A video from Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 has surfaced, revealing the harrowing moments leading up to the fatal crash near Aktau in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day.
At least 38 people of the 72 on board were killed when the Embraer 190 jet erupted in a fireball following a chaotic fall from the sky.
The pilot reported losing control after hitting a flock of birds, but analysts have speculated the plane may have accidentally been shot down.
Some dazed and bloodied passengers miraculously emerged from the severed rear of the plane after the crash – and walked off with minor injuries.
Many sat in shock before medical teams rushed them to hospital.
The recovered devices display the passengers’ distress and desperation as oxygen masks deployed, with some praying or attempting to communicate their last thoughts to their loved ones, anticipating an ill-fated outcome.
Personal devices give unprecedented insight into the horrific reality of being on a falling plane in ways until now only imitated by Hollywood.
Raw and unfiltered, these are the real reactions of passengers filming their experiences moments before a plane crash.
Footage taken moments before the plane crashed filmed by a passenger who sent it to his wife
Terrified passengers can be seen on the plane as oxygen masks dropped down
Azerbaijan Airlines crash, Christmas Day 2024
As oxygen masks fell from the ceiling, one passenger’s thoughts were with his wife.
In a disturbing recording, Subkhon Rakhimov began filming when he noticed the plane descending rapidly, recounting multiple failed landing attempts before a loud noise reverberated through the cabin.
His footage shows oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling and passengers can be heard crying and praying, with damage visible inside the cabin minutes before the plane crashed and broke apart.
Rakhimov miraculously survived the crash and filmed another video as he walked around the plane wreckage, praising the flight attendant for helping the passengers survive.
The plane was seen bursting into flames and broke into several parts as it hit the ground, with thick black smoke rising up from the wrecked aircraft after.
It is understood that at least 29 people reported to have survived the crash were found in the rear section of the aircraft, with the front being badly destroyed by fire.
Latest figures indicate 22 of the 29 survivors are being treated in hospital, seven of whom are in serious condition. At least ten people dying after reportedly being thrown out of the cabin.
Horror footage shows smoke filling with cabin before Japanese plane crash, January 2024
Smoke filled the cabin of a plane carrying 379 passengers at an airport near Tokyo, after it crashed into a coastguard plane while coming into land.
Footage taken from inside the plane shows passengers panicking as smoke fills the cabin.
Several can be seen with masks and rags over their mouth in an effort to limit the amount of smoke they inhale, while others can be heard crying out in fear.
The Japan Airlines jet was engulfed in a raging inferno as it sat on the runway at Haneda Airport, in Ota City, Tokyo, on January 2, with gouts of flame seen pouring out of the passenger windows.
Anton Deibe, 17, who was a passenger on the Japan Airlines plane, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that ‘the entire cabin was filled with smoke within a few minutes.
‘We threw ourselves down on the floor. Then the emergency doors were opened and we threw ourselves at them.
‘The smoke in the cabin stung like hell. It was a hell. We have no idea where we are going so we just run out into the field. It was chaos,’ added Deibe, who was traveling with his parents and sister.
A Japan Airlines spokesperson told local media at the time that all 379 passengers and crew aboard the aircraft – a two-year-old Airbus A-350 – were successfully evacuated from the plane.
Several can be seen with masks and rags over their mouth in an effort to limit the amount of smoke they inhale, while others can be heard crying out in fear
Smoke quickly filled the cabin on the flight, which crashed into a coastguard plane at Haneda Airport
Air NZ TE-901 Mount Erebus crash, November 1979
On November 28, 1979, Air New Zealand flight 901 crashed into the side of the Antarctic mountain, killing all 257 on board.
The crash was the worst peacetime disaster New Zealand’s history and caused a ripple around the country as victims and authorities looked for someone to blame.
The accident came just two years after Air New Zealand began operating scenic flights over Antarctica.
Pilot, Capt Jim Collins, brought the plane down to 2,000ft in thick clouds so passengers on the DC 10 could get a better view of the Arctic.
The flight was the height of luxury with the entire cabin first class with a menu to match that included a Champagne breakfast.
Pictures developed from cameras at the crash site show passengers during their final moments before the plane crashed.
The weather was poor with thick cloud coverage meaning it was hard to tell what they were looking at as they as they orbited across the ice and snow.
Capt Collins must have assumed he was on the same flight path which he had used before for the 11-hour non-stop round trip from Auckland, New Zealand.
He unknowingly circled volcano Mount Erebus twice on descent, narrowly missing hitting the mountain as he attempted to avoid gathering clouds.
