ted sarandos muhammad rahimov thought he was plunging to his death. he said he heard a bang before oxygen masks dropped, reciting the shahada. the muslim proclamation of faith. he says what he had thought to be his final prayer according to azerbaijan airlines, the plane had faced physical and technical external interference as the pilot attempted an emergency landing, the plane burst into flames upon impact. 38 people on board did not survive. >> allahu akbar. >> remarkably, rahimov was among 29 people who survived the crash. after the bang. i already had my mind set that something bad would happen, because it was clear that the plane had received some damage. rahimov says. and when the plane started behaving unusually, then it became 100% clear. i realized then that it was all over and decided i should film my final minutes. accounts from survivors like rahimov give a rare first hand glimpse into the terrifying final moments of the flight, and potentially what may have caused the crash. azerbaijani sources and a u.s. official say preliminary evidenc

. >> remarkably, rahimov was among 29 people who survived the crash. after the bang, i already had my mind set that something bad would happen because it was clear that the plane had received some damage, rahimov says. and when the plane started behaving unusually, then it became 100% clear. i realized then that it was all over and decided i should film my final minutes. accounts from survivors like rahimov give a rare first hand glimpse into the terrifying final moments of the flight, and potentially what may have caused the crash. azerbaijani sources and a u.s. official say preliminary evidence suggests the plane may have been hit by russian air defenses. a possible case, one u.s. official told cnn of mistaken identity with the russian city of grozny. the flight's intended destination under ukrainian drone attack at the time, ukraine's. ukrainian combat drones were mounting terrorist attacks on civil infrastructure in the cities of grozny and vladikavkaz. the head of russia's federal air transport agency said. due to this, in the area of the grozny a

i was strapped in, yet i was being thrown back and forth, rahimov recounts. it all lasted for a few seconds, then everything went quiet. there was silence. everything was calm. and i realized that that was it. we had landed. and wolf, just in the last few hours, we have heard from a u.s. official saying that early indications show that the holes that are seen in the fuselage in the wreckage of the plane are consistent with shrapnel damage from an explosion. so that will be a key line of inquiry for investigators. and while those two black boxes have been recovered, authorities say it could take around two weeks for a full assessment to be made. so we'll be waiting to hear updates from officials taking part in that investigation as to what the official cause is found to be for this deadly plane crash, wolf. >> they've got to learn what happened to make sure it doesn't happen again. nada. bashir reporting. thanks very much. i want to get some more right now with our experts on russia, aviation and national security and peter glaser, our aviation expert. what's

. >> remarkably, rahimov was among 29 people who survived the crash. after the bang. i already had my mind set that something bad would happen, because it was clear that the plane had received some damage. rahimov says. and when the plane started behaving unusually, then it became 100% clear. i realized then that it was all over and decided i should film my final minutes. accounts from survivors like rahimov give a rare first hand glimpse into the terrifying final moments of the flight, and potentially what may have caused the crash. azerbaijani sources and a u.s. official say preliminary evidence suggests the plane may have been hit by russian air defenses. a possible case, one u.s. official told cnn of mistaken identity with the russian city of grozny. the flight's intended destination under ukrainian drone attack at the time. for those on board, it was a terrifying physical and emotional ordeal. for a brief moment, passengers thought they were out of danger. but when the caspian sea appeared, the clouds dispersed and the plane began to behave unusually, rahimov say

i was strapped in, yet i was being thrown back and forth, rahimov recounts. it all lasted for a few seconds. then everything went quiet. there was silence. everything was calm, and i realized that that was it. we had landed and there has been no official confirmation from the authorities or investigators as to what actually led to that crash, and investigators say it could take around two weeks to fully assess the data in those black box recorders. >> okay. nadia bashir reporting for us there. nada. thank you. sirens, meantime, sounded in jerusalem earlier today amid reports of incoming missiles. two projectiles triggered their alarms, according to the israel defense forces. the idf said that interceptors were launched and no injuries were reported. it comes after the gaza ministry of health says israeli forces raided the last major functioning health facility in northern gaza. the israeli military surrounded the kamal adwan hospital on friday as part of its ongoing operations in the area. israel, calling the hospital a hamas terrorist stronghold. let's get t

sabuncu rahimov was on the plane, he says. he heard a bang and thought the plane was going to fall apart in the sky. masks dropping from the ceiling. he says he saw damage to the outside of the plane. today, the head of russia's federal agency for air transport says the plane was rerouted because of dense fog and an alert of ukrainian drones in the area. flight data shows the plane taking off from azerbaijan, flying into russian airspace and crossing the caspian sea, before crashing in kazakhstan on christmas day. video from the ground shows the plane in its final moments in the sky, falling and rising erratically, the plane crashing into a field, igniting into a ball of fire. >> it sounds like from the reporting that there was some type of aerial combat going on between russia and ukraine in the grozny area. if that is in fact the case, russia was likely using electronic jamming, which could have impacted the plane's navigation system and would explain its navigational behavior. >> 67 people on board, at least 38 dead, more t