AZAL Plane Crash: Bozumbayev Comments on Preliminary Investigation, Supposed Transcript

Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev shared details about the Embraer 190 plane crash investigation near Aqtau during a briefing, reports Orda.kz.

According to him, the black boxes have been fully decoded and are under the supervision of the Prosecutor General's Office investigation team. Bozumbayev expressed confidence that releasing the investigation materials would exclude speculation about the crash.

International experts from Azerbaijan, Russia, Brazil, and the Netherlands are participating in the investigation.

The decoded data, including crew communication recordings and flight parameters, is being analyzed, noted Kanat Bozumbayev. Copies were also shared with Azerbaijani and Russian parties.

They are focused on work. Certain conclusions will be made. Our Ministry of Justice forensics is studying it. Relatives must verify these voices, confirm these are indeed the pilots, crew members. This is significant international work,said Bozumbayev.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that preliminary investigation results should be published within 30 days of the incident, following ICAO standards.

The Ministry of Transport plans to present the report next week.

In addition to the aviation investigation, Kazakhstan's Prosecutor General's Office is conducting a separate criminal case.

Ballistic expertise is being carried out. Bozumbayev explained that investigative materials will combine data from both investigations. 

The Embraer 190 wreckage is stored in an Aqtau hangar, where international experts examine it:

International experts will provide their conclusion. Materials and transcripts are with the Ministry of Transport group investigating the aviation incident specifically: what happened, when it happened, what ground commands were given, how the crew behaved - professionally or unprofessionally, etc. I think that releasing these materials will dispel many insinuations, added Bozumbayev.

Deputy PM Bozumbayev also commented on the transcript circulating online, noting that it differs from the actual black box's content.

The official black box recording contains complete captain, pilot, and crew communications and is longer.

This appears to be ground negotiations. I didn't hear crew members' communications, he said.

The Transport Ministry's investigative team, which is examining the Aqtau crash, has the decrypted materials.

Internet publications don't equal truth. The black box contents are very different, Bozumbayev added.

Crew-dispatcher communications leaked online in December showed the crew struggling with system failures.

Original Auhtor: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova