Azerbaijan’s flag carrier has announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports, citing potential flight safety risks following a crash of one of its planes that many experts have blamed on Russian air defense fire.

It was Christmas Day when a passenger plane crashed in western Kazakhstan, near the city of Aktau. Out of 67 people on board, 38 died and

Sources told Reuters the plane had been hit by Russian fire. "It was as if it was drunk - not the same plane anymore," one passenger recalled.

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.

The White House said Friday there were "early indications" that Russian air defenses downed an Azerbaijan Airlines flight in Kazakhstan.

A passenger jet operated by Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, after diverting from an area of southern Russia where Moscow has repeatedly used air defence systems against Ukrainian attack drones.

The plane, which crashed in Kazakhstan this week, went down “due to external physical and technical interference,” according to the investigation’s preliminary findings.

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia all opened investigations into the cause of the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243.

The Azerbaijan Airlines passenger aircraft crashed near Kazakhstan's Aktau Airport on Wednesday morning, killing 38 of the 67 people on board, Kazakh officials said.