Azerbaijani military website www.milaz.info has said that something resembling an unidentified flying object was seen over the Caspian Sea at the time of the MiG-29 jet crash on 29 January, Ayna newspaper reported on 31 January.

"Residents of Surabad village in Xizi District, which is close to the scene of the incident, have said this. It is reported that some people saw that flying object although the weather was gloomy," the report said.

Ayna added that it had failed to confirm the accuracy of the information.

"However, according to local residents and traffic police officers serving in the area, the fighter aircraft first flew over the ground. But suddenly a bright object appeared on the surface of the sea and it was like an unidentified flying object. The plane suddenly flew towards that object and then exploded," Ayna reported.

The paper added that at present it was rather difficult to comment on the reasons for the crash.

In an interview with the paper on 30 January, military expert Uzeyir Cafarov said that Azerbaijan should temporarily suspend flights of MiG-29 jets.

"I think that flights by MiG-29 fighter planes bought last year should be suspended temporarily. The incident should be investigated. If this is not done, then no-one can guarantee that other MiG-29 planes will not meet similar fate," Cafarov said.

Cafarov added that MiG-29 fighter planes which Azerbaijan had bought were actually produced in 1986, whereas the newspaper itself reported in the same article that Azerbaijan started to buy modern MiG-29 jets from Ukraine in early 2007.

The expert said that, after the incident, pilots should accumulate more experience and step up their exercises.

Sources:

Ayna, Baku in Azeri 31 Jan 08 p 1

Ayna, Baku in Azeri 30 Jan 08 p 1