Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17)[a] was a scheduled international passenger flight fromAmsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down on 17 July 2014,[4] killing all 283 passengers and15 crew on board.[5][6] The Boeing 777-200ER airliner lost contact near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast,Ukraine, about 50Â km (31Â mi) from the Ukraine-Russia border and crashed near Torez, 40Â km(25Â mi) from the border.[7] The crash occurred in the conflict zone of the ongoing War in Donbass,in an area controlled by the Donbass People's Militia.

The aircraft is believed to have been downed by a Buk surface-to-air missile fired from the territorycontrolled by pro-Russia separatists.[8][9][10] A Ukrainian Interior Ministry official, AntonGerashchenko, said a Buk surface-to-air missile hit the aircraft at an altitude of 33,000Â ft(10,000Â m).[11] Witnesses in Torez reported sightings on the day of the incident of what appearedto be a Buk missile launcher.[12][13]AP journalists reported sightings of a Buk system in separatistcontrolled Snizhne.[14] Unnamed US intelligence officials stated that sensors that traced the path ofthe missile, shrapnel patterns in the wreckage, voice print analysis of separatists' conversations inwhich they claimed credit for the strike, and photos and other data from social media sites allindicated that Russian-backed separatists had fired the missile.[15] The Russian Ministry of Defensehas maintained that US claims of separatist responsibility were "unfounded".[16]

The crash of MH17 marks the fifth Boeing 777 hull loss, the third in just over a year.[17][18] With298 deaths, MH17 is the deadliest air incident in Ukraine[19] and the deadliest airliner shootdownin history.[20] The crash was Malaysia Airlines' worst incident and its second of the year, after thedisappearance of Flight 370 (9M-MRO) on 8 March, en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.[21]

Contents

1 Aircraft

2 Passengers and crew

3 Background

4 Crash

5 Aftermath

6 Investigation

6.1 Cause

6.2 Recovery of casualties

7 Reactions

8 Media coverage

9 Maps

10 See also

11 Notes

12 References

13 External links

Aircraft

Flight 17 was operated with a Boeing 777-2H6ER,[b] serial number 28411, registration9M-MRD.[22] The 84th Boeing 777 produced, it first flew on 17 July 1997, exactly 17 years beforethe incident, and was delivered new to Malaysia Airlines on 29 July 1997.[23] Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 892 engines and carrying up to 282 passengers (35 business and 247 economy), theaircraft had recorded more than 43,000 hours in 6,950 cycles before the crash.[24][25]

The Boeing 777, which entered commercial service on 7 June 1995, has one of the best safetyrecords in commercial aircraft.[26] As of June 2014, there were about 1,200 aircraft in service, with340 more on order.[27]

Passengers and crew

People on board by nationality[21][28]

Nation

Number

Australia

27

Belgium

4

Canada[c][29]

1

Germany[d]

4

Indonesia

12

Malaysia[e]

43

Netherlands[f]

193

New Zealand

1

Philippines

3

United Kingdom[g]

10

Total

298

All 283 passengers and 15 crew died.[30][31][32] The crew were Malaysian and about two-thirds ofthe passengers were Dutch.[21][33][34] By 19 July, the airline had determined the nationalities of all298 passengers and crew.[21] The nationalities are noted in the table.

Among the passengers were delegates en route to the 20th International AIDS Conference inMelbourne, including Joep Lange, a former president of the International AIDS Society, whichorganized the conference.[35][36][37] Many initial reports erroneously indicated 100 delegates tothe conference were aboard, but this was later revised to six.[38] Also on board were Dutch senatorWillem Witteveen,[39] Australian author Liam Davison,[40] and Malaysian actress Shuba Jay.[41]

At least twenty family groups were on board the aircraft, and eighty of the passengers werechildren.[42][43]

Background

The first airlines to avoid Ukrainian airspace were Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, which started todo so on 3 March 2014, in the wake of the 2014 Crimean crisis.[44] In April, the International CivilAviation Organization warned governments that there was a risk to commercial passenger flightsover Ukraine. The US Federal Aviation Administration issued restrictions on flights over Crimea, tothe south of MH17's route, and advised airlines flying over the remainder of Ukraine to "exerciseextreme caution".[45][46]Aeroflot, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and others continued overflyingeastern Ukraine until after MH17 was shot down.[47] As with other countries, Ukraine receivesoverflight fees for every commercial aircraft that flies through its airspace, which may havecontributed to the continued availability of civilian flight paths through the conflict zone.[48]

Since the start of the conflict, several Ukrainian Air Force aeroplanes have been downed. On 14June, an Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft was shot down on approach to Luhansk International

