SAO PAULO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Brazil has sent three Air

Force investigators to Kazakhstan to take part in a probe into

the crash of an Embraer ( ERJ ) plane flown by Azerbaijan

Airlines, the Brazilian Air Force told Reuters on Thursday.

The Brazilian-made E190 jetliner crashed down on Wednesday

in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after

diverting from southern Russia, killing 38 people.

Brazil's investigators will "provide technical support" to

the probe conducted by Kazakh authorities under international

rules known throughout the industry by their legal name "Annex

13," the Air Force said.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo

Editing by Brad Haynes and Chizu Nomiyama

)