Moscow on Thursday warned against speculation that Russian air defenses may have caused the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan this week that killed 38 people. Kremlin

Officials in Russia and Kazakhstan are urging people to wait for an investigation into the deadly Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash before assigning blame.

An Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in Kazakhstan after being diverted, killing 38 of 67 people on board. Some experts alleged that the plane went down after being hit by Russian air defense systems. Some things to know about the crash and the speculation about a possible cause:

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.

An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger aircraft crashed near Kazakhstan's Aktau Airport close to the Caspian Sea on Wednesday morning.

A U.S. official tells NBC News there are early indications that the passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan may have been hit by a Russian anti-aircraft system. The official said if it turns out to be the case, it would be more evidence of Russia’s ...

Kazakh authorities have recovered the flight data recorder and an investigation is under way. Shortly after the crash, reports from Russian state-controlled TV said the most likely cause was a strike from a flock of birds.

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.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at a news conference that it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, pointing to bad weather as the reason the plane diverted from its original course. "This is a great tragedy that has become a tremendous sorrow for the Azerbaijani people," he said.

It's not yet clear how a plane traveling from Azerbaijan's capital of Baku crashed while trying to land in western Kazakhstan. This comes as questions emerge about Russia's involvement in the incident. CBS News' Chris Livesay reports. ‘Deadpool ...

According to Kazakhstan's Transport Ministry, the plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines had 37 Azerbaijani passengers, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyz, along with five crew members on board.