Airport; all 49 people on board died. After that incident, on 29 June, Russian news agencies reportedthat insurgents had gained access to a Buk missile system after having taken control of a Ukrainianair defence base (possibly the former location of the 156th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (156 zrp),Ukrainian Air Force).[49][50][51] On the same day, the Donetsk People's Republic claimedpossession of such a system in a since-deleted tweet.[50][52] On 14 July, a Ukrainian Air Force An-26 transport plane flying at 21,000Â ft (6,400Â m) was shot down. Militia reportedly claimed viasocial media that a Buk missile launcher had been used to bring down the aircraft.[53] Americanofficials later said evidence suggested the aeroplane had been shot down from Russian territory.[54]On 16 July, a Sukhoi Su-25 close air support aircraft was shot down. The Ukrainian government saidthe Russian military had shot down the aircraft with an air-to-air missile fired by a MiG-29 jet inRussia; a spokesman for the Russian defence ministry rejected that report as "absurd".[55][56][57]Ukrainian officials advised pilots on 1 July not to fly below 26,000Â ft (7,900Â m) over easternUkraine.[58] This was increased to 32,000Â ft (9,800Â m) on 14 July.[58]

On 15 July, following his visit to Kiev, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Rados?aw Sikorski warnedabout the dangers posed by the continued Russian military support for pro-Russian separatists,especially ground-to-air missiles.[59] By 17 July, Russia had closed more than a dozen airways atvarious altitudes near the conflict zone.[60] On the same day, an unnamed Associated Pressjournalist saw a Buk launcher in Snizhne, a town in Donetsk Oblast that is 16 kilometres (10Â mi)southeast of the crash site. The reporter also saw seven separatist tanks at a petrol station near thetown.[61] Associated Press journalists reported that the Buk M-1 was operated by a man "withunfamiliar fatigues and a distinctive Russian accent" escorted by two civilian vehicles.[14]

The airspace above Donetsk Oblast had been closed by Ukraine on 1 July 2014 below 26,000 feet(7,900Â m), and on 14 July 2014 below 32,000 feet (9,800Â m).[62] The route in Russian airspacethat MH17 would have taken was closed below 32,000 feet (9,800Â m) by Russian air control a fewhours earlier, before MH17 took off.[63] According to Malaysia Airlines, MH17 filed an IFR flightplan requesting to fly at a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet (11,000Â m), but was directed to 33,000feet (10,000Â m).[64] The aircraft entered Ukrainian airspace climbing through 32,000 feet(9,800Â m), and climbed to 33,000 feet (10,000Â m) during its transition across the Kiev flightinformation region.[65]

Crash

Route of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

Flight 17 departed from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Gate G03 at 12:14Â CEST (10:14Â UTC)[66]and was due to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 06:00, 18 July MYT (22:00, 17 JulyUTC).[h]

Eurocontrol, which oversees the filing of all IFR flight plans in this region, stated that at the time ofthe incident the aircraft was in unrestricted airspace at flight level 330 (33,000Â feet or

10,060Â metres).[71]

Malaysia Airlines stated that Ukrainian ATC had lost contact with the airliner at 14:15 UTC,[i]30 km (19 mi) from the TAMAK waypoint at 47°51?24?N 39°13?6?E / 47.85667°N39.21833°E, which is on the Russian border [72][73] and that the aircraft's emergency locatorbeacon was at 48°07?23?N 38°31?33?E / 48.12306°N 38.52583°E.[74] The last transpondertransmission recorded by Flightradar24 was at 13:21 and placed it at 48°02?25?N 38°46?22?E /48.0403°N 38.7728°E and 33,000 feet (10,000 m), heading 118° at 490 knots.[75][76][77]

The aircraft crashed outside Hrabove, near Torez in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast.[7] Thefireball on impact was believed to be captured on video.[78]

Flightradar24 reported that a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200ER (Flight SQ351) and an Air IndiaBoeing 787-8 (Flight AI113) were each about 25Â km (16Â mi) away from the Malaysian airlinerwhen it disappeared.[79]

Photographs from the site of the crash show scattered pieces of broken fuselage and engine parts,bodies, and passports.[80] Some of the wreckage fell close to houses in Hrabove.[81] Dozens ofbodies fell into crop fields, and some fell into houses.[82]

Aftermath

Immediately following the incident, Ukraine closed all routes in Eastern Ukrainian airspace, at allaltitudes.[71] Airlines including Aeroflot, Transaero, Air France, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic,Lufthansa, and S7 Airlines announced their intention to instruct pilots to bypass Ukrainianairspace.[83]

Shortly after the crash, it was announced that Malaysia Airlines would retire flight number MH17and change the Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur route to flight number MH19 beginning on 25July.[84][85] On 18 July 2014, shares in Malaysia Airlines dropped by nearly 16%.[86]

There have been reports that credit and debit cards may have been looted from the bodies of thevictims, and the Dutch Banking Association reported that it would take "preventative measures"against possible fraud.[87] There are also accounts of corpses and their possessions being removedand evidence at the crash site being destroyed.[88][89]

