Increasing analysis suggests Russian air defenses might have downed Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243, which crashed in a ball of fire near Aktau,Kazakhstan on Wednesday morning, killing 38 of 67 passengers and crew.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has launched a criminal probe to uncover the reasons behind the plane crash.

An international investigation has begun into how an Embraer 190 passenger jet with 67 people onboard crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people but leaving 29 survivors Azerbaijan Airlines flight J28243,

Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 that crashed in Kazakhstan on December 25 was damaged by Russian surface-to-air missiles, Reuters reports citing officials with knowledge of the official investigation.

What caused the Kazakhstan plane crash? The Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that claimed the lives of 38 people has sparked widespread speculation, with Ukrainian officials now turning their attention to the possibility that Russia’s air defense systems may have been responsible.

The flight was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Grozny, in Russia’s south, when it diverted and attempted an emergency landing in Kazakhstan.

Azerbaijan marked a somber Thursday after a state-owned passenger plane burst into flames after crashing in Kazakhstan, killing at least 38 people aboard.Azerbaijan held a national day of mourning Thursday,

"No one claims that it was done on purpose," an Azerbaijan official told Reuters. They added their government "expects the Russian side to confess."

The head of Russia's state aviation agency said Friday that the airspace was shut down over the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus when an Azerbaijani plane that later crashed in Kazakhstan tried to land.