A surviving cabin crew member from Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243, which tragically crashed off the coast of Kazakhstan, has recounted the harrowing events inside the cabin during the flight's final moments.
The Embraer 190 passenger plane was carrying 67 people, including passengers and crew, on a flight from Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, to Grozny in southern Russia.
The crash in south-west Kazakhstan resulted in 38 fatalities, with 29 survivors, including two crew members—all of whom were seated in the rear of the aircraft.
Experts say the Azerbaijan Airlines plane was downed by Russian air defence — a claim Russian authorities have so far denied.
In a televised interview with local media, Zulfugar Asadov, one of two surviving crew members, has shared his account of the catastrophic events.
He described the initial struggle to land the aircraft in dense fog.
"The captain descended to land on the first approach but couldn’t. He climbed and went around. He tried a second time, but it was still impossible to see the ground. After a third unsuccessful attempt, we turned and continued with hope to land somewhere else nearby," he explained.
However, just after turning away from the airport area and leveling off, events took a dramatic and devastating turn.
"After the turn and climb, we heard a big bang went off outside. Like a blow. Aydan (the other flight attendant) and I tried to calm the passengers and ensure they all had their seatbelts fastened. Everyone became calm; it was quiet for a moment," Asadov recounted.
But the calm was short-lived.
"Then, we felt something big — another blow hit from the outside. It went fast, punctured through and struck my arm. It felt like an ax had cut it off. It opened a big wound split apart on both sides, bleeding heavily. Aydan helped me tightly wrap my arm with a kitchen towel to reduce blood loss."
A third blow soon followed, further destabilizing the situation.
"As we turned to move toward our seats, the third blow struck. I suggested that we both sit down and fasten our seatbelts, as all the passengers were already sitting with their seatbelts on."
"Despite everything, we were airborne and we kept flying."
Asadov revealed that the pilots had initially planned to land the aircraft on water, but the plan changed in the last minutes when pilots reassessed the situation.
The commander briefed the cabin manager that we will land near a different airport, and there will be a water landing. The cabin manager announced it to the passengers through the loudspeaker. The passengers were instructed that they should remain in their seats, fasten their belts and will put on life jackets as per the instructions but must not inflate. They must wait until landing on water. "
"Later the commander phoned the chief flight attendant (who tragically died in the crash) for a second briefing, saying we should instead prepare the cabin for a landing on land, not water. The reasoning was it was going to be a hard landing. No other option possible. It was the lateral influence of our engines [his description here is not clear, likely he is referring to the reported hydraulic failure and differential steering]. The fast landing on water would be devastating, nobody could have survived. He changed his mind that the water would feel like rock on hard touch and break the aircraft into pieces. "
"We prepared and briefed the passengers, instructing them to assume brace positions with their hands on their heads".
"If the plane had hit the ground in one piece, no one would have survived. I think the pilots were trying to shift weight to the front of the plane. The front part separated on impact and went a long distance."
"The moment we hit the ground, it was so immense and shuddering — I thought we died. Our head, body felt like they were moving involuntarily. For a brief moment, I had no hope. We are alive. If only there had been no deaths — our crew, our chief flight attendant, our passengers — if only they were all here with us. Yes, it is a miracle. But, we are alive because of the heroism of the commander and the first officer. "
