What we know so far about the Azerbaijani airline crash that killed more than 30 people
A Russia-bound Azerbaijani airliner crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday after being diverted, killing 38 of 67 people on board. Some experts alleged that the plane went down after being hit by Russian air defence systems.
Here’s what is known so far.
How did the plane crash?
Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons that aren’t fully clear yet.
It crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau, Kazakhstan, after flying east across the Caspian Sea.
At least thirty-eight people were killed after an Azerbaijan Airlines plane bound for Russia crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas morning, a Kazakh official said, adding that 29 others, including two children, survived the disaster. Investigators continue to work to determine what caused the crash.
The plane went down near the coast about three kilometres from Aktau. Cellphone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before hitting the ground and exploding in a fireball.
Rescuers rushed the 29 people who survived the crash to hospitals.
How did Azerbaijan react?
Azerbaijan observed a nationwide day of mourning on Thursday. National flags were lowered across the country, traffic across the country stopped at noon, and signals were sounded from ships and trains.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, but said that the weather had forced the plane to change from its planned course.
“The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing,” he said.
What do officials, experts say about a possible cause?
Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani and Russian authorities say they are investigating the crash.
Embraer, which is a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, told The Associated Press in a statement that the company is “ready to assist all relevant authorities.” Brazil has sent three Air Force investigators to Kazakhstan to “provide technical support” in a probe of the crash.
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.
Some commentators alleged that the holes seen in the plane’s tail section pictured after the crash possibly indicate that it could have come under fire from Russian air defence systems fending off a Ukrainian drone attack.
Mark Zee of OPSGroup, which monitors the world’s airspace and airports for risks, said that the analysis of the fragments of the crashed plane indicate with a 90-99 per cent probability that it was hit by a surface-to-air missile.
Osprey Flight Solutions, an aviation security firm based in the United Kingdom, warned its clients that the “Azerbaijan Airlines flight was likely shot down by a Russian military air-defence system.”
Osprey CEO Andrew Nicholson said that the company had issued more than 200 alerts regarding drone attacks and air defence systems in Russia during the war.
In Azerbaijan, online newspaper Caliber claimed that the airliner was fired at by a Russian Pantsir-S air defence system as it approached Grozny. It questioned why Russian authorities failed to close the airport despite the drone attack in the area on Wednesday. Khamzat Kadyrov, head of Chechnya’s Security Council, said that air defences downed drones attacking the region on Wednesday.
Caliber also asked why Russian authorities didn’t allow the plane to make an emergency landing in Grozny or other Russian airports nearby after it was hit.
Asked Thursday about the claims that the plane had been fired upon by air defence assets, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it would be wrong to make hypotheses before investigators make their verdict.”
Kazakhstan’s parliamentary Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev also warned against rushing to conclusions based on pictures of the plane’s fragments, describing the allegations of air defence fire as unfounded and “unethical.”
Other officials in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have similarly avoided comment on a possible cause of the crash, saying it will be up to investigators to determine it.
Published at Thu, 26 Dec 2024 13:02:23 +0000
Woman accusing Jay-Z, Sean (Diddy) Combs of rape can stay anonymous for now, judge says
An Alabama woman who says she was raped by Jay-Z and Sean (Diddy) Combs when she was 13 can proceed anonymously, for now, in her lawsuit against the rap moguls, a judge ruled Thursday.
In her written order, Judge Analisa Torres also chastised the lawyer representing Jay-Z for what she described as his combative motions and “inflammatory language” against the plaintiff’s lawyer, calling them inappropriate.
The Manhattan judge said the woman can proceed anonymously at this early stage of the litigation, but she may be required to reveal her identity at a later date, if the case proceeds. That would allow defence lawyers to collect facts necessary to prepare for trial. Torres also cited “substantial interest” from the public.
Combs remains jailed in New York awaiting a criminal trial on federal sex trafficking charges. He also faces a wave of sexual assault lawsuits, many of which were filed by the plaintiff’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, a Texas attorney who says his firm represents over 150 people, both men and women, who allege sexual abuse and exploitation by Combs.
The lawsuits allege many individuals were abused at parties in New York, California and Florida after receiving drug-laced drinks.
An amended lawsuit filed in federal court on Sunday alleges that rap mogul Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old girl along with Sean (Diddy) Combs during a party in 2000. Jay-Z denies the claim.
Combs’ lawyers have dismissed Buzbee’s lawsuits as “shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.”
Jay-Z has said in a statement that Buzbee is trying to blackmail him to settle the Alabama woman’s allegations.
Buzbee said in an email that his firm does not comment on court rulings.
In her lawsuit, the woman who says she was raped at 13 identifies herself as Jane Doe. She said she was living in Rochester in 2000 when she made her way to New York City and befriended a limousine driver who drove her to an after-party for the MTV Music Awards, where she says she was eventually attacked by Jay-Z and Combs.
Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, asked the judge to dismiss the entertainer from the woman’s lawsuit and he requested a hearing on the case for the day after he made his requests in writing on Dec. 18.
Citing an interview the plaintiff did on NBC-TV, Spiro wrote that the broadcast revealed “glaring inconsistencies and outright impossibilities” in the plaintiff’s story. He noted that the woman said she travelled for five hours from Rochester to watch the music awards show on a Jumbotron outside the event, even though permits and pictures show there was no Jumbotron present.
Spiro also noted that the woman’s father has said he does not recall driving from Rochester to pick his daughter up in New York City, as she says he did.
The woman has admitted inconsistencies in her story.
Torres wrote in her order Thursday that Spiro, who has been on the case for less than three weeks, has submitted a “litany of letters and motions attempting to impugn the character of Plaintiff’s lawyer, many of them expounding on the purported ‘urgency’ of this case.”
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Referring to Jay-Z by his legal last name, the judge said: “Carter’s lawyer’s relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks is inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client. The Court will not fast-track the judicial process merely because counsel demands it.”
A message seeking comment from Spiro was left for him on Thursday.
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
Published at Fri, 27 Dec 2024 02:25:11 +0000
