EL AL Suspends Flights To Moscow Over Russian Airspace Developments After Azerbaijan Airlines Crash

El Al, the national airline of Israel, has temporarily suspended flights to Moscow following the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer ERJ
190, which resulted in the deaths
of 38 people.

Israeli state media identifies “developments in Russia’s airspace” as the reason for the suspension.

Increased risk of accidents

Many airlines flying in and out of Russia are concerned with the recent reports that Russian Air Defense may have shot down Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J28243 accidentally.

The ongoing war between Russia
and Ukraine
has made the surrounding airspaces dangerous, and the unfortunate incident that occurred on christmas
day is a reminder of the consequences of operating in a country that is involved in war.

As a result, the Times of Israel reported that EL AL
had suspended flights into Russia. The airline said it would reassess the situation and decide whether to resume flights next week. Passengers who are booked on canceled flights will be notified of the changes and offered alternative travel options, such as refunds or rebooking.

Azerbaijan Airlines was the first airline to suspend flights to Russia, and now others, including El Al, are following suit.

The incident

On December 25th, multiple videos documented the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer ERJ190, which was operating flight J28243, which flies nonstop from Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) to Grozny, Russia.

As previously covered by Simple Flying, the aircraft crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau after being denied an emergency landing in Russian airspace, which forced the crew to cross the Caspian Sea and fly to Kazakhstan.

According to flight data from Flightradar24, the aircraft registered 4K-AZ65 was transmitting erratic flight data for up to 75 minutes before it crashed. The data showed major fluctuations in airspeed and altitude and large-scale oscillations, which are telltale signs of a lack of pitch control.

In addition, the aircraft was also affected by GPS spoofing in the region, which is a commonly used jamming technique.

The aircraft was unable to land at Gronzy due to low visibility and made three attempts to land. During this time, a Ukrainian drone strike occurred in the area, resulting in anti-aircraft fire from the ground. The aircraft was allegedly struck by a surface-to-air missile fired from a Pantsir-S air defense system. The shrapnel from the missile explosion tore through the cabin and hit passengers and cabin crew.

According to Azeri government sources, the aircraft declared an emergency and requested an emergency landing but was denied the ability to land at Russian airports. It was ordered to leave Russian airspace and to fly to Kazakhstan in an attempt to land at Akau, where it ultimately crashed.

Loss of life

The aircraft had 62 passengers and five crew onboard at the time of the incident. 38 people perished, including the two pilots and the purser, while 29 survived. Many of those who survived the incident were seated at the tail end of the aircraft.

According to ADS-B data, the two pilots were using power to control the pitch of the aircraft due to the damaged tailplane. Low-wing aircraft with under-wing mounted engines tend to pitch up with an increase in power and pitch down with a decrease in power. It is thought that the pilots used this tendency to try to land the plane.

They fought valiantly and managed to prevent a total loss of life.

Related

Azerbaijan Airlines President Says Flight J28243 Pilots Were Heroes

Both pilots were among the 38 fatalities in the crash, as reported by Kazakh authorities.