Official sources: Russian investigators suggest Pantsir-S1 missile downed Azerbaijan Airlines flight

New findings emerging from Russian sources suggest that Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was downed by a missile fired from a Pantsir-S1 air defence system which was brought from Syria to Russia, according to reliable sources familiar with the investigation quoted exclusively by Azerbaijan-based international news channel AnewZ and reported for the first time in Europe by Euronews.

Electronic warfare systems were deployed against the Azerbaijani aircraft on 25 December as it was on its approach to land in Grozny, leading to severe malfunctions in its control systems before its crash near Aktau airport in Kazakhstan, AnewZ reported based on its sources.

According to the AnewZ, Russian investigators have identified both the individual who launched the missile and the officer in charge who gave the order.

Diplomatic sources in Azerbaijan told AnewZ that Baku refuses to allow the case to be “hushed up” and remains resolute in its demand for accountability by Russia.

This includes taking the matter to international courts if Moscow refuses to assume responsibility for the tragedy in which 38 passengers died and 29 survived with injuries.

The day after the crash, Azerbaijani government sources told Euronews that a Russian surface-to-air missile caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Aktau.

According to the sources, the missile was fired at Flight 8432 during drone air activity above Grozny, and the shrapnel hit the passengers and cabin crew as it exploded next to the aircraft mid-flight. 

Government sources told Euronews that the damaged aircraft was not allowed to land at any Russian airports despite the pilots’ requests for an emergency landing, and it was ordered to fly across the Caspian Sea towards Aktau in Kazakhstan.