Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku, Azerbaijan, to Kadyrov Grozny International Airport near Grozny, Russia, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines. On 25 December 2024, the Embraer E190 operating the flight was severely damaged by a Russian surface-to-air missile during the aircraft's approach to Grozny. The pilots attempted to divert but the hydraulic system failed, leading to a loss of control and ultimately a crash near Aktau International Airport in Aktau, Kazakhstan, with 62 passengers and 5 crew on board. Of those 67 people, 38 died in the accident, including both of the pilots and a flight attendant, while 29 people survived with injuries.
Approximately 40 minutes after takeoff, as the aircraft entered Russian airspace and neared Grozny, the crew reported losing GPS navigational aids, due to jamming. Foggy conditions were also reported by the airport. As the plane approached its destination, 81 minutes into the flight, passengers reported an explosion and shrapnel striking the aircraft. In radio transmissions, the pilots attributed the event to a bird strike and requested a diversion. They initiated emergency protocols, including squawking 7700 on the transponder, and redirected the flight over the Caspian Sea toward Kazakhstan.
However, after the crash, the aircraft was found to be riddled with holes in its fuselage, some containing fragments of foreign metal objects, damage inconsistent with a bird strike but resembling the impact of a surface-to-air missile. On 26 December, Euronews reported that Azerbaijani officials had determined the plane had been hit mid-flight by a Russian missile during efforts to repel a Ukrainian drone attack amid the Russo-Ukrainian war. Shrapnel from the blast injured several passengers and cabin crew. On 27 December, The New York Times reported that Azerbaijani investigators believed a Russian Pantsir-S1 air-defence system had damaged the plane before it crashed. On 4 February, Reuters reported that investigators had recovered a fragment of a Pantsir-S missile from inside the fuselage.
On 28 December, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, for the "tragic incident" involving the aircraft in Russian airspace. He stated that Ukrainian drones had been targeting Grozny at the time and that Russian air defences had repelled these attacks, but he did not confirm that the flight had been shot down nor acknowledged Russian responsibility. On 29 December, President Aliyev said that Russia had accidentally shot down the plane, accused Russia of attempting to obfuscate and "hush up" the crash, and demanded a full admission of guilt, punishment for those responsible, and compensation for the victims and their families. On 9 October 2025, Putin admitted that the plane was accidentally downed by a Russian missile, suggesting that the missile detonated several meters away from the aircraft.
On 15 April 2026, the Russian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministries issued a joint statement that the parties had agreed on a settlement, including compensation, and that the crash was caused by an unintentional air defense strike in Russian airspace.
Background
In the weeks preceding the crash of Flight 8243 on 25 December 2024, Chechnya's capital, Grozny, was under increased military tension due to repeated Ukrainian drone attacks following Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 12 December, a drone strike damaged a Chechen OMON police regiment facility, injuring several personnel; similar strikes had occurred on 4 December and earlier that autumn. As a result, Russian authorities reportedly employed heightened air defense and electronic warfare systems, including GPS jamming, to repel suspected drone incursions in the region.
This elevated military posture persisted through late December. On the day of the crash, airspace over Grozny was subject to an active no-fly zone, purportedly aimed at countering drone threats—despite ongoing civilian traffic and with visibility impacted by dense fog.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved, which was manufactured on 26 June 2013, was an Embraer E190AR (Advanced Range), the longest range variant of the aircraft. It was registered as 4K-AZ65, and named Gusar after the Azerbaijan regional capital city. It was powered by two General Electric CF34-10E6G07 engines, and underwent its last maintenance on 18 October 2024. Since 2013, the aircraft was operated by the airline, except from 2017 to 2023, when it flew under the airline's subsidiary Buta Airways. The aircraft was 11 years old at the time of the crash and had logged around 15,257 flight hours.
Passengers and crew
There were 62 passengers on board. Among them, 37 passengers were citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 of Russia, six of Kazakhstan, and three of Kyrgyzstan. Two children were on board.
The aircraft had a crew of five: two pilots and three flight attendants, all of whom were Azerbaijanis. Captain Igor Kshnyakin was the pilot in command while his copilot was First Officer Aleksandr Kalyaninov. Kshnyakin had over 15,000 hours of flight time.
Accident
The flight, with a scheduled takeoff time of 08:10, took off from Heydar Aliyev International Airport, Baku, at 07:55 for Kadyrov Grozny International Airport with a scheduled arrival at 09:10.
Approximately 40 minutes after takeoff, as the aircraft entered Russian airspace near Grozny, the crew reported to air traffic control that it had lost GPS navigational aids. At the same time, the aircraft's Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) signal, a system used for real-time aircraft tracking, also disappeared. These occurrences strongly indicate that the aircraft was subjected to "GPS jamming." Such interference is prohibited under international regulations established by the International Telecommunication Union and the International Civil Aviation Organization, both of which count Russia as a member. Despite these regulations, GPS jamming has been employed by the Russian military to counter Ukrainian drone operations. GPS jamming has become a recurring issue for flights and is frequently encountered when entering Russian airspace.
As the plane approached Grozny, passengers reported an explosion and shrapnel striking the aircraft. At 09:16 AZT the crew reported a "control failure" due to a "bird strike in the cockpit." They asked to divert to Mineralnye Vody Airport, but upon hearing about the weather conditions, asked instead to divert to Uytash Airport in Makhachkala. Shortly after, at 09:22 AZT, the crew reported a hydraulics failure. Air traffic controllers told the crew not to attempt a landing in Makhachkala due to poor weather. The crew issued a distress signal by squawking 7700 at 09:25, reporting a failure of the control system.
At 09:49, the pilots requested an emergency landing at Aktau International Airport and attempted to manage the approach in direct mode, with the estimated landing time set for 10:25 (11:25 Kazakhstan time AQTT, UTC+05:00). At 10:00 (11:00 AQTT), the Emergency Situations Department of the Mangystau Region sent emergency response teams and resources to Aktau airport.
The plane entered Kazakh airspace at 10:02, reappearing on ADS-B at 10:07 while flying over the Caspian Sea towards Aktau. Altitude and speed data from ADS-B transmissions indicated the aircraft experienced extremely varying altitude and speed values.
Unable to land on the first attempt, the aircraft initiated a go-around manoeuvre to re-position for another runway approach. As it was making a third turn, at 10:28, communication between the pilots and air traffic control was lost. At 10:30, the airliner struck the ground three kilometres (1.9 mi; 1.6 nmi) from the airport, with its right wing hitting first. It then tumbled, exploded, and broke into two major pieces. The explosion, combined with the fire that broke out after the plane crashed, destroyed the front section of the plane. The tail section of the plane came to rest upside down away from the main wreckage, and remained largely intact. The crash was captured on video, which showed that the landing gear was deployed when the plane hit the ground. Additional resources and personnel from the Emergency Situations Department, initially stationed at the Aktau airport, arrived at the scene at 10:35 and were deployed at an elevated emergency rank, extinguishing the fire by 11:05 AZT (12:05 AQTT). A surviving crew member said that the pilots initially ordered them to prepare for a water landing before changing to a ground landing.
Of the 67 people on board, 29 survived, and 38 died. Of the five crew members aboard, two flight attendants survived, and both pilots and one flight attendant were killed. Authorities said all of the fatalities occurred at the scene. The 29 survivors, including two children, were hospitalised following the accident for injuries that included closed craniocerebral injuries, brain concussion, closed chest injuries, and traumatic shocks. Most of the survivors were believed to have been seated in the rear section of the aircraft, and 11 survivors were in critical condition.
Aftermath
Following the accident, a state of emergency was declared in Tupkaragan District, where the aircraft crashed. A total of 482 emergency response personnel, 97 pieces of special equipment, 10 canine brigades, and two aircraft were deployed to the crash site. Additional doctors were flown in from Astana to treat the injured. The Blood Centre of the Mangystau Region reached out to the public, asking that healthy people donate blood. Soon after, residents of Aktau arrived at the centre to donate their blood, with around 300 participating. Residents of Astana also lined up at the city's blood centre to donate blood. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations flew equipment and medical workers to Kazakhstan to help with the response to the crash. It later airlifted Russian nationals injured in the accident to Moscow. On 26 December, seven injured Azerbaijanis were repatriated by Baku's Ministry of Emergency Situations.
