Flightradar24 reports GPS jamming on aircraft crashed in Kazakhstan

Flightradar24 is well-known for its real-time data about nearly all aircraft in the sky / Photo: Shutterstock, photo editor: Milosh Muratovskiy

An Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft that crashed in Aktau experienced severe GPS signal jamming, leading to the transmission of incorrect data, according to the Flightradar24 flight tracking service. Notably, the Baltic states previously accused Russia of attempting to jam their GPS signals, causing interference in aviation navigation.

The Flightradar24 service, which provides real-time flight data, shared additional details about the Aktau crash.

«Flight J28243 that crashed near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan is an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 with registration 4K-AZ65. J28243 took off from Baku at 03:55 UTC time and was flying to Grozny. The aircraft was exposed to strong GPS jamming which made the aircraft transmit bad ADS-B data. At 04:40 UTC, we lost the ADS-B signal. At 06:07 UTC, we picked up the ADS-B signal again before it crashed at 06:28 UTC,» the service wrote on X.

Flight #J28243 that crashed near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan is an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 with registration 4K-AZ65.#J28243 took off from Baku at 03:55 UTC time and was flying to Grozny. The aircraft was exposed to strong GPS jamming which made the aircraft… pic.twitter.com/rM1Q0jmMPt
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) December 25, 2024

The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) signal is continuously transmitted by an aircraft, broadcasting various data including altitude, velocity and coordinates.

This spring, the Baltic states blamed Russia for allegedly attempting to jam GPS signals. Additionally, the foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia claimed that Russia had been experimenting with interfering in satellite navigation over the Baltic Sea.

In late April, the Financial Times reported that on Apr. 25 and 26, two Finnair aircraft were forced to turn around after being unable to proceed safely due to interference with navigation signals.

In March, the U.K. government accused Moscow of jamming the navigation system of an aircraft carrying then-Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, who was en route to Poland for an official visit.

An aircraft following the Baku-Grozny route crashed near Aktau. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations reported 69 passengers on board, with the majority of them being citizens of Azerbaijan.