Kazakhstan's Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev described how the AZAL plane crash occurred, Report informs via Kazakhstani media.
"The airport emergency services were ready to receive the aircraft. After entering Kazakhstan's airspace, the crew established communication with the Aktau tower controller. The controller promptly performed all necessary actions for the aircraft's landing. Moreover, the runway lights were turned on to facilitate visual contact with the runway," noted Karabayev.
According to him, the crew made two attempts to approach the Aktau airport runway, during which chaotic altitude changes were observed. The aircraft deviated toward the coastline, he specified.
"At 11:28 (AM), communication with the crew was lost, and the aircraft collided with the ground. The Aktau airport rescue service immediately arrived at the crash site and began evacuating the passengers. Currently, an investigation is being conducted by a special commission, which includes specialists from the Department of Transport Incident and Accident Investigation of the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan," the minister concluded.