BAKU, December 27. /TASS/. Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), the operator of the plane that crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau earlier this week, stated that ‘mechanical and technical external damage’ was responsible for the aircraft’s crash, according to the airline’s operator’s statement.

"A decision [to suspend flights to a number of Russian cities from Baku], made in coordination with the State Civil Aviation Agency of Azerbaijan, is based on the preliminary findings of the investigation into the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft operating flight J2-8243 Baku - Grozny due to physical and mechanical external impacts and takes into account potential flight security risks," the statement reads.

Azerbaijan Airlines earlier announced the suspension of flights to several Russian cities.

Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) announced the suspension of its flights to three more Russian cities - Vladikavkaz, Nizhny Novgorod, and Saratov, following an earlier announced ban for flights across the country.

The Azerbaijani airline company reported earlier that it suspended all of its scheduled flights to Volgograd, Grozny, Makhachkala, Mineralnye Vody, Samara, Sochi, and Ufa until the investigation of the Embraer 190 plane crash is over.

"Given the preliminary findings of the investigation into the December 25 crash of the Embraer 190 plane and potential flight security risks, from December 28 until the investigation concludes, service to Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Grozny, and Makhachkala will be suspended," the airline said in an earlier statement.

The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190, en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on December 25. The plane was carrying 67 people, including 62 passengers—mostly Azerbaijani citizens—along with nationals from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and five crew members.

According to the latest reports, 38 people, including seven Russians, were killed, while 29 others survived. A special flight dispatched by Russia’s Emergencies Ministry has transported nine Russian nationals, including a child, who were injured in the crash from Aktau.