A HORROR map shows the death spiral of the crashed passenger jet after reports say it was blasted by a Russian missile.
The Christmas Day disaster killed 38 people after Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 carrying 67 exploded in a fireball near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan.
The Azeri Airlines flight crashed after reportedly being hit by a Russian missileEast2West
East2WestSome passengers survived after part of the fuselage miraculously stayed together[/caption]
The flight had been travelling from Baku, in Azerbaijan, to Grozny, in Russia’s Chechnya.
But tracking data from FlightRadar24 and the plane’s transponder shows the final minutes of the plane’s journey.
The jet flew in an erratic pattern, repeatedly lurching up and down across the Caspian Sea as the hero pilots fought for control of the damaged jet.
After reaching land, they tried to descend towards Aktau Airport but continued struggling to control the doomed aircraft.
The plane neared the landing strip, but it crash landed – killing more than half on board.
A Russian military blogger claims the plane was hit by the air defence missile while inside Russia.
And just one minute after the plane was hit, panicked Russia shut down air space, according to blogger VChK-OGPU.
The post claimed two drones were flying over the same part of Chechnya at the time – just after 8am.
Anti-air Pantsir missiles had been installed in the area of Grozny airport just a fortnight before, the blogger claimed.
The pilot was not given any warning about the no-fly zone – or how dangerous the area was.
Following the strike, the desperate pilot pleaded to be diverted to nearby airports, he was refused permission and so had to flee across the Caspian to Kazakhstan.
The block on flying to nearby Russian airports was accompanied by high-tech jamming of the damaged plane’s guidance systems.
According to the blogger, the pilots believed they had hit birds, causing them to lose power.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s top spy Kyrylo Budanov said the plane was shot down by a Russian Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile.
The flight undulated as it came into landReuters
The head of military intelligence told The War Zone it was the short range air defence system which brought the aircraft down.
Speaking earlier on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the crash.
Representatives of the plane’s manufacturer are now set to inspect the crash site and wreckage.
A Kremlin-supporting blogger Yuriy Podolyaka wrote that the aircraft “shows damage consistent with an air defence missile, detonating from the side and above”.
Azerbaijan Airlines has now canned flights to seven Russian cities following the disaster.
Terrifying footage showed the Embraer aircraft nosediving before smashing into the ground in a fireball.
GettyVladimir Putin has not yet commented on the disaster[/caption]
EPACandles, flowers, and portraits are placed in memory of those who died aboard the flight[/caption]
Four government sources in Azerbaijan told Reuters that the plane was downed by Russian air defences.
The missile is believed to have exploded next to the plane, with shrapnel striking the fuselage.
A US official told Reuters there are “early indications” that the jet was hit by an anti-aircraft system – adding it would point to “Russian recklessness”.
If confirmed, it marks the second time in a decade that Russia has downed a passenger plane after the MH17 crash in Ukraine in 2014.
MIRACLE SURVIVORS
Dozens of passengers, including children, miraculously survived the horror crash.
Around 150 emergency responders rushed to the scene, battling towering flames and thick plumes of black smoke rising ominously into the sky.
Meanwhile, an investigative team led by the deputy prosecutor general of Azerbaijan is working at the crash site.
They found the black box of the doomed flight which revealed the haunting final words the pilot said just moments before the plane crashed on the ground.
Struggling to control the plane, one of the pilots said: “I can’t execute, control is lost!”
The pilots tried to take the plane to three different airports but failed to land.
They lost communication with the ground crew before vanishing off the radar for 37 minutes.
Footage emerged showing terrified passengers making final video calls and leaving messages as the aircraft began to plunge.
Distressed people on board can be seen jumping out of their seats as they try to make sense of the situation.
As the oxygen masks dangled in the air, some passengers started to scream in horror, while others called their loved ones and began praying.
ReutersThe airliner appeared to have shrapnel marks in the fuselage[/caption]
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