Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has accused Russia of accidentally shooting down an airliner on Christmas Day in a disaster that killed 38 people, and covering up the cause.

"We can clearly say today that the plane was shot down by Russia," President Ilham Aliyev said in a televised statement

The cause of the Azerbaijan Airlines tragedy is under investigation, but the company is crediting “the crew's valiant dedication to their duties until the last moment”

Several aviation experts said they believe that a Russian defense system caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that killed 38 people on Christmas Day, according to the Associated Press. The flight was headed from Baku,

Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 - an Embraer E190AR which had been destined for Grozny, Russia, crashed in Aktau, Kazakhstan after sending a distress signal on Christmas Day

The probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan is examining the conduct of air traffic controllers after the aircraft encountered difficulty, a source said.

Azerbaijan's president accused Russia of trying to cover up its role in a plane crash that killed 38 people. Preliminary results of Azerbaijan’s investigation into the crash indicated that a missile from a Russian air-defense system hit the aircraft.

A survivor of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243, hit by a Russian missile, recalls an explosion near her leg as the plane struggled to land in Grozny before crash landing in Kazakhstan