On Christmas Day in Kazakhstan, a tragedy claimed the lives of 38 people when an Azerbaijan Airlines plane, flight number 8243, crashed during an emergency landing near the city of Aktau. Despite the quick response of rescue services,

The Russian authorities have sent guidelines to the media, advising journalists to ignore any mention of the downing of an AZAL aircraft in Aktau. The case should be referred to as a tragic incident,

On Christmas Day, a plane traveling from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, crashed in Kazakhstan, killing over half of its passengers. Theories abound regarding why the plane made an emergency landing near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau.