An investigation into the deadly crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines flight in Kazakhstan earlier this week came after the passenger plane experienced “physical and technical external interference,” the carrier said on Friday.

The statement is the closest officials have come to confirming mounting suspicions that the plane was downed by a Russian air-defense system.

Azerbaijan Airlines says the jet that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day experienced “physical and technical external interference,” according to an early investigation, as questions swirled about Russia’s possible involvement in the disaster.

Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended several more services to Russian cities after preliminary indications that "external interference" played a role in the fatal loss of an Embraer 190. The aircraft, bound for Grozny as J28243 on 25 December,

It comes as the head of Russia's civil aviation agency says the situation in Grozny, the plane's destination, was "very complicated" at the time.

Airline says it has suspended flights to 10 Russian cities due to preliminary results of investigation - Anadolu Ajansı

Azerbaijan Airlines has blamed 'external interference' for the plane crash that killed 38 people on Christmas Day.

An investigation into the deadly crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines flight in Kazakhstan earlier this week came after the passenger plane experienced “physical and technical external interference,” the carrier said Friday.

Azerbaijan Airlines said preliminary results showed the plane experienced "external physical and technical interference".

Russian state media has maintained that the jet was rerouted due to poor weather conditions and claimed the crash may have been caused by a bird strike

Azerbaijan Airlines said "external physical and technical interference" led to the plane crash in Kazakhstan in which 38 people died out of 67 on board.