already suspended flights around Grozny over fears that an air defense system was responsible for the accident.
