‘External Interference’ Blamed in Crash

Airline statement is strongest yet to support suspicion of Russian culpability

- THOMAS GROVE

Azerbaijan Airlines said "physical and technical external interference" was the cause of a crash this week that killed 38 people flying to southern Russia, the closest officials have come to confirming mounting suspicions that the plane was downed by a Russian air-defense system.

The head of Russia's aviation authority, however, countered the statement, saying the plane tried to land in Grozny in Russia's Chechnya region amid difficult conditions during a Ukrainian drone strike.

Russia hasn't responded to leaked preliminary findings of an Azeri investigation that point to the plane's being hit by a Russian antiaircraft missile or shrapnel from it.

The aftermath of the crash has struck a blow to relations between the former Soviet republics and led to an uproar in Azerbaijan, a small but increasingly powerful oil-producing country. The stateowned Azeri airline said it was suspending flights from Baku to eight Russian airports in the wake of the crash.