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Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

Coordinates: 48°8′6″N 38°30′11″E / 48.13500°N 38.50306°E / 48.13500; 38.50306
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Thelb4 (talk | contribs) at 21:28, 17 July 2014 (→‎Passengers: bbc has correct figures). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the July 2014 incident in Ukraine. For the March 2014 incident in the Indian Ocean, see Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
9M-MRD, the Boeing 777-200ER involved in the incident, seen at Perth Airport in August 2010
Incident
Date17 July 2014 (2014-07-17)
SummaryUnder investigation. Fired at with surface-to-air missile.[1]
SiteNear Hrabove, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine
48°8′6″N 38°30′11″E / 48.13500°N 38.50306°E / 48.13500; 38.50306
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 777-200ER
OperatorMalaysia Airlines
Registration9M-MRD
Flight originAmsterdam Airport Schiphol
DestinationKuala Lumpur International Airport
Passengers280
Crew15

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17)[a] was a scheduled international passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. The 282-seat Boeing 777-200ER crashed[2][3] near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Ukrainian border with Russia[4] on 17 July 2014, carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew members.[5] The crash occurred in the conflict zone of the ongoing Donbass insurgency.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry advisor Anton Herashchenko claimed that the aircraft was shot down at an altitude of 10,000 metres (33,000 ft) by a Buk surface-to-air missile.[6][7] Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called it an "act of terrorism."[8] In response, pro-Russian separatist rebels accused the Ukrainian government of shooting down the plane. U.S. intelligence officials said that an early intelligent assessment showed that a surface-to-air-missile had been fired at the plane, but could not confirm its origin.[9]

With 280 passengers and 15 crew members on board, this was the most people involved in a Malaysia Airlines incident to date. This surpasses Flight 370, also a Boeing 777-200ER, which disappeared less than five months earlier and involved 227 passengers and 12 crew members.[10][11][12]

Crash

Crash site is located in Ukraine
Crash site
Crash site
Crash site (Ukraine)

The aircraft departed from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Gate G03 at 12:14 CEST (10:14 UTC).

Malaysia Airlines released a statement, saying "it received notification from Ukrainian ATC that it had lost contact with flight MH17 at 14.15 (UTC) at 30 km from Tamak waypoint, approximately 50 km from the Russia-Ukraine border."[13]

The plane crashed near the village of Hrabove just north of Torez, a city in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, as it was approaching the Russian border.[4]

Flightradar24 reported that a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200ER (Flight SQ351) and an Air India Boeing 787-8 (Flight AI113) were each only about 25 kilometres away from the Malaysian airliner when it disappeared.[14][15]

Photos from the site of the crash show scattered pieces of broken fuselage and engine parts, as well as bodies and passports.[16] Some of the wreckage fell close to houses in Hrabove.[17]

Route map of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

An anonymous source, reported by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin's aircraft was flying in the vicinity and may have been the intended target.[18]

Timeline of flight

Elapsed (HH:MM) Time Event
MYT UTC CEST (Amsterdam) EEST (Ukraine)
00:00 18:14 10:14 12:14 13:14 Departure from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
03:01 21:15 13:15 15:15 16:15 Aircraft disappears from Ukrainian radar

Passengers

Passengers on board by nationality[19]
Nationality Number
Australia 27
Belgium 4
Canada 1
France 6
Germany 4
Indonesia 11
Malaysia 23
Netherlands 154
Philippines 3
United Kingdom 6
United States 23
Unknown 33
Total 295

Malaysia Airlines has confirmed that there were 282 passengers and 15 crew members onboard MH17.[20] There are assumed to be no survivors, though this has not been formally confirmed.[21] Several Dutch travel agencies have confirmed that there were Dutch passengers on board MH17.[22] Twenty-three Americans were also reported to be on the flight.[23] ITV News reported that nine British nationals were on board, but the Foreign Office was unable to confirm the claim.[24]

Aftermath

As a result of the incident, Lufthansa, Air France, Turkish Airlines, Transaero, Delta Airlines, British Airways, Aeroflot, Air India, Jet Airways, and KLM began to avoid eastern Ukrainian airspace[25][26][27][28] or Ukraine entirely.[29] A NOTAM informed U.S. airlines not to fly in the Ukraine area, while UTair, Alitalia and Virgin Atlantic also announced they will reroute their flights. The United Kingdom's Department for Transport ordered flights already airborne to bypass south-eastern parts of Ukraine, including advising pilots around the world to plan routes that avoid the area.[30]

Separatists have allegedly blocked rescue workers and police from entering the area, according to Ukraine, and have claimed that they have found the flight recorder of the airliner, which they said they would turn over to Russia.[31]

Cause

The airspace above Donetsk Oblast was closed by Ukraine on 8 July 2014 except for aircraft in transit flying over 7,900 metres (25,900 ft).[32]

The incident was preceded by the loss of a Ukrainian military Su-25 "Frogfoot" close air support aircraft the previous day and a Ukrainian military An-26 "Curl" transport aircraft three days earlier. Ukrainian government officials accused the Russian military of downing the aircraft, but a spokesman for Russia's Defense Ministry rejected those accusations as absurd.[33][34]

Ukrainian interior ministry official Anton Gerashchenko stated on Facebook that the airliner was "shot down with a surface-to-air missile by terrorists", referring to militants seeking to unite eastern Ukraine with Russia.[7] Later the Ukrainian President issued a different statement saying that Ukrainian authorities "don't exclude" the possibility that the plane was so shot down.[35] Later the Ukrainian government changed its statement about the plane being shot down to "not excluding" possibility that it was shot down.[35] This was denied by the rebels, stating that they have no weapons capable of shooting down planes at the height the Malaysian airliner was flying.[36]

A post on the VKontakte social networking service apparently from Igor Girkin, commander of the Donbass People's Militia, acknowledged shooting down an aircraft at approximately the same time in approximately this location, claiming it was a Ukrainian military An-26 transport plane. This post was deleted later in the day.[37][38] According to Google Maps, Rassypnoye (where Girkin claims to have shot down the plane) is 6km from Hrabove, where MH17 crashed. An Associated Press reporter on Thursday saw seven rebel-owned tanks parked at a filling station outside the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne, a few miles southeast of the crash site. In the town, he also observed a Buk missile system, which can fire missiles up to an altitude of 22,000 metres (72,000 feet).[39] Vehicle-mounted 9K35 Strela-10 missiles were also filmed by Russian Lifenews team near Donetsk.[40] On 29 June, NTV reported that separatists had access to a Buk missile system after taking control of a Ukrainian air defence base.[41] On the same day, the Donetsk People's Republic claimed possession of such a system in a since-deleted tweet.[42]

Due to the current violence occurring in this area of Ukraine, it was suggested that it could have been shot down by a portable defense missile[citation needed], although a defense expert later reported that to shoot down an aircraft at such a high altitude would have required a long-range surface-to-air missile possibly assisted by radar or by an air-to-air missile from another aircraft.[43] The Buk surface-to-air missile system uses radar guidance.

A source from Russia's Agency Rosaviatsia said Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council had closed its airspace over eastern Ukraine because of what it called "anti-terrorist operation[s]."[44] However, shortly after the crash the International Air Transport Association wrote in a statement: "Based on the information currently available it is believed that the airspace that the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions."[45] At the same time, a representative of the Donetsk People's Republic said that civil aviation planes could not fly over the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as traffic control and navigation equipment was damaged and that "dispatching support of all passenger flights is being conducted from Kiev. How this plane could be there - is not clear."[30]

Security Service of Ukraine published an alleged wiretap of separatist commanders reporting shoot down of an passenger plane.[46] [47]

Aircraft

Flight 17 was operated with a Boeing 777-2H6ER, serial number 28411, registration 9M-MRD. The 84th Boeing 777 produced, it first flew on 17 July 1997 and was delivered new to Malaysia Airlines on 29 July 1997.[48] The aircraft was powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines, and configured to carry 282 passengers.[48]

The Boeing 777, introduced in 1995, is generally regarded by aviation experts as having a safety record that is one of the best of any commercial aircraft. Since its first commercial flight on June 7, 1995, there have been only four other serious accidents involving hull loss: British Airways Flight 38 in January 2008; a cockpit fire in a parked EgyptAir 777-200 at Cairo International Airport in 2011; and Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in July 2013, in which three people died. Another Malaysia Airlines 777, Flight 370 (registration 9M-MRO), went missing on 8 March 2014 and was still being searched for at the time of Flight 17's crash.

