Plane crash in Kazakhstan: reports suggest Russians shot down an aircraft, similar to the Ukrainian Airlines Boeing incident in Iran.
Russians shot down an Embraer 190 aircraft belonging to AZAL, which crashed in Kazakhstan. It is likely that the plane was downed by the Russian Pantsir surface-to-air missile and gun system operating in automatic mode.
This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Defence Express.
Immediately after the aircraft's crash, there were claims online that the theory of a bird strike causing the accident was inaccurate. Subsequently, footage surfaced showing distinctive marks on the aircraft's fuselage consistent with missile debris.
Such marks were observed on the relatively intact tail section of the Embraer 190, which was operating the Baku-Grozny flight.
It is known that the day before the disaster, drones were shot down in Grozny, likely reflecting an attack from the Pantsir system. Defence Express recalls that as early as 2020, Russians boasted about the automatic mode.
In Moscow, it was stated that the “Pantsir-S” had acquired “signs of artificial intelligence” and would be able to intercept targets without human involvement. The mention of automatic mode is also present on the Russian Ministry of Defense's website.
defence-ua.com
The publication notes that a similar automatic operating mode is also available on the Tor missile system, and it was from this system, clearly in automatic mode, that the Boeing-737 of the Ukrainian airline MAU, flight PS752, was shot down near Tehran on January 8, 2020.
Air Crash in Kazakhstan
On Wednesday, December 25, a passenger Embraer 190 aircraft belonging to AZAL crashed in Kazakhstan. It was en route from Baku to Grozny. The aircraft went down near the city of Aktau.
There were 67 people on board, including the crew. As a result of the crash, 38 people lost their lives.
Online claims suggested that the plane was shot down in Grozny, with traces of possible air defense activity remaining on the fuselage. The official version of the crash cited a bird strike.