The flight was heading from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny when the crash occurred. The plane crashed while trying to make an emergency landing at the Aktau airport in Kazakhstan. Among the 29 survivors were two children.

The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 flight left Baku, Azerbaijan, on Christmas to Grozny, Russia. Instead, the plane crashed in Aktau, Kazakhstan.

National flags were lowered across Azerbaijan, traffic across the country stopped at noon, and signals were sounded from ships and trains as the country observed a nationwide moment of silence.