Reaction

Domestic

  • Ukraine Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko claimed that the plane was brought down by a Buk ground-to-air missile, fired by separatists.[7][49] Later, the Ukrainian government[who?] changed its statement about the plane being shot down to "not excluding" the possibility that it was shot down.[50]
  • Ukraine Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko termed the downing of MH17 "a terrorist attack, not an incident or catastrophe" on his official Twitter account.[51]

Involved parties

  • Malaysia Malaysian Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainuddin said the next day in Malaysia that the foreign ministry would be working closely with the Russian and Ukraine governments in regards to the incident.[52]
  • Netherlands Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated “I am deeply shocked by the dramatic news regarding the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over Ukrainian grounds”. He further announced to interrupt his holiday to coordinate the Dutch response.[53]

International

  • Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his deepest condolences to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the Malaysian people and the relatives of the victims.[54] His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the allegations of Russian involvement were "stupidity" and added of the possibility of sanctions as a result of the incident by the United States: "The United States has recently been conducting a very non-constructive policy, and their actions are very unpredictable."[55]
  • United States U.S. President Barack Obama said "The U.S. will offer any assistance we can to determine what happened and why. As a country our thoughts and prayers are with all the families of the passengers, wherever they call home."[55]
  • United Kingdom The United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a statement that read it is "urgently working to establish what has happened".[33] Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "shocked and saddened by the Malaysian air disaster".[33] Britain has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.[56]
  • Belgium The Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo offers his deepest condolences and sympathy to the families and friends of the victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight.[57]
  •  Sweden – Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt said to Sveriges Television on 17 July 2014: "It is terrible. Unfortunately there is a lot to suggest that the plane was shot down and then probably by the separatists". Asked if he know for sure the plane was shot down, Bildt said: "We do not know that for sure, but we can conclude that the separatists have previously boasted that they have shot down other aircraft in the same area and such an aircraft crashes not only of itself in this way. It is almost unthinkable. Unfortunately, most suggest it is the separatists who shot down the plane with advanced weapons they received from Russia". He added: "If this is the case, it has serious impact. Then the separatists have developed a threat to international peace and security and has committed a very serious crime which they, in one way or another, must be held accountable for".[58]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ MH is the IATA designator and MAS is the ICAO designator. The flight is also marketed as KLM Flight 4103 (KL4103) through a codeshare agreement.

