An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190, flying from Baku to Russia's Grozny, crashed in Kazakhstan's Aktau with 69 people on board earlier in the day. Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Qanat Bozymbaev said that a total of 38 people have been killed in the plane crash. According to preliminary data from AZAL, the plane crashed after a collision with a flock of birds.
The press service of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reported that the aircraft changed its course due to bad weather. The accident occurred during landing in Aktau. The head of state emphasized that there are various versions of what happened and urged everyone to wait for the conclusion of the investigation. Among other things, there were reports of a bird strike.
Azerbaijan Airlines said on Wednesday that it had canceled all Baku-Grozny-Baku and Baku-Makhachkala-Baku flights until the investigation into incident is completed.
"Until the investigation is concluded, Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended flights en route Baku-Grozny-Baku and Baku-Makhachkala-Baku. All other flights will be operated as scheduled," the airline said.