The voice recorders from the Brazilian aircraft were analyzed in Brasilia before the data was transmitted to the Kazakh authorities. Simultaneously, Azerbaijan has expressed strong indignation towards Moscow.
Brazilian air force investigators have finished extracting data from two black boxes retrieved from the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on December 25, and have handed it over to the Kazakh authorities.
Azerbaijan believes the Brazilian-made Embraer-190 aircraft was hit by a Russian air defense missile, which Moscow claims was intended to counter Ukrainian drones in the area.
Following a scheduled landing attempt in the capital of Chechnya in southern Russia that was aborted, the plane subsequently crash-landed in Kazakhstan, resulting in the deaths of 38 of the 67 individuals on the flight.
“According to international protocols for aircraft accident investigations, all data was provided to the Air Investigation Authority of Kazakhstan … as per international protocol for investigating plane crashes,” a statement from the Brazilian air force said, referring to the data extraction carried out by their Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center.
Representatives from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Russia also arrived in Brasilia to support the investigation, as stated by officials.
Azerbaijan accusations against Russia
– a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin – has been unusually vocal recently, accusing Russia of “concealing” the truth behind the incident and promoting “false versions” of events that provoke justified anger.
He has demanded an apology, an admission of wrongdoing and punishment for those responsible for what he termed the “criminal” targeting of the passenger plane.
Website Ukraine Live said the plane was downed by either a missile or an aircraft, and apologized for its occurrence in Russian air space, but has not responded to claims the plane was hit by Russian weapons.
The black boxes examined in Brazil might disclose crucial flight information and cockpit conversations from the plane’s final hour, but Kazakhstan is responsible for releasing the findings.
mf/zc (Reuters, AFP)