References

  1. ^ "Missile fired at Malaysian plane: US intelligence". Cnbc.com. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  2. ^ Malaysian airliner crashes in E. Ukraine near Russian border, over 280 people on board. RT. 17 July 2014.
  3. ^ Gruesome images of Malaysia MH17 plane crash in east Ukraine appear online (PHOTOS). RT. 17 July 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Malaysia Airlines plane crashes on Ukraine-Russia border – live". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 July 2014. Cite error: The named reference "telegraph" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ Hradecky, Simon (17 July 2014). "Crash: Malaysia B772 near Donetsk on Jul 17th 2014, disappeared from radar". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  6. ^ de Carbonnel, Alissa (17 July 2014). "Malaysian passenger plane crashes in Ukraine near Russian border -Ifax". Reuters. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  7. ^ a b c Zverev, Anton (17 July 2014). "Ukraine says rebels shoot down Malaysian airliner, 295 dead". Reuters. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  8. ^ "Malaysia Airlines crash: President Poroshenko calls shooting down of Malaysian plane an 'act of terrorism'". The Daily Telegraph. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  9. ^ Birnbaum, Michael; Branigin, William; Londoño, Ernesto (17 July 2014). "Malaysia Airlines plane crashes in eastern Ukraine; U.S. intelligence blames missile". Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  10. ^ Boykoff, Pamela; Moshin, Saima (31 March 2014). "Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 surfaces pain of 1977 tragedy". CNN. Retrieved 17 July 2014. The airliner – a Boeing 737–200 – crashed into a mangrove swamp as it descended, killing all 100 on board. Before Flight 370, it was the deadliest incident in Malaysian aviation history.
  11. ^ Bossi, Sébastien (17 July 2014). "LIVE : Crash du MH17 de Malaysia Airlines". Ijsberg (in French). Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  12. ^ Walker, Shaun; Branigan, Tania; Luhn, Alec (17 July 2014). "Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashes in east Ukraine". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  13. ^ Alan Yuhas. "Malaysia Airlines plane MH17 'crashes in Ukraine' - live updates | World news". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  14. ^ Flightradar24 (17 July 2014). "Singapore Airlines SQ351 (B777) and Air India AI113 (B787) were about 25 km from #MH17 when it disappeared". Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "An Air India Plane was 25 km away when Flight MH 17 crashed". news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  16. ^ Nelson, Sara C (17 July 2014). "Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 'Shot Down In Ukraine Near Russian Border'". The Huffington Post. United Kingdom. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  17. ^ "Maleisisch passagiersvliegtuig in Oekraïne neergestort" (in Dutch). De Telegraaf. Retrieved 17 July 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "Presidentieel toestel Poetin mogelijk doelwit" (in Dutch). De Telegraaf. Retrieved 17 July 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ "Malaysia jet crashes in east Ukraine conflict zone". BBC News. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  20. ^ "Travel Advisory – Media Statement 1 : MH17 Incident". Malaysia Airlines. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  21. ^ Walker, Shaun; Branigan, Tania (17 July 2014). "Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashes in east Ukraine". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  22. ^ "Dutch passengers aboard crashed Boeing 777". Curacao Chronicle. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014. Dutch travel Agency D-Reizen confirms that Dutch citizens were on board. Also, through ANWB Reizen, we learn that about fifteen or sixteen Dutch citizens were on board. It's about people who have booked at Fox Reizen and SNP, which falls under ANWB Reizen. Tour operator WTC.nl believes it's between twenty and thirty Dutch citizens who have booked through the site.
  23. ^ Fredericks, Bob. "23 Americans aboard jet shot down from 33,000 feet over Ukraine | New York Post". Nypost.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  24. ^ "MH17 'shot down' over Ukraine, '9 Britons dead'". The Scotsman. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  25. ^ "Russia's Aeroflot, Turkish Airlines to avoid Ukraine airspace". 18 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  26. ^ Thomson Reuters Foundation. "Russia's Transaero says it will avoid Ukrainian airspace". Trust.org. Retrieved 17 July 2014. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  27. ^ Kim LaCapria. "Air France, Lufthansa To Avoid Ukraine Airspace After Malaysian Plane Crash [Update]". Inquisitr.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  28. ^ "Ook KLM mijdt luchtruim boven rampgebied ("KLM also avoids airspace above area of disaster")". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  29. ^ Alan Yuhas. "Malaysia Airlines plane MH17 crashes in Ukraine - live updates | World news". theguardian.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  30. ^ a b "Flights rerouted: Planes avoiding Ukraine airspace after Malaysia Airlines crash — RT News". Rt.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  31. ^ "Separatyści blokują dostęp do szczątków samolotu. "Czarne skrzynki przekażemy MAK"". Gazeta.pl Wiadomości (in Polish). 17 July 2014.
