Posted on 12/26/2024 6:39:04 AM PST by marcusmaximus
Not noted in this article is that there was fog @ Grozny and the plane had tried to land 3 times unsuccessfully before it was hit. Nor is the exact timing of the claimed drone activity clear, although a drone attack in fog does make some sense, as does the possibility of getting numerous radar blips confused.
The civilian population near the Aktau airport is much smaller than @ Grozny, and not built up so close, either. There is a lot of empty, flat land around Aktau. Basically, if there’s a possibility of a crash landing, and you miss or don’t make it to the runway, Aktau is a much better choice.
I’d speculate the pilots still had some hydraulic control when they headed out over the Caspian Sea, but the remaining partially functional system(s) bled out.
Unanswered:
Was the plane in or returning to a holding pattern when hit, or was it already diverting to another airport?
Did Grozny ATC inform the AD that they had a civilian jetliner in a holding pattern / trying to land, with necessary updates?
Why the hell would Russian AD jam the plane (GPS) once it was more than 1/2 way over the Caspian Sea and headed to Aktau?
What about it?
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