As more details over Azerbaijan Airlines crash emerge, pilots and crew are hailed as heroes

Published

1 year ago

December 27, 2024

FILE: Azerbaijan Airlines Captain Igor Kshnyakin (left) and First Officer Alexander Kalyanov (right) © Euronews

As harrowing details emerge of the last moments of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432, which crashed on Wednesday in Aktau, the flight crew who did their best to save the passengers until the last moment are being hailed as heroes.

Azerbaijan Airlines published the names of the five crew members, identifying Igor Kshnyakin and Aleksandr Kalyaninov as pilots and Hokuma Aliyeva, Zulfugar Asadov and Aydan Rahimli as flight attendants.

According to the airline, the Embraer 190 aircraft carried 37 Azerbaijani citizens, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan, and 16 Russian nationals.

A total of 29 passengers survived the crash, while 38 perished as the pilots attempted to make an emergency landing near the Kazakh city of Aktau.

Azerbaijani government sources have exclusively confirmed to Euronews on Thursday that a Russian surface-to-air missile caused the crash.

According to the sources, the missile was fired at Flight 8432 during drone air activity above Grozny, and the shrapnel hit the passengers and cabin crew as it exploded next to the aircraft mid-flight.

Government sources have told Euronews that the damaged aircraft was not allowed to land at any Russian airports despite the pilots’ requests for an emergency landing, and it was ordered to fly across the Caspian Sea towards Aktau in Kazakhstan.

According to data, the plane’s GPS navigation systems were jammed throughout the flight path above the sea.

Captain Kshnyakin, First Officer Kalyaninov and chief flight attendant Aliyeva lost their lives in the crash landing, while the other two flight attendants, Asadov and Rahimli, reportedly survived and were being treated in hospital on Thursday.

The family of Aliyeva, the flight’s purser who died in the crash, paid tribute to her, saying “she always told us to be proud of her”.

Aliyeva’s voice can be heard in a chilling video filmed by a passenger mid-flight in which she is heard trying to comfort the cabin.

Her family told APA news agency that Aliyeva had been working for Azerbaijan Airlines since 2016, was a “cheerful person” and studied law before deciding to become a flight attendant.

“She had visited many countries and always told us to be proud of her. Once, after returning from a trip, she said their plane almost crashed… This time, the crash happened, and my daughter couldn’t survive, ” Aliyeva’s family said.

Remarkable airmanship

Captain Kshnyakin had a flight experience of over 15,000 hours of which 11,200 hours as captain, according to Azerbaijan Airlines.

He and First Officer Kalyaninov displayed remarkable airmanship, according to experts, as they managed to fly the stricken plane across the Caspian Sea and crash landing just 3 kilometres short of the Aktau airport runway.

Based on the footage of the crash site and the airplane wreckage, aviation experts concluded that the Embraer 190’s left horizontal stabiliser appears to be punctured by shrapnel and that the aircraft lost most of its hydraulic systems, likely including rudder control.

The videos analysed by experts show the pilots were forced to vary the aircraft speed, pitching down to gain speed and climbing to slow down to be able to steer the plane, resulting in what is known as phugoid motion or an oscillation.

The pilots did not seem to have the choice to land the plane softly, and they had to attempt a crash landing without being able to flare.

Azerbaijan Airlines told Azerbaijani Trend news agency that the last full technical inspection of the aircraft was conducted last October.

According to the airline, the Embraer 190 aircraft, registered as 4K-AZ65 and manufactured in 2013, had completed a total of 9,949 landings and accumulated some 15,257 flight hours before the crash.

IPOB group cancels sit at home on Nnamdi Kanu’s directive

Published

57 minutes ago

February 8, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, says it has cancelled its sit at home order across the South East.

The group announced the decision in a statement on Saturday, saying it followed a directive from its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

According to IPOB, Kanu instructed the leadership to suspend the action in the interest of peace and the return of normal economic activities in the region.

The group said the move is aimed at easing hardship on residents and allowing businesses, schools and other daily activities to run without disruption.

IPOB urged people in the South East to go about their lawful activities. It also reaffirmed its commitment to non violence and peaceful engagement.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUfqBK9jJde/?igsh=MWV4bnB0YnZ6NnJscg==

Gunmen k!ll President General of Ogidi community and one other in Anambra.

Published

1 day ago

February 7, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

Unidentified gunmen, suspected to be cultists, have k!lled a community leader and one other person in Anambra State.

The President-General of Ogidi community in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Ikwuka Okoye, popularly known as Anumili (pictured above), was k!lled on Friday, Feb. 6.

The attack was alleged to have been carried out by members of a rival cult group in revenge for the de@th of their leader, who was arrested and k!lled by local security operatives.

During the attack, which took place at the School Field, Ogidi, another man whose identity has yet to be ascertained was also gunned down.

The spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident in a press statement on Saturday.

Ikenga said the incident is allegedly linked to the recent capture and k!lling of a known notorious cultist within the community.

He said, “The Anambra State Police Command regrets the murd£r of the President-General of the Ogidi community and one other person. The incident, which occurred on the evening of February 6, 2026, at the School Field, Ogidi, is allegedly linked to the recent capture and k!lling of a known notorious cultist within the community.

“Following the report, police operatives swiftly took over the scene of the incident and commenced investigations. The command is currently working with eyewitness accounts and other available intelligence to identify and arrest the perpetrators.

“The Anambra State Police Command assures members of the public that all efforts are being intensified to bring those responsible to justice.

“Residents are urged to remain calm and cooperate with the police as investigations continue.

“Further developments will be communicated in due course.”

Police bust syndicate behind nude photo blackmail in Lagos

Published

2 days ago

February 6, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

Men of the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Lagos, have apprehended three suspects who allegedly run a cyber blackmail and extortion scheme in the state.

According to the spokesperson of the unit, DSP Ovie Ewhubare, the suspects get a hold of their victims explicit photos and then threaten to release them if a ransom is not paid.

He said that the suspects, two males and a female, were apprehended after a petition was filed by a complainant who reported being repeatedly threatened by unknown individuals demanding money.

“The complainant received several phone calls in which the callers threatened to release her nude photographs to the public if she failed to pay them. Acting out of fear and emotional distress, she transferred money to the suspects.

The situation escalated when the suspects demanded an additional N10 million, prompting her to formally petition the police,” he said

The police imagemaker state dthat upon receipt of the complaint, the Commissioner of Police, PSFU, Mr Kayode Ojapinwa, ordered the immediate deployment of operatives to investigate the matter.

“The investigation led to the arrest of the three suspects. Investigations revealed that one of the suspects gained unlawful access to the complainant’s mobile device and fraudulently transferred her nude photographs to his own device. Further findings indicated that he conspired with the other suspects and other accomplices currently at large to demand and receive money from the complainant in several tranches,” he said

According to him, the suspects are currently in police custody and are expected to be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction.

The image maker said that investigations were ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate and to recover all proceeds of the alleged crime.