Friday, December 27

Azerbaijani authorities have found that Russian defense fire may have been the cause of a mysterious, deadly plane crash that occurred earlier this week.

On Christmas Day, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 was flying from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny, located in the Caucuses near the border with Georgia. As it approached its destination, it suddenly veered off course, changing direction. The plane proceeded to cross the Caspian Sea and seemed to be attempting to land in Aktau, a small coastal town on the Caspian Sea belonging to Kazakhstan. However, before making a successful landing, the plane sharply dropped, leading to a fiery crash around 2 miles away from the city.

38 people were killed and all 29 survivors were injured in the devastating crash, and the entire country of Azerbaijan held a moment of silence at noon on Thursday to commemorate the victims. The wreckage of the Embraer 190 aircraft was later discovered near the airport, and both black boxes have been recovered. There are two black boxes on a plane, one on the front and one in the rear, which record information about an aircraft during its flight. The black boxes are crucial to finding out the cause of an airplane crash.

However, the definite cause is currently unknown, and authorities have not disclosed much information. Officials initially suspected that the plane changed direction due to severe weather ahead, but that would not explain the severe crash. Russian authorities stated that a bird strike may have sparked issues onboard the plane midflight, leading them to request an emergency landing. Other sources claimed that they were denied an emergency landing in Russia, causing them to reroute for Aktau. Azerbaijan Airlines also confirmed that the flight began facing control system issues due to a bird strike.

On the other hand, after taking a look at the crash, experts believe that the incident should be attributed to Russian defense systems. Pockmarks across the tail hinted that the airplane may have been hit by shrapnel, and other factors have convinced several aviation security companies that the plane was accidentally hit by a Russian surface-to-air missile. Due to the increasing number of Ukrainian drones attempting to invade the country, Russia has ramped up their usage of anti-aircraft systems. Unfortunately, this means that untrained, less experienced military members may also be at the helm of these systems, meaning that the plane could have been mistaken for an enemy drone. Many experts believe, though, that supposing the crash was caused by their systems, Russia will attempt to cover up their mistake, as it would be bad for their image.

Many different sides are backing separate theories, but more experts are arriving every day in Kazakhstan to investigate further into the crash. They expect to confirm a theory soon, but it will certainly require the important flight information recorded by the black boxes. However, it will take at least two weeks to read the black boxes, meaning that they should have a comprehensive idea of how the incident occurred within two to three weeks.

Fact of the Day: 59 different countries have stars on their flag.

Quote of the Day: Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky. (Rabindranath Tagore)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Feisty (adj, FYE-stee) - Feisty describes someone who has or shows a lively aggressiveness especially in being unafraid to fight or argue. In some regions of the US, feisty may also be used as a synonym of fidgety, quarrelsome, or frisky.

In a Sentence: Even her opponents admire her feisty spirit.