"If The Plane Had Fallen into The Sea, We Couldn't Have Saved People" - Embraer 190 Crash Eyewitnesses

On December 25, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed in the Tupkaragan district near the village of Saina Shapagatova. 

The Mangнstau regional power grid company (MREK) employees were among the first to respond.

They immediately rushed to assist the passengers.

An Orda.kz correspondent spoke with eyewitnesses to uncover what happened on that fateful day.

Racing to Help

MREK worker Abay Orgenchbayev was installing power line supports when something caught his eye.

Around 11 a.m., a roar thundered across the sky — about 30 minutes before the crash. 

A plane in the air appeared to have lost control.

The plane flew over us toward the airport. But for some reason, it couldn’t land and turned back toward the village of Saina Shapagatova, passing over us again. I thought it was performing a maneuver, but it was flying very unusually. It was like it had lost control. At the 43rd kilometer, it suddenly nosedived, but about 100 meters from the ground, it began to level out. Then it turned toward the sea. A little later, it flew toward the KCOI enterprise and crash-landed nearby. Upon impact, the plane exploded. All of this happened right before our eyes. During the explosion, a part of the airliner broke off, Orgenchbayev recalled.

According to Orgenchbayev, the plane circled over Saina Shapagatova for about 10 minutes before crashing.

He believes the pilots maintained enough altitude to avoid hitting residential areas. As soon as the plane went down, the workers raced over.

When we got closer, I saw people emerging from the in-tact tail section. They were disoriented, staggering and barely able to walk. Some were sitting down, and many seemed unaware of what was happening around them. Inside, we could hear cries for help and immediately started pulling people out. Three of us climbed into the cabin while others stayed outside, helping to get the passengers out.

Orgenchbayev’s colleague, Kadyrbek Toilybay, said the most challenging part was rescuing passengers trapped in the tail section.

A truck crane was needed.

The first person we got out was a flight attendant. Then my colleagues and I went inside and started carrying out the injured. One — a man with a bloody hand — even helped us, he said.

Four passengers in the tail section were the most severely injured, crying out in pain and pleading for help.

The first ambulance came from KCOI, and the medics took away ten injured. Soon, doctors from hospitals arrived, followed by firefighters, who began extinguishing the burning section of the plane,Orgenchbayev added.

Witnesses noted that all the rescued passengers wore seat belts.

Masks were scattered throughout the cabin, and the smell of blood and kerosene filled the air.

If the plane had fallen into the sea, we wouldn’t have been able to save anyone. It felt like God had helped, they said.

Airport Observations

Madina Yerpanova, an Air Astana employee, witnessed the emergency landing and shared her account on social media:

For the first time — and I hope the last — I saw a plane crash. I was on shift, working the ramp as usual, when my colleagues said that an AZAL plane was making an emergency landing. Some said an oxygen tank exploded, others mentioned landing gear failure or engine trouble. All the first response services had gathered on the apron, with firefighters already stationed at the runway, she said.

The atmosphere was tense, and airport personnel watched the plane’s every move.

We saw it coming. It was flying sporadically as if something had already gone terribly wrong. Everyone’s eyes were glued to it. At one point, the plane disappeared from view. Someone started screaming, Yerpanova recalled.

The Embraer 190 aircraft, flying from Baku to Grozny, was diverted to Aqtau. Conflicting reports about the reasons have surfaced.

It crashed on December 25. The disaster claimed the lives of 38 people.

Original Author: Dinara Bekbolayeva

Read also:

• Preliminary Investigation: Russian Missile Caused Azerbaijan Airlines Crash - Euronews
• Aqtau Plane Crash: Who Were The Heroic Pilots?