Azerbaijan Airlines is suspending services on the southern Russian routes to Grozny and Makhachkala until the inquiry into the loss of an Embraer 190 concludes.
The aircraft crashed on 25 December while attempting an approach to Aktau airport in Kazakhstan, having diverted from Grozny.
While the reason for the diversion has yet to be identified, meteorological data from Grozny at the time of arrival indicates mist, reduced-visibility conditions, and a low cloud base.
But investigators are likely to focus on apparent flight-control difficulties experienced as the aircraft diverted to Aktau.
The aircraft’s heading and altitude both appeared to fluctuate substantially as it crossed the Caspian Sea.
When it neared Aktau, the aircraft seemed to conduct an initial approach to runway 11 which was aborted.
It then performed large turns of around 270° to the left, and then the right, possibly attempting to line up for a second landing attempt.
But it entered a steep nose-down descent from which it did not recover before colliding with terrain and breaking up.
Images from the crash site appear to show multiple apparent punctures in the vertical fin, horizontal stabiliser and elevators.
While they resemble shrapnel damage from an explosion, the origin of these punctures – and whether they might have resulted from external activity – is currently unclear. Both the Chechnya and Dagestan regions of Russia have reportedly been exposed to drone attacks in relation to the Ukrainian conflict.
The inquiry will have to determine whether the damage occurred prior to, or during, the crash sequence and whether it bears any relevance to the aircraft’s control issues.
Over 30 of the 67 occupants survived the accident, according to the Azerbaijani foreign affairs ministry.
