Smart News Azerbaijan Airlines says the jet thatcrashed in Kazakhstanon Christmas Day experienced “physical and technical external interference,” according to an early investigation, as questions swirled about Russia’s possible involvement in the disaster.At least 38 of the 67 people on board the plane were killed in the crash, Kazakh authorities confirmed, including two pilots and a flight attendant.People from Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were among those on board, according to preliminary data from Kazakhstan’s transport ministry.A US official told CNN on Thursday that early indications suggest a Russian anti-aircraft system may have downed the passenger jet. Reuters also reported that the plane was downed by a Russian air defense system, citing multiple unnamed sources in Azerbaijan with knowledge of the investigation.Russian air defenses potentially misidentified the Azerbaijan Airlines jet as a long-range Ukrainian attack drone, a US official told CNN Friday, adding that the holes on the side of the aircraft are also consistent with shrapnel damage from an explosion.“It was obvious that (the plane) had received some damage,” passenger Subhonkul Rakhimov told Reuters.A drone view shows emergency specialists working at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan December 25, 2024.Azamat Sarsenbayev/ReutersRelated articleBlack boxes of downed Azerbaijani jet recovered as questions mount over Russian involvement. Here’s what we knowRussia said on Friday that the passenger jet was diverted from its original destination in Grozny, Chechnya because of Ukrainian drones in the area, as well as fog.While flight J2-8243 was trying to land in the southern Russian republic, “Ukrainian combat drones were carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz,” Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, said.Because of this, Yadrov said, the area’s skies were closed, which meant that aircraft in the vicinity needed to leave the airspace immediately.The plane’s pilot attempted to land in Grozny twice, Yadrov said, but was unsuccessful. He was offered other airports to land in, the official continued, but the pilot “decided to proceed to the Aktau airport” across the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan. There was also dense fog in the area of ​​the Grozny airport, he said.In a statement on Friday, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Russian media has “lied about the cause of the crash,” adding that Moscow “forced the damaged jet to cross the sea, most likely in an attempt to conceal evidence of their crime.”“Photos and videos from the cabin and after the crash are a smoking gun,” Sybiha said, calling for a “fair and impartial investigation to ensure that those responsible are held to account.”Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, part of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, previously claimed that the plane was “shot down by a Russian air defense system.”Video and images of the plane after it crashed show perforations in its body that look similar to damage from shrapnel or debris. The cause of these holes has not been confirmed.TelegramvideoRelated videoExpert shares what stands out to him about holes found in plane that crashedMiles O’Brien, a CNN aerospace analyst, told Jim Sciutto on Thursday that the fact that the metal around the holes is bent inwards shows that there was “an explosion in proximity to the tail of that aircraft.”That is “quite literally smoking gun evidence of a surface-to-air missile,” O’Brien said, adding that the plane was flying over Chechnya “in the midst of heightened military activity.”“You might conclude a hair trigger approach to things,” he suggested.Kovalenko, from Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, speculated that authorities will try to cover up the real reason behind the crash, including the holes in the plane, as it would be “inconvenient” to blame Russia.On Thursday, Justin Crump, an intelligence, security and defense expert and the CEO of risk advisory company Sibylline, toldBBC Radio 4that the plane being fired at by Russia is “the best theory that fits all the available facts that we know of.” Crump added that Russian air defenses were active in Grozny around the time that the plane was damaged.“I don’t think this is deliberate at all,” he noted, pointing out that Russia is “very worried” about longer-range active Ukrainian drones that are “very often not getting shot down.”‘Something exploded’Survivors of the crash said they heard multiple loud bangs and experienced panic on board in the run-up to the crash.Flight attendant Aidan Ragimli told Azerbaijani outlet Caliber.Az that he helped an injured colleague Zulfugar Asadov while hearing more sudden noises. “His left arm was damaged. I also tried to help,” Ragimli said, “I sat on the left side, I helped, I was providing first aid. At that moment, we heard a sound, panic began.”Passenger Vafa Shabanova told Reuters about explosions she heard. “About 20 or 30 minutes after takeoff, we felt two explosions. The plane was supposed to land, but it didn’t. Something exploded inside twice. A man’s hand was injured. We panicked,” Shabanova said.Rakhimov, a passenger interviewed by Reuters, described being thrown up and down inside the plane, despite his seatbelt being fastened. “Suddenly everything became quiet,” he said, and he realized that the plane had landed.He tried to help a women out of the fuselage, but couldn’t move her as her legs were trapped, he said. Soon after, ambulances began to arrive at the scene, he said.People lay flowers in memory of the victims of the disaster near Kazakhstan's Aktau airport.Aziz Karimov/Getty ImagesRussian state media has previously reported that the plane was rerouted due to heavy fog in Grozny. Its Federal Air Transport Agency also previously said the plane crashed after colliding with birds.As investigations continue, Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended flights from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to seven cities in Russia for safety reasons, it said.The airline also announced that it will pay 20,000 manats (around $11,800) in compensation to injured victims of the crash and 40,000 manats (around $23,500) to the families of those who died in the disaster, Azerbaijan’s state news agency AZERTAC reported.CNN’s Victoria Butenko, Kosta Gak, Oren Liebermann, Aruzhan Zeinulla and Kara Fox contributed to this report.