A Republican headquarters was created on the basis of Kazakhstan's Emergencies Ministry Command Centre, which included representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Healthcare, the Ministry of Transport, the National Guard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies. Meanwhile, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev issued awards to employees of Astana's Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Mangistau Electric Grid Company and Aktau International Airport as well as health workers and police officers involved in the response to the crash.
A crisis centre was established at the Russian consulate in Oral. Diplomatic staff were also sent to the crash site. Representatives from the Azerbaijani consulate in Aktau were also deployed to the crash site. A special medical team and related equipment were also dispatched from Azerbaijan. On the day of the accident, one of the aircraft's two flight recorders was located by a search team. The second was confirmed to be recovered the next day.
Azerbaijan Airlines suspended its Baku–Grozny–Baku and Baku–Makhachkala–Baku flights for the duration of the investigation. It also opened a hotline for relatives of those on board and changed its social media profiles to black as a sign of mourning. The Israeli flag carrier El Al suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow for a week "citing developments in Russia's airspace". It later extended the suspension until the end of March 2025. On 27 December Azerbaijan Airlines also suspended flights to Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Mineralnye Vody, Nizhny Novgorod, Vladikavkaz and Saratov, citing "security reasons", likely due to the investigation finding anti aircraft missile damage in the aircraft. Qazaq Air also suspended its flights from Astana to Yekaterinburg until 27 January 2025 citing similar concerns. Flydubai also suspended flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody for a few days. Turkmenistan Airlines also suspended flights from Ashgabat to Moscow Domodedovo Airport from 30 December until 31 January.
The pilots of the plane and flight attendant Hokuma Aliyeva were buried at the II Alley of Honor. President Ilham Aliyev posthumously awarded them the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan, while the two surviving crew members, Zulfiqar Asadov and Aydan Rahimli, were awarded the Order of "Rashadat" (Courage) of the 1st degree.
Compensation
Azerbaijan Airlines said it would pay 20,000 manats (approximately US$12,000) as compensation to each of the injured passengers, and 40,000 manats (approximately US$23,000) to the families of those who were killed. All surviving passengers will also receive the relevant insurance payment in accordance with Azerbaijani law. On 24 January the Kazakh government said that the families of its nationals who died in the crash would receive 5 million tenges each as compensation.
In February 2025, AlfaStrakhovanie, a Russian insurance company, completed the full payment for the aviation hull insurance of the Embraer E190 aircraft, with a significant portion reinsured by the Russian National Reinsurance Company. While the exact amount remains undisclosed, it is estimated to be between US$25 million and US$30 million. Compensation to passengers, based on the Montreal Convention and Russian law, began in January and continues, with payouts of up to 2 million rubles (around US$22,000) for injury or loss of life.
On 4 September 2025, the Russian Foreign Ministry denied reports of nonpayment by media outlets and bloggers, stating insurer AlfaStrakhovanie JSC has been issuing compensation since February. Payments included ₽1.003 billion (US$12.3 million) to AZAL for the plane and ₽358.4 million (US$4.4 million) to victims and families, covering 46 of 62 passengers: 7 Russian, 35 Azerbaijani, 3 Kyrgyz, and 1 Kazakh citizens. In response, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada called the Russian statement misleading, stressing that the payouts were made strictly under AZAL's insurance contract and cannot be equated with the compensation Azerbaijan is demanding from the Russian government over the crash.
On 15 April 2026, the governments of Russia and Azerbaijan reached a compensation agreement.
Reactions
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was en route to the Commonwealth of Independent States summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, when news of the accident broke out, leading him to return to Baku, where he held an emergency meeting on the accident shortly after landing at Baku airport. He declared a day of national mourning for 26 December and later expressed thanks for Kazakh officials for their response to the disaster. First lady and vice-president Mehriban Aliyeva also expressed condolences, as did Prime Minister Ali Asadov. Condolences to Azerbaijan were expressed by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as leaders from countries outside the flight's path.