Experts named possible reasons for the plane crash in Kazakhstan

Experts interviewed by Izvestiya named possible reasons for the plane crash in Kazakhstan on December 25. Thus, they did not rule out that the cause of the crash of Embraer 190 of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) in Aktau could be a lack of fuel.

Currently, the investigation into the fall of the aircraft is ongoing, the official causes of the accident are being established.

"After giving the aviation signal, the airplane flew over the Caspian Sea. And nothing prevented it from doing so. But at the final stage of the flight, during the descent, you can see that both engines were no longer working," honored Russian pilot Yuri Sytnik told Izvestia.

The airplane is controlled from three hydraulic systems, when the engines fail, the pumps do not work, the control comes from the backup channel, which causes certain difficulties, the pilot notes.

"First of all, we need to check how much fuel was poured into the airliner and whether the plane used it up during the flight across the Caspian Sea on its way to Aktau in Kazakhstan," Sytnik suggested.

Tragedy in Aktau: Baku-Grozny passenger plane crashed

A fire started at the scene and there are survivors

The flight was originally planned to take a short route from Baku to Grozny, but due to bad weather conditions the plane was diverted first to Makhachkala and then to Kazakhstan's Aktau.

Sytnik concluded from the video footage that the Embraer 190 missed the runway by only 600-800 meters. The failure of two engines at once can be caused by various reasons, including fuel problems, clogged filters and other things, the pilot said.

The version of collision with birds, which was named among others, could not have led to such a catastrophe, experts believe. Aircraft collisions with birds usually occur at low altitudes of up to 500 meters. However, if a flock of birds hit the plane at echelon, it would not have caused it to go down immediately.

"The board requested an emergency landing while still flying at echelon, meaning something happened at high altitude," Andrei Patrakov, founder of flight safety and certification service RunAvia and aviation expert, told Izvestia.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), up to 80% of collisions with birds are most often recorded at heights of 100-500 m. Sometimes migratory flocks rise to 3,000 meters.

"But the echelon for airplanes is usually in the region of 10 thousand meters and higher. In rare cases it is possible to meet birds at such heights, for example, with migratory geese over the Caspian Sea. But after the signal was given, the airplane was still in the air for a long time and fell far from immediately," the expert said.

Rosaviatsia reported that the crash of the Embraer 190 of Azerbaijan Airlines occurred at 09:30 Moscow time in the area of the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, while landing at Kazakhstan's Aktau airport. The airplane collided with the ground and caught fire. The fire was extinguished. According to Rosaviatsia spokesman Artem Korenyako, according to preliminary data, after the collision with birds due to an emergency situation on board the aircraft, its commander decided to go to an alternate airfield.

As reported to "Interfax" in the emergency services, the failure of technology could have led to the crash of the aircraft.

A criminal case has been opened over the crash under the article "Violation of safety rules in the operation of a vehicle, resulting in the death of two or more persons by negligence". On board were 62 passengers, five crew members. According to preliminary data, 32 people survived.