Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 Shot Down Over Donetsk,Ukraine

[Hazimie 1,595]

Reports from Interfax news agency, verified independently by Reuters via the Russian aviation industry, state that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 crashed in Eastern Ukraine, over the province of Donetsk. The aircraft was a Boeing 777-200 twin-jet passenger airliner that was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur carrying 295, including the crew. A Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser, according to Reuters, declared that all 280 passengers and 15 crew perished in the crash. According to Interfax, the airliner was shot down from an altitude of 10 km, likely by Russia-backed separatist rebels in Donetsk province. Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian ministry of transport reportedly have “no information about any airliner that may have crashed,” according to Reuters (Malaysia Airlines later confirmed that it had “lost contact” with MH17). Shortly after reports of the crash emerged, the YouTube account “EuroMaidan PR” posted a video to YouTube allegedly showing the smoke plume emanating from the downed jet:

If it is confirmed that this crash was made possible by Russian arms and munitions support to separatists in Donetsk, Ukraine, the incident will likely have major international ramifications. Russia will likely face widespread condemnation for making such an incident feasible in the first place by arming anti-government, pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine’s Eastern Provinces. The fact that the jet was shot down from an altitude of 10 km suggests that a Russian anti-aircraft missile was likely involved. The Associated Press reported earlier on Thursday, prior to the reports of the Malaysian Airlines crash, that a Russian air-to-air missile shot down a Ukrainian air force jet. Pro-Russia rebels in Donetsk have claimed responsibility for having shot down a military transport plane in the past as well.The missile used is likely to have been of the Russian-made BUK SA-11/17 families. The SA-11 has the more limited range of the two types, covering 100 – 46,000 ft; the SA-17 covers a range of up to 82,000 ft. Conventional passenger airliners cruise in the range of 30,000 to 40,000 ft. There is still considerable ambiguity about the precise nature of anti-air and air defense technology available to Ukrainian separatists at this time. The Ukrainian military does operate BUK SA-11s. According to the Associated Press, the Ukrainian president has confirmed that the country’s armed forces took no action against “any airborne targets.” In late June 2014, pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists seized a Ukrainian military anti-air installation. The source of the attack is as yet unconfirmed.According to RIA Novosti, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama have discussed the situation.This incident is the second international tragedy to involve a Malaysian Airlines flight this year. Earlier in the year, Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 went missing over the South China Sea.

Source : http://thediplomat.com/2014/07/malaysian-airlines-flight-mh17-shot-down-over-donetsk-ukraine/

[Ultima Spark 753]

If it's true that pro-Russian separatists shot it down (and especially if it's true that the Russian military provided them with the weapons), then holy shit, there's going to be massive backlash against their government; people are already itching for a reason to bring hell on Putin, and this might be it for him.

 

Supposedly one of the separatist leaders posted about shooting down a plane at about the same time and location as this, believing it was a Ukrainian warjet (or something); here's an image of the alleged post (apparently it was taken down after news of this hit). EDIT: the thumbnails match those of the video of the crashed plane; well, this guy's f***ed.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Ultima Spark

[Ruby Rose 8,591]

Seriously don't fly Malaysian

[Ultima Spark 753]

I'm hearing claims that the separatists have the plane's black box and are planning to send it to Russia. Because that's going to end well /s (this kind of shit is what causes conspiracy theories; it should be handed over to an international authority, or at least to Malaysia Airlines).

 

Also hearing that journalists and officials are being prevented from accessing the crash site...

Edited July 17, 2014 by Ultima Spark

[Think Pink 1,967]

I was reading a CNN article on this earlier, and since CNN apparently specializes in talking nonstop about downed planes, the top like 6 articles on their homepage were all about it. One of them was talking about all of the commercial airliners that have been shot down - and holy crap it's a lot. There was also an issue before this with the Russians shooting down a Ukrainian cargo plane. 

[Yuya Sakaki 5,212]

*clenches fist and bows head darkly* Why...?

 

*shouts to the sky* WHY IS THE WORLD SO MESSED UP!

[Hazimie 1,595]

But seriously,this is the second tragedy that has been happen on my country,I was kinda worried though...

[Jake 1,488]

I saw something about this, i really hope everything is okay.

[Revolart 431]

2014 is really an unlucky year for my country.So many innocent people killed. Sorry if I seemed rude but I hope the one responsible for this gets what they deserve. Heck ,burn in hell is not enough for those that did thiz.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Revolution23

[KHUndertaleFan25 2,858]

Is this the same plane that had gone missing? You know, the one almost everyone was looking for? If it is, then holy crud.

[Hazimie 1,595]

Is this the same plane that had gone missing? You know, the one almost everyone was looking for? If it is, then holy crud.

