Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan did not comment on unofficial data on AZAL case

The Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan does not intend to comment on the unofficial information about the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane, which appeared on the Internet. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry on January 16.

It noted that the commission of the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan, investigating the accident, continues to work to establish the causes of the accident.

"Until the publication of the preliminary report, the Commission will not comment on data from the Internet, without any official source," - stated on the website of the agency.

Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan once again reminded that the preliminary report will be published by the commission "in accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the requirements of Annex 13 ICAO".

Earlier, on January 15, the official representative of the Investigative Committee (IC) of Russia Svetlana Petrenko said that in connection with the crash of the plane of the Azerbaijani airline AZAL in Aktau in late December 2024 appointed a comprehensive forensic examination. Petrenko added that a complex aviation-technical expertise was also appointed.

On the same day, the press service of the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan reported that the decoded data of the "black boxes" of the plane arrived in the country. A preliminary report with the established factual information, as well as data on the progress of the investigation will be published after a detailed study of all the facts and materials.

It was specified that the "black boxes" returned to Kazakhstan from Brazil, where they were decoded by the commission to investigate the accident. In addition to employees of the Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aviation Accidents in Brazil (CENIPA) to work involved nine foreign technical experts from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia.

As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on January 14, the decoding of the black boxes does not confirm some preliminary conclusions voiced in the media. This once again convinces that it is necessary to wait for a full-fledged investigation, the Minister said. He pointed out that Russia highly appreciates the development of relations with the Azerbaijani side. Moscow and Baku can solve any issues, including in the context of the airplane crash, a number of consultations have been scheduled, Lavrov specified.

A passenger plane of AZAL Airlines, heading from Baku to Grozny, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25. A criminal case was opened after the incident.

There were 62 passengers and five crew members on board. Thirty-eight people died, among them were seven Russians. Nine injured citizens of the Russian Federation were taken to Moscow for treatment, three of them still remain in hospital.