Aqtau Plane Crash: Pilot Communication Transcript Reportedly Emerged

New details have emerged about the tragedy of the Azerbaijan Airlines flight Baku-Grozny.

The plane encountered serious technical problems, including GPS, control system, and hydraulics. 

Before that, the pilots reported a strong impact, which could have caused the failure, Orda.kz reports, citing VChK-OGPU.

VChK-OGPU claims to have published the communication transcript confirming that the crew was dealing with failed systems. 

Amidst heavy interference and loss of control, the pilots reported to dispatchers that the plane was in critical condition.

We publish the complete transcript of the conversation between the crew and the Grozny dispatcher:

( Crew (C)/ Dispatcher (D):

08:11:50

C: AXY8243, heading to Baku.

08:11:58

D: AXY8243, on current heading, climb to 900 m.

C: At current heading gaining 900 m, AXY8243.

08:12:12

D: AXY8243, confirm, are you en route to alternate airport in Baku?

C: Confirm, leaving for alternate at Baku, AXY8243.

08:12:29

D:  AXY8243, gain FL80 first, and inform if you can proceed to Pinta.

C: Gaining FL80, will inform soon, AXY8243.

08:12:48

C: AXY8243, both GPS lost, vectoring needed.

D: AXY8243, understood, heading 360 ​​to the right.

C: Right heading 360, AXY8243, thank you.

08:14:15

D: AXY8243, gain FL150.

C: Gaining FL150 (inaudible), AXY8243.

D: AXY8243, accelerate gaining.

C: Accelerating gaining, AXY8243.

...

08:16:05

C: Have control failure, bird strike in cabin. Bird strike in cabin (inaudible).

08:16:16

D: AXY8243, understood; what assistance is needed?

08:16:41

C: What is weather in Min-Vody, please help.

D: AXY8243, at 16 minutes.

C: Don't understand.

D: AXY8243, at 16 minutes.

C: What at 16 minutes?

D: AXY8243, repeat; hard to hear.

08:17:15

D: AXY8243, is the plane ok?

C: Plane is fine; heading to Min-Vody.

D: AXY8243, understood, proceed with current heading until command.

C: Understood; with the current heading, proceed until command. Please provide Min-Vody weather.

D: AXY8243, wait, gain FL150.

C: Gaining FL150.

08:18:29

D: AXY8243, perform left orbit.

C: Сan't execute, control is lost. Give vectoring to Min-Vody and provide Min-Vody weather.

D: AXY8243, understood, standby. Left heading 030.

C: Left heading 030.

08:19:12

C: Сan't maintain FL150; have increased cabin pressure.

D: AXY8243, understood.

08:20:27

D: AXY8243, left heading 360.

C: Left heading 360, plane losing control.

D: AXY8243, information: weather Min-Vody — wind 120 degrees, 6 m/s, visibility more than 10 km, solid cloud cover, lower edge 180 m, QNH 1024 hPa, band in operation 11.

C: Give Makhachkala.

08:21:20

C: And Makhachkala.

D: AXY8243, have you decided to head to Makhachkala?

C: Yes, to Makhachkala. Give weather forecast.

D: AXY8243, stand by.

08:22:12

D: AXY8243, right heading 110.

D: AXY8243, Grozny Tower.

C: Copy.

D: AXY8243, right heading 140.

08:22:57

C: Now, hydraulics have failed.

08:23:03

D: AXY8243, Grozny Tower.

C: Copy, our hydraulics failed.

D: AXY8243, understood. Can you do the headings?

C: No, can't do it. Give specific heading, we'll go to Makhachkala.

D: AXY8243, left heading 100, correction right heading 100.

C: Right heading 100. Weather in Makhachkala.

08:23:42

D: AXY8243, Makhachkala weather: wind 310 gr, 2 m/s, visibility 3300 m, base 750 m, haze, QNH 1026 hPa, band in operation 32.

C: Got it.

08:24:26

D: AXY8243, confirm, distress declared?

C: (Inaudible) didn't understand (inaudible).

08:24:43

C: AXY8243, repeat.

D: AXY8243, is plane ok?

C: Plane is fine.

08:24:55

C: Allow to (inaudible).

D: AXY8243, please repeat.

C: (Inaudible).

08:25:09

D: AXY8243, do you copy? Unintelligible, please repeat.

C: (Inaudible).

08:25:30

C: AXY8243, how did you receive?

D: AXY8243, Grozny Tower receiving, very hard to hear.

C: (Inaudible).

08:25:47

C: AXY8243, permission to proceed at this altitude.

D: AXY8243, I don’t see you on the control tower now; please state altitude.

08:26:10

C: Our altitude is 80.

D: AXY8243, try to gain FL100.

C: If we can.

08:27:00

D: AXY8243, Grozny Tower.

C: Receiving, AXY8243.

D: AXY8243, work with Rostov Control 134.1.

C: Rostov Control 134.1, AXY8243.

The crew of the Baku-Grozny flight continued communicating with the Rostov dispatcher.

The commission is investigating the exact causes of the incident.

The Embraer-190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near the Aqtau airport.

There were 67 people on board, including five crew members. 38 people died, 29 survivors were taken to hospitals, including two children.

Rescuers from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are working at the scene.

A government commission has been created, and an investigation has been launched.

The President of Kazakhstan expressed his condolences to Ilham Aliyev, and December 26 has been declared a day of mourning in Azerbaijan.

In Kazakhstan, people have donated blood for the victims and brought flowers to the Azerbaijani embassy.

Original Author: Artem Volkov