Causes of Azerbaijan's MiG-29 crash revealed

The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has analyzed and studied the data of the flight recorder (black box) and other technical documents of the MiG-29 combat aircraft of the Azerbaijani Air Force, which crashed on July 24, 2019, during a night flight in accordance with the training plan, Trend reports referring to the ministry.

Based on the latest report of the Aviation Accident Investigation Commission, created by the order of the Minister of Defense to reveal the causes of the aircraft crash, the plane used for the training flight was in good condition and fully operational until the accident.

The study of the causes of the incident showed that before crashing into the Caspian Sea, the plane collided with a foreign object (bird or flock of birds) in the air and the pilot was injured. According to the data obtained from the black box, the pilot tried to regain control of the aircraft in order to avoid the crash, but severe injuries of the pilot made it impossible and, as a result, led to the airplane accident.

The ministry noted that claims disseminated by some media outlets regarding the lack of specialists and special equipment in Azerbaijan to decrypt the information contained in the flight recorder are groundless.

The Defense Ministry added that after each flight, the data in the black box is analyzed in a special laboratory by professional aviation specialists of the country, as a result of which a complete picture is created of the military pilot's performance of the tasks and the technical condition of the aircraft.

"Given all this, we consider it appropriate to put an end to unprofessional comments and unfounded claims on this issue," the ministry said.