On 23 July, two Ukrainian military jets were hit by missiles at the altitude of 17,000 feet (5,200Â m)close to the area of the MH17 crash. According to the Ukraine Security Council, the missiles camefrom Russia.[90]

Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin E. Dempsey has said that instead of backing awayfrom supporting the rebels in the wake of the airline tragedy, Putin had "actually taken a decision toescalate."[91]

Investigation

On the day of the crash, a meeting was convened of the Trilateral Contact Group (consisting of theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Ukrainian national government,and Russia). After they had held a video conference with representatives of insurgents affiliated withthe Donetsk People's Republic (who control the area where the plane crashed), the rebels promisedto "provide safe access and security guarantees" to "the national investigation commission" by co-

operating with Ukrainian authorities and OSCE monitors.[92] During the first two days ofinvestigation, the militants prevented the OSCE and other international observers from freelyworking at the crash site. According to the Ukrainian government, the separatists were destroyingall evidence of the crime "with the help of Russia", including moving 38 bodies to Donetsk.[93]Andre Purgin, a leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, declared later that "we will guarantee thesafety of international experts on the scene as soon as Kiev concludes a ceasefire agreement".[94]

An international investigation team is examining why the plane crashed. In agreement with theUkrainian government, the Netherlands will lead the investigation.[95][96] The investigation teamconsists of 24 investigators with members from Ukraine, Malaysia, Australia, Germany, the UnitedStates, the United Kingdom and Russia.[97] The black boxes will be examined by an internationalteam at a facility in the United Kingdom.[98] In addition to the international accident investigation,the selection of the flight route will also be independently investigated by the Dutch SafetyBoard.[99]

A Malaysian team of 133 officials and experts, comprising search and recovery personnel, forensicsexperts, technical and medical experts is in Ukraine.[100] Australia sent a 45-member panel headedby former Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who had earlier supervised the MH 370 probe.[101]The United Kingdom sent six investigators from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) andthe UK Foreign Office has sent extra consular staff to Ukraine.[102] A senior US administrationofficial reported to ABC News that FBI and NTSB officials were poised to head to Ukraine to advisethe investigation.[103]

Shortly after the crash, Igor Girkin, leader of the Donbass separatists, was reported to have postedon social media network VKontakte, taking credit for downing a Ukrainian military aircraft. Theseparatists later denied involvement after learning that a civilian airliner had been destroyed, sayingthey did not have the equipment or training to hit a target at that altitude.[104][105][106] On 22 Julya soldier revealed to an Italian reporter that fellow separatists had told his unit the plane had beenshot down under the assumption that it was Ukrainian.[107]

On 18 July, it was reported that the black boxes had been recovered by separatists.[108] On thesame day, the head of Donetsk Regional State Administration, Kostiantyn Batozky, stated that bothblack boxes had been found.[109] Rebels said later that two boxes were moved to Donetsk.[110]According to a phone conversation intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence, the militants were giventhe task of keeping all evidence, including black boxes, away from anyone else.[111]

On 21 July, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said that he had been told by Alexander Borodai,leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, that the black boxes would be handed over to Malaysianauthorities.[112][113] Later that day, the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder werehanded over to Malaysian officials in Donetsk by rebels. The Malaysians reported that bothrecorders were "in good condition".[114] The black boxes are currently being examined at a facilityoperated by the UK AAIB.[115][116] On 23 July it was reported that the CVR was damaged but therewas no evidence that it had been tampered with; it was also reported that valid data had beendownloaded.[117]

On 24 July, the Dutch Safety Board announced that they had successfully downloaded data from theflight data recorder and were proceeding to analyse the data. No evidence of manipulation of thedata was found.[118]

On 30 July, it was reported by a Ukrainian representative that pro-Russian rebels mined approachesto the crash site and pulled heavy artillery around, which make further work by international experts

impossible [119]

Cause

A mobile Buk surface-to-air missile launcher, similar to that believed to have been used in theincident

Both US and Ukrainian officials declared that a surface-to-air missile strike is the most likely causeof the crash,[120] and if so, then the missile was fired from a mobile Soviet-designed Buk missilesystem (known as SA-11 "Gadfly" to NATO),[121][122] as this is the only surface-to-air missilesystem in the region capable of reaching the altitude of commercial air traffic.[123] According todefence analyst Reed Foster (from Jane's Information Group), the contour of the aluminium and theblistering of the paint around many of the holes on the aircraft fragments indicate that small piecesof high-velocity shrapnel entered the aircraft externally, a damage pattern indicative of anSA-11.[124] Concurring with that, ballistics specialist Stephan Fruhling (of the Australian NationalUniversity's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre) added that a large hole in one of the aircraftfragments was caused by a violent blast of decompression from holes inflicted by hot shrapnel froman SA-11 proximity fuzed warhead.[125]

On 19 July, Vitaly Nayda, the chief of the Counter