  32. ^ "Госавиаслужба закрыла воздушное пространство в зоне АТО" (in Russian). "Блокнот" информационное агентство. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  33. ^ a b c "Ukraine conflict: Russia accused of shooting down jet". BBC News. London: BBC. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014. Cite error: The named reference "bbc" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  34. ^ "Russia Rejects 'Absurd' Accusation Over Downed Ukrainian Jet". RFE/RL. Prague: RFE/RL. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  35. ^ a b Malaysia Airlines plane crashes on Ukraine-Russia border Telegraph online
  36. ^ Raf Sanchez, Harriet Alexander (17 July 2014). "Malaysia Airlines plane crashes on Ukraine-Russia border - live". The Daily Telegraph.
  37. ^ "Ополченцы сообщили о сбитом Ан-26 на востоке Украины" (in Russian). 7 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014. On July 17 near the village of Rassypnoye over the Torez city in Donetsk region an An-26 transport plane of Ukrainian Air Force was taken down, said the militia. According to them, the plane crashed somewhere near the "Progress" mine, away from residential areas. According to one of the militias, at approximately 17:30 local time an An-26 flew over the city. It was hit by a rocket, there was an explosion and the plane went to the ground, leaving a black smoke. Debris fell from the sky
  38. ^ Yuhas, Alan (7 July 2014). "Malaysia Airlines plane MH17 crashes in Ukraine - live updates". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  39. ^ By PETER LEONARD Associated Press. "Ukraine: Air Force Jet Downed by Russian Missile - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  40. ^ "Lifenews" footage from Donetsk separatist positions, from 0:24-0:28 a Buk vehicle visible with DNR markings, Lifenews (10 July 2014). "Батальон "Восток" провел разведку боем в районе аэропорта Донецка".
  41. ^ "Донецкие ополченцы обзавелись зенитно-ракетными комплексами «Бук»". NTV News (in Russian). NTV. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  42. ^ Panda, Ankit (17 July 2014). "Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 Shot Down Over Donetsk, Ukraine". The Diplomat. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  43. ^ Pearson, Michael (17 July 2014). "Did surface-to-air missile take down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17?". CNN.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  44. ^ "Rosaviatsia: Ukraine closed airspace in east to commercial flights 3 days ago", ITAR-TASS, 17 July 2014, retrieved 17 July 2014
  45. ^ "Statement on MH17". IATA. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  46. ^ "СБУ перехопила переговори терористів: І.Бєзлєр ("Бєс") доповідає своєму куратору полковнику ГРУ ГШ ЗС РФ В.Гераніну про щойно збитий бойовиками цивільний літак". Security Service of Ukraine. 17 July 2014.
  47. ^ Над Донецкой областью разбился пассажирский Boeing, 295 человек погибли, by Novaya Gazeta. According to transcript, "ополченец с позывным «Майор» рассказывает «Греку», что самолет сбили казаки с блокпоста Чернухинский." and "Игорь Безлер рассказывает своему «куратору» — полковнику главного разведывательного управления Генштаба Василию Геранину — о том, что самолет упал в районе Енакиево, а сбила его группа некого «Минера»."
  48. ^ a b "Malaysia Airlines 9M-MRD (Boeing 777 – MSN 28411) | Airfleets aviation". Airfleets.net. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  49. ^ "Malaysian passenger plane 'shot down' in Ukraine – Channel 4 News". Channel4.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  50. ^ Malaysia Airlines plane crashes on Ukraine-Russia border Telegraph Online
  51. ^ Template:Twitter status
  52. ^ "Malaysia to Work with Russia, Ukrainian Governments on MH17". English.cri.cn. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  53. ^ "Verklaring premier Rutte over crash MH17 | Binnenland" (in Dutch). Telegraaf.nl. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  54. ^ "Соболезнования Премьер-министру Малайзии Наджибу Разаку". Президент России. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  55. ^ a b Sanchez, Raf (17 May 2014). "Malaysia Airlines plane crashes on Ukraine-Russia border - live". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  56. ^ Leonard, Peter. "Ukraine: 295 on Malaysia plane shot down over east". Associated Press. The Big Story. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  57. ^ "Twitter / eliodirupo: I offer my deepest condolences". Twitter.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  58. ^ Gimling Shaftoe, Jesper (17 July 2014), "Bildt: Ett mycket allvarligt brott", Sveriges Television (in Swedish), retrieved 17 July 2014
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