Evidence Shows Azerbaijan Airlines Flight May Have Been Shot Down

On Wednesday, the world was horrified by the report of a crash of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243, which had 67 souls on board.

Now, reports are surfacing that the plane may have been shot down, with fingers pointing toward the Russians.

The Crash

On Christmas day, headlines blew up when Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 was reported as having gone down near Aktau International Airport, Kazakhstan.

There were a total of 67 souls on board: 62 passengers and five crew members.

More than half the people on board were killed, including both pilots, and more could die from their injuries.

What was more shocking than the crash was the report after the fact, which found what appeared to be shrapnel damage to the aircraft.

It Was Shot Down

When pictures of the crash started to surface, it seemed pretty clear this was no accident.

Close-up pictures showed what appeared to be bullet holes and shrapnel damage to the fuselage of the jet, some large enough to fit a hand.

While nobody is yet accusing the Russians of purposely shooting down the airliner, it does appear that the damage was caused by the Russian air defense systems.

One source stated, “No one claims that it was done on purpose. However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft.”

Russian Missile Suspected of Hitting Plane

On Thursday, there was more information about the Christmas Day crash, with the evidence all but certain it was a Russian missile.

Matt Borie, chief intelligence officer for Osprey Flight Solutions, an aviation security firm, stated, “Video of the wreckage and the circumstances around the airspace security environment in southwest Russia indicates the possibility the aircraft was hit by some form of anti-aircraft fire.”

A Ukrainian intelligence officer added, “Russia should have closed the airspace over Grozny but failed to do so. The plane was damaged by the Russians and was sent to Kazakhstan instead of being urgently landed in Grozny to save lives.”

For its part, Russia is pointing the finger at Ukraine, claiming a drone missile is what took out the plane. So far, U.S. officials are not buying that story, leaning toward the Russian air defense system narrative. In response, several airlines have suspended flights over this airspace to prevent another mishap. The investigation into the accident is ongoing.