Capt Collins could be heard on the black box recording doubting what he was seeing from the cockpit as the plane dropped to 2,000 feet and then 1,500 feet as impact neared.
‘Actually, those conditions don’t look very good at all – do they?’ he told his crew, before realising that they were on the wrong course. ‘We’re 26 miles north, we’ll have to climb out of this,’ he told them.
But as he attempted to turn the plane away from Erebus the DC10 crashed.
Passengers were pictured enjoying beverages and looking out of the windows
Pictures developed from cameras at the crash site show passengers during their final moments before the plane crashed
The flight was the height of luxury with the entire cabin first class with a menu to match that included a Champagne breakfast
The final image of what is believed to be the plane at the moment of impact – the fluid on the window is speculated to have been fuel
Singapore Airlines flight turbulence leaves one dead, May 2024
Earlier this year, a 73-year-old British man was killed during intense turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight from London.
After around 11 hours of flying time, the aircraft hit an air pocket and sharply dropped 6,000 feet in five minutes, unleashing mayhem and forcing it to make an emergency landing at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport.
Video from inside the cabin showed chaos in the aftermath, with belongings strewn across the aisle.
Ceiling fittings had been ripped apart and the pipework was exposed. Machinery was hanging from the galley where trolleys are stored.
In one harrowing image, an air stewardess was seen with a bloodied face, strapped into her chair with items from the trolley scattered on the floor.
Suvarnabhumi airport general manager Kittipong Kittikachorn told a press conference that the deceased was a 73-year-old British man who was travelling with his wife. He likely suffered a heart attack, the official said.
Twenty three people were also injured during the incident.
After around 11 hours of flying time from take off in London , the aircraft sharply dropped 6,000 feet in just five minutes, causing chaos in the cabin. In pictures of the aftermath, one air stewardess was seen with blood over her face (pictured)
A passenger onboard a Singapore Airlines jet travelling from the UK has described the extreme turbulence that killed a fellow flyer, reportedly a 73-year-old British man, in a tragic incident. Pictured: Passengers are seen in the cabin after the incident, with belongings strewn across the floor and oxygen masks dangling from above
Terrified passengers don oxygen masks as Korean Air flight drops 27,000ft in five minutes, June 2024
Terrified passengers aboard a Boeing 737 Max 8 were forced to use oxygen masks after a Korea Air flight dropped nearly 30,000ft in just 15 minutes, following a cabin pressure failure in June.
Footage of the incident shared online showed passengers in distress, with children crying loudly during the descent.
Passengers suffered from eardrum pain, and also needed treatment for hyperventilation.
Data from FlightRadar shows the plane dropped 26,900ft in just 15 minutes, resulting in 17 passengers needing medical attention.
All 17 were later discharged without severe injuries.
The Boeing 737 Max 8, which left Incheon International Airport at 4:45 p.m. local time on Saturday and was heading to Taichung International Airport, developed a pressurisation fault
Footage of the incident shared online showed passengers in distress, with children crying loudly during the descent
Moment single-engine plane crashes into trees, June 2012
Passengers aboard a beautiful single-engine Stinson 108-3 were filming their gentle venture out above Idaho when the plane suddenly lost altitude and crashed into the trees below, leaving the pilot with serious injuries.
Nathan Williams was filming when the small plane took off from a dirt runway at Bruce Meadows Airport in Stanley headed toward the mountain resort town of McCall.
‘It wasn’t anything we were trying to film,’ said Williams at the time.
‘It was a beautiful day and we were just really having fun recording what we were doing.’
Williams suffered a concussion in the plane crash and said the pilot, Leslie Gropp, 70, a retired 31-year veteran of the Idaho Army National Guard, suffered a broken jaw, broken ribs and a fractured cheekbone, according to Yahoo! News.
The two other passengers, Alec Arhets and Gropp’s son, Tol, escaped with cuts and bruises, Williams said.
Two people had to go to hospital after the accident.
Footage shared widely online showed the reaction from inside the plane as the plane took off and soared above a forest before losing control.
The camera shakes as the plane slams into the foliage, human limbs seen grappling for control in brief but unsettling footage.
‘It was a beautiful day and we were just really having fun recording what we were doing,’ Williams said
Williams suffered a concussion in the plane crash and said the pilot, Leslie Gropp, 70, a retired 31-year veteran of the Idaho Army National Guard, suffered a broken jaw, broken ribs and a fractured cheekbone
Footage captured the dramatic moment the plane crashed into trees on June 30, 2012
The plane is seen after the crashed. Two were taken to hospital with injuries
