Flight J2-8243 crashed on Dec 25 in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, after diverting from an area of southern Russia where Moscow has repeatedly used air defence systems against Ukrainian drones.

At least 38 people were killed while 29 people survived.

"After the bang... I thought the plane was going to fall apart," Mr Subhonkul Rakhimov, one of the passengers, told Reuters from hospital, adding that he had begun to recite prayers and prepare for the end after hearing the bang.

"It was obvious that the plane had been damaged in some way," he said. "It was as if it was drunk – not the same plane anymore."

Another passenger on the plane said that she also heard a loud bang.

"I was very scared," said Ms Vafa Shabanova, adding that there was also a second bang. She was then told by a flight attendant to move to the back of the plane.

Both passengers said there appeared to be a problem with the oxygen levels in the cabin after the bang.

Beyond the horror of the crash, the first-person narratives from the passengers give an insight into what may have caused the disaster.

Russia has said it is important to wait for the official investigation to finish its work to understand what happened.

Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation into the disaster told Reuters on Dec 26 that Russian air defences had mistakenly shot down the plane.

Azerbaijan Airlines said it considered the crash was caused by what it termed "physical and technical external interference". It did not detail what that interference was. The carrier said on Dec 27 that it is suspending services to five additional Russian destinations, after earlier pausing flights to Grozny and Makhachkala.