Kazakhstan’s preliminary AZAL crash report earns ICAO’s approval

Kazakhstan will continue cooperating with ICAO for a full investigation into the causes of the AZAL airline plane crash near Aktau, Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said a meeting with Nicolas Rallo, Director of the ICAO European and North Atlantic Office.

Report informs via Kazinform that Bozumbayev thanked ICAO for promptly sending independent expert Tormodur Tormodsson to the AZAL crash site: "On behalf of the government, I express our sincere gratitude to you personally for the continuous support provided to us, including support for our initiatives."

"To fully complete this investigation, we will continue our cooperation with ICAO," Bozumbayev added.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that from the very first days after the crash, Kazakhstan was committed to conducting an objective and comprehensive investigation.

Rallo, in turn, highly praised the preliminary report on the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash investigation, which Kazakhstan conducted and published in a short time.

"I would like to acknowledge Kazakhstan and the entire Investigation Commission for their efforts, which allowed them to complete this preliminary report in less than 1.5 months after the crash. I urge you to continue ensuring full compliance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation throughout the entire investigation process," Rallo said.

It is worth noting that the final report on the AZAL plane crash in Aktau will be published by the end of this year in accordance with the Chicago Convention.

The AZAL passenger plane, operating the Baku-Grozny flight, crashed on December 25 near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan. Out of 67 people on board, 38 died, and 29 survived.

According to preliminary data, the crash occurred due to physical and technical external interference in Russian airspace.