Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash: Prelim report on cause [Video]

Russian air defence systems may have brought down an Azerbaijani airliner this week, a U.S. official said Friday after an Azerbaijani minister also suggested the plane was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor accounts.

Friday’s assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House national security spokesman John Kirby echoed those made by outside aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defence systems responding to a Ukrainian attack. These statements raised pressure on Russia, where officials said a drone attack was underway in the region where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was heading for a landing. They did not address statements blaming air defences.

Kirby told reporters on Friday that the U.S. “have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defence systems,” but refused to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation.

Pressed on whether the U.S. …