MOSCOW

Azerbaijan Airlines announced on Friday that according to preliminary results of an investigation, "physical and technical external interference" caused the crash of its Embraer 190 aircraft in Kazakhstan this Wednesday.

In a statement on Telegram, it said that due to this reason, starting on Saturday it has suspended flights to several Russian cities, including Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, and Vladikavkaz.

"This decision, made in accordance with the Azerbaijan State Civil Aviation Authority, is based on the preliminary results of the investigation into the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft operating the Baku-Grozny flight J2-8243 of Azerbaijan Airlines due to physical and technical external interference and considers potential risks to flight safety. The suspension will remain in effect until the completion of the final investigation," the statement said.

The company added that its suspension of flights to the cities of Grozny and Makhachkala, in effect since Wednesday, is continuing.

"For safety reasons, a decision has been made to suspend flights of other airlines to the mentioned destinations, including Grozny and Makhachkala," it said.

The company announced that Azerbaijan Airlines passengers to and from the specified cities in Russia, who are unable to use the airline’s services due to the current situation, are eligible to get a full refund without penalties or rebook their tickets.

An Azerbaijan Airlines flight on Wednesday traveling from Baku to the city of Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic on Wednesday went down near Aktau, located on the Caspian Sea coast, with 67 people onboard.

Kazakh officials said 38 people were killed in the crash while 29 survived.