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.

National flags were lowered across Azerbaijan, traffic across the country stopped at noon, and signals were sounded from ships and trains as the country observed a nationwide moment of silence.

An Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in Kazakhstan after being diverted, killing 38 of 67 people on board. Some things to know about the crash and the speculation about a possible cause: How did the plane crash?

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.

Two passengers on the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan told Reuters that they heard at least one loud bang as it approached its original destination of Grozny in southern Russia. Sean Hogan reports.

NBC News' Daniele Hamamdjian reports on the ongoing investigation into the Azerbaijan plane crash in Kazakhstan and a survivor's recollection of hearing a loud bang in the aircraft before it crashed.