No,that plane (MH370) was gone with a mystery to this day and the news said that It has been sunk into a deep ocean.While MH17 on the other hand,was crashed because of the shot. Edited July 18, 2014 by Hazimie

[KHUndertaleFan25 2,858]

No,that plane (MH370) was gone with a mystery to this day and the news said that It has been sunk into a deep ocean.While MH17 on the other hand,was crashed be caused of the shot.

Oh. Whoops. My bad ^^;.

[Think Pink 1,967]

New info about some passengers/family, both good and depressing. Let's start with the bad: one woman lost her brother on MH370 and she's now lost her step-daughter on MH17. It's really tragic and I can't believe two major air disasters have happened within months of each other with the same airline. This stuff is so infrequent and it's usually a different airline every time - it's scary how many people have lost their lives on Malaysia Airlines in just the past few months. (Although disclaimer - my dad works with airlines pretty frequently and he says they're a good airline - they've never lost any of his cargo shipments and when he's flown with them he's had nice flights, so take that for what you will.) Here's some good news though: a woman and her infant were bumped off the flight just before take-off. I guess she's a lucky lady. 

 

US airlines have agreed since essentially the beginning of the Ukraine crisis to avoid airspace near the Ukrainian-Russian border, but I guess other airlines didn't make the same call. I remember hearing that the French government has ordered flights to avoid that area, so if anyone's going to be travelling in that area (or even near it) you should probably ask for a copy of the intended flight path before you board to make sure it's going to be flying on the safest possible route. 

[KHUndertaleFan25 2,858]

New info about some passengers/family, both good and depressing. Let's start with the bad: one woman lost her brother on MH370 and she's now lost her step-daughter on MH17. It's really tragic and I can't believe two major air disasters have happened within months of each other with the same airline. This stuff is so infrequent and it's usually a different airline every time - it's scary how many people have lost their lives on Malaysia Airlines in just the past few months. (Although disclaimer - my dad works with airlines pretty frequently and he says they're a good airline - they've never lost any of his cargo shipments and when he's flown with them he's had nice flights, so take that for what you will.) Here's some good news though: a woman and her infant were bumped off the flight just before take-off. I guess she's a lucky lady. 

 

US airlines have agreed since essentially the beginning of the Ukraine crisis to avoid airspace near the Ukrainian-Russian border, but I guess other airlines didn't make the same call. I remember hearing that the French government has ordered flights to avoid that area, so if anyone's going to be travelling in that area (or even near it) you should probably ask for a copy of the intended flight path before you board to make sure it's going to be flying on the safest possible route. 

I feel bad for the lady that lost her brother on MH730 and her step-daughter on MH17. However, i feel glad that the woman with her baby got off the plane before it left. 

[Ultima Spark 753]

New info about some passengers/family, both good and depressing. Let's start with the bad: one woman lost her brother on MH370 and she's now lost her step-daughter on MH17. It's really tragic and I can't believe two major air disasters have happened within months of each other with the same airline. This stuff is so infrequent and it's usually a different airline every time - it's scary how many people have lost their lives on Malaysia Airlines in just the past few months. (Although disclaimer - my dad works with airlines pretty frequently and he says they're a good airline - they've never lost any of his cargo shipments and when he's flown with them he's had nice flights, so take that for what you will.) Here's some good news though: a woman and her infant were bumped off the flight just before take-off. I guess she's a lucky lady. 

 

US airlines have agreed since essentially the beginning of the Ukraine crisis to avoid airspace near the Ukrainian-Russian border, but I guess other airlines didn't make the same call. I remember hearing that the French government has ordered flights to avoid that area, so if anyone's going to be travelling in that area (or even near it) you should probably ask for a copy of the intended flight path before you board to make sure it's going to be flying on the safest possible route. 

 

Civilian airliners typically fly high enough that only advanced military equipment would hit them; they simply didn't know the separatists managed to get their hands on such (either they stole it from the Ukraine military, or someone else provided it for them; hence people blaming the Russian government). No-fly zone was listed as 32k feet [9.75km], MH17 was flying at 33k [10km].

 

I'm not sure if this is true, but apparently this wasn't the typical route for the plane (though it is a pretty heavily used air corridor); supposedly bad weather on the standard route forced it into this area.

 

Something I find particularly chilling, however, is this group of calls between (allegedly) the separatists and Russian intelligence, intercepted by the Ukrainian government. If it's true, it's damning, and no wonder the separatists are trying to block access to the area. The most disgusting part is at the end, though - "carrying spies"?! You just shot down a civilian plane and you're trying to justify it with "oh there were spies on board"?! Are you f***ing serious?!

Edited July 19, 2014 by Ultima Spark

[Sora96 17,256]

R.I.P people.