If you didn't see what happened to Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432, here's the gist of it:
The crash happened on Christmas Day on a flight from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny in Chechnya, Russia. According to the Associated Press, the flight was "diverted for reasons that aren't fully clear yet." The plane flew east across the Caspian sea and crash landed at Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan.
Here is a 2-minute video of the plane leading up to the crash in Aktau:
[Warning: Graphic]
Thirty eight of the 67 people onboard the plane were killed.
What was miraculous is that some survived, especially given reports that the plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile.
Of course, this is the official word from Russia:
Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that preliminary information indicated that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.
Yeah, about that...
These are photos of what appears to be shrapnel damage that is visible on the tail-end of the aircraft.
One man who had been presumed dead was Subkhon Rakhimov, who went viral for this video that he had shared with his wife while the aircraft was struggling in it's descent toward Aktau Airport.
As it so happens, Subkhon Rakhimov survived. He shared a video where he thanked God and showed more of the damage.
Azerbaijani outlet AnewZ reported that a "preliminary investigation" revealed a Russian air-defense missile had hit the aircraft. Survivor testimony indicates that there was some kind of explosion outside the plane while they were mid-flight.
AnewZ also reported that debris from a Russian Pantsir-S1 missile, which is fired from an anti-aircraft vehicle, had fallen in a nearby town close to the Russia-Georgia border.
Let's refer back to our handy map:
Pro-Russian accounts (and reportedly Russian officials) said Russia was actively shooting down Ukrainian drones - unmanned light aircraft packed with explosives - near Grozny at the time.
The reports have merit, considering there have been drone attacks in Grozny this month. Consider this attack on a Russian National Guard building:
[Warning: Boom]
Other reports say Flight 8432 had attempted to land multiple times in heavy fog in Grozny when the missile hit.
Here are a few more photos of shrapnel damage from inside the plane:
Fourteen of the survivors have now returned home to Azerbaijan. The country has declared a day of mourning on Thursday for the victims and a memorial ceremony was held at the Grozny airport.
There are still plenty of questions, but Russia being Russia and government being government, I'm not so sure we'll ever get actual answers beyond what social media sleuths have uncovered so far.
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