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Fire destroyed parts of fuselage, cockpit after crash of AZAL airplane — report

After the collision with the ground the aircraft fell apart

ASTANA, February 4. /TASS/. The fire that broke out after the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) airplane near Aktau airport destroyed parts of the fuselage and part of the cockpit, says a report on the investigation of the causes of the crash, released by the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan.

After the collision with the ground the aircraft fell apart.

"The central and front part of the fuselage, the lower part of the cockpit and the right wing are completely destroyed by fire. The upper part of the cockpit separated from the lower part, on which the upper instrument panel, two windshields of the cockpit and one side window were preserved," the document reads.

The rear part of the fuselage with the tail section was at a certain distance away from the rest of the aircraft. The left wing with the central part of the aircraft was at the spot of the fuselage fire and was partially preserved.

"The landing gear was destroyed in the collision and scattered at the scene, the upper part of the left strut remaining in the left wing recess. The right engine fell apart into several large and small fragments. The left engine was partially preserved," the report says.

A passenger plane Embraer 190 of Azerbaijan Airlines, en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed on December 25 near the Kazakh city of Aktau. It was carrying 5 crew members and 62 passengers, among them citizens of Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Thirty-eight people died.