Silk Way Airlines

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) resisted grounding the aircraft until 13 March 2019, when it received evidence of accident similarities.In July 2017, an investigation[11] by the leading Bulgarian daily newspaper Trud, which has a reputation for investigative crime reporting,[12] reported that Silk Way Airlines exploited a loophole in the international aviation and transport regulations to offer flights to arms manufacturers and private companies – with much of the cargo heading for conflict zones including Central Asia and Africa."[11][15] The Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs called information of Bulgarian media on transportation of weapons by "Silk Way" under the cover of diplomatic immunity misleading.[18] In 2020, it was alleged again that Silk Way Airlines were transporting Israeli-made weapons from Ovda Airport in Eilat, Israel to Azerbaijan, on behalf of Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.It was speculated that Israel sold advanced weaponry to Azerbaijan on operations against Armenian forces, and Silk Way Airlines were contracted to transport the orders.
A Silk Way Airlines Douglas DC-8 at Zurich Airport in 2003
Silk Way Antonov An-12 in 2005
Silk Way Ilyushin Il-76 in 2010
SilkAirSilk Way West AirlinesHeydar Aliyev International AirportAzerbaijanAzerbaijanicargo airlineDouglas DC-8Zurich AirportAntonov An-12Ilyushin Il-76Boeing 747-8Antonov An-178Boeing 737 MAXLion Air Flight 610Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302Federal Aviation AdministrationloopholeInternational Civil Aviation Organizationwhite phosphorus munitionsBulgarian Ministry of Foreign AffairsSterling, VirginiaUnited States Department of DefenseAlexandriaPerry, FloridaAzerbaijan's Air ForceUnited States Special Operations CommandAzerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairsdiplomatic immunityOvda AirportAzerbaijani Armed Forces2020 Nagorno-Karabakh warArmenian forcesBoeing 747registrationN'Djamena International AirportSilk Way Airlines Flight 995Bagram AirfieldSilk Way Airlines Antonov An-12 crashedDwyer AirportMary International AirportWayback MachineMeydan TVAl JazeeraBarak RavidOC MediaAgence France-PresseGlobal VoicesAirlinesAzerbaijan AirlinesASG Business AviationAzal Avia CargoAZALJetButa AirwaysImair AirlinesTuran Air