FlightRadar Data Shows How Azerbaijan Plane Lost Vertical Speed And Altitude Before Crash

Azerbaijan Plane crash: Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed that the Azerbaijan plane J28243 crashed in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau on Wednesday, with its altitude fluctuating in the final minutes before impact. 

"The aircraft was exposed to GPS jamming and spoofing near Grozny. The altitude was oscillating for 74 minutes before the crash near Aktau Airport, 433 km from the original destination. The aircraft was airborne for 2h 33 min," FlightRadar said in a post on X.

FlightRadar24 also reported that the aircraft had encountered “strong GPS jamming,” which “made the aircraft transmit bad ADS-B data,” referring to the information that enables flight-tracking websites to follow planes in real-time. Russia has previously been blamed for jamming GPS transmissions in the wider region.

FlightRadar24 also shared a graph detailing altitude and vertical speed data for flight J28243, revealing that the aircraft struggled to maintain altitude for over an hour.

According to the tweet, the flight experienced difficulty from 05:14 UTC to 06:28 UTC, with fluctuations in its altitude and vertical speed. This period of instability occurred shortly before the aircraft's crash in Aktau, Kazakhstan.

What we know about Azerbaijan Airlines flight J28243

• Aircraft: Embraer ERJ-190
• Registration: 4K-AZ65
• Age: 11 years
• Origin: Baku (GYD)
• Destination : Grozny (GRV)
• Average flight time: 57 minutes

Azerbaijan Plane Crash 

An Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau with Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry saying that at least 28 people survived the crash, which could mean that over 30 people are likely dead. Four bodies have been recovered. The ministry confirmed in a Telegram statement Wednesday that 67 people, including five crew, were on board the plane. It added that 28 of them survived the crash and have been hospitalized. Russian news agency Interfax cited the ministry as saying that there may be more survivors and quoted medical workers at the scene as saying that four bodies have been recovered.

The Embraer 190 aircraft made an emergency landing 3 km from the city, Azerbaijan Airlines said earlier. Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry initially said 25 people survived the crash, later revising that number to 27 and then to 28 as the search and rescue operation continued at the site of the crash, bringing the supposed death toll down.