Probe suggests Azerbaijan plane crashed due to 'physical external interference'

The Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan this week suffered physical "external interference", the airline and Azerbaijan's transport minister said Friday, citing preliminary results of an investigation, adding to speculation it was hit by a Russian air defence system.

The jet crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday, killing 38 of the 67 people on board, after attempting to land at its destination in the Russian city of Grozny and then diverting far off course across the Caspian Sea.