Aktau plane crash: final report expected by December 2025

The investigation into the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane that occurred on December 25, 2024 in Kazakhstan will be completed no earlier than December 2025. This was announced during a briefing by Deputy Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan Talgat Lastayev, Radio Liberty reports, UNN writes.

The final report on the investigation should be completed by December of this year. The criminal investigation is within the competence of the prosecutor's office,

According to the international standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a year is usually allotted for an air crash investigation.

On February 4, the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan released a preliminary report on the crash that occurred on December 25, 2024, involving an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane. The crash killed 38 people, including three crew members, and injured 29 others with varying degrees of severity.

Initial inspection of the wreckage revealed numerous damages of various sizes and shapes on the tail section of the fuselage, keel and stabilizer, as well as on the steering surfaces. Similar damage was found on the aircraft's left engine and wing, as well as on other components. In some cases, the damage has a clearly defined rectangular shape,

The document does not provide detailed information about the seized objects, stating only that "a large number of foreign objects" were found.

It is also noted that through damage may indicate the penetration of external objects into the aircraft structure.

The publication of the report was repeatedly postponed, and the document was finally released only on the 40th day after the disaster.

Recall

On December 25, a plane flying from Baku to Grozny diverted and crashed near the airport of Aktau in Kazakhstan. There were 67 people on board, 38 died.