Accident in the sky: What remained of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane lay spread on the ground after it crashed near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan on Dec 25, 2024. The flight was scheduled to travel from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia. Out of the 62 passengers and five crew members on board, 38 lost their lives while 29 were rescued, according to Xinhua. Following the crash, several flights from Baku to Russian cities were canceled. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said that the plane was accidentally struck over Russia, an incident for which Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized during a phone call with Aliyev.