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An air crash left 38 people dead and 29 injured on Wednesday near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, after an Azerbaijan Airlines flight deviated hundreds of kilometers from its scheduled route.
The plane from Baku, Azerbaijan, bound for Grozny, Russia, crashed on the coast of the Caspian Sea after deviating from its original route due to an emergency caused by a bird strike, according to Russian airport authorities.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that according to available information, the plane changed course due to bad weather, but the real cause of the accident is still unknown.
However, Reuters news agency cited an aviation expert who suggested the bird theory was unlikely, and said the original route of flight J2-8243 passed through an area defended by Russia against Ukrainian drone attacks.
Azerbaijan Airlines said the pilots of the Embraer 190 were forced to attempt an emergency landing 3 kilometres from Aktau.
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