On 24 July a MiG-29 plane of the Azerbaijani Air Force crashed over the Caspian Sea in the area between the villages of Kilyazi and Shurabad (80-100 km north of Baku) during a training flight. According to the official information of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense the plane suddenly disappeared from the radar and contact was lost with the pilot at 10 PM local time. The military prosecutor's office filed a criminal case with the establishment and inspection of the scene, collection of important items from the scene, identification of witnesses and questioning them, conducting relevant examinations, as well as for the execution of other necessary investigative actions in order to establish the true cause of the crash.

Shortly after the crash, rumors began circling that the crash was a result of the use of a Russian Electronic Warfare System (EW). According to internal Defense Ministry information quoted by an Azerbaijani military expert Uzeir Jafarov, the plane fell into the sea 70 km off the coast near the Azerbaijani-Russian border. It was also said that Russian naval forces were conducting exercises with EW systems on their territory. However, there is no official confirmation of this version yet as the search of the plane and pilot continues. 

If a correlation between the Russian activities in the Caspian Sea and the plane crash would be confirmed, it could complicate the military relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, as the Azerbaijani government is looking to find other arms suppliers. The MiG-29A is currently the only class of fighter jets deployed by Azerbaijan’s Air Force, although the service has begun to consider acquiring more modern jets with the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 reportedly being a leading candidate. The Azerbaijani government is rather reluctant to acquire the more modern MiG-29 derivatives from Russia or to purchase its next generation replacement the MiG-35, as a recent order by neighbouring Armenia over four Russian made Su-30SM heavyweight fighters (Caucasus Watch reported) forces Azerbaijan to modernize its weaponry.