It was Christmas Day when a passenger plane crashed in western Kazakhstan, near the city of Aktau. Out of 67 people on board, 38 died and

A day after an Azerbaijani airliner’s crashed in Kazakhstan, aviation experts say the plane most likely went down after being hit by Russian air defense systems.

A passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia with 67 people on board crashed in Kazakhstan Wednesday, authorities said.

Sources told Reuters the plane had been hit by Russian fire. "It was as if it was drunk - not the same plane anymore," one passenger recalled.

Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Baku to the Russian city of Grozny when it was diverted for reasons yet unclear and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan.

A passenger jet operated by Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, after diverting from an area of southern Russia where Moscow has repeatedly used air defence systems against Ukrainian attack drones.

Russia's head of aviation Dmitry Yadrov claimed a Ukrainian drone attack was underway in Grozny before the plane crashed.

A U.S. official says a Russian anti-aircraft system may have struck the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed and killed dozens. Former FAA and former NTSB investigator Jeff Guzzetti and former Commanding General of the United States Army Europe retired Lt.

Two passengers on the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan told Reuters that they heard at least one loud bang as it approached its original destination of Grozny in southern Russia. Sean Hogan reports.

The crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines flight prompted several airlines to suspend flights to Russia.

The head of Russia's state aviation agency said Friday that the airspace was shut down over the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus when an Azerbaijani plane that later crashed in Kazakhstan tried to land.