Russian aviation authorities said the Azerbaijan Airlines plane had hit a flock of birds. But some experts cast doubt on that account, pointing to footage showing apparent holes in the fuselage.

Questions were being asked Thursday about the cause of an airliner crash in Kazakhstan the day before, as Azerbaijan held a day of mourning for the dozens of victims of the disaster. The reasons that Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 came down are still unknown.

Even as a probe was starting of the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines airliner in Kazakhstan, speculation was mounting about why the plane went down.

The Azerbaijan Airlines flight from Baku to Grozny in Russia was carrying 67 people when it crashed near Aktau early Wednesday. Kazakh officials said 29 people survived.

There are dozens of survivors and many feared dead after an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed down in Kazakhstan.

The crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan has killed 38 of 67 people on board. Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons that aren’t fully clear yet.

Mobile phone footage circulating online appeared to show the Azerbaijani Airlines plane making a steep descent before slamming into the ground in a fireball in western Kazakhstan.

Dozens of people have survived a crash involving a plane carrying 67 people in Kazakhstan, local officials say. Kazakh authorities said 38 people were killed in the crash. Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 caught fire as it attempted to make an emergency landing near the Kazakh city of Aktau.

A passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia with 67 people on board crashed in Kazakhstan Wednesday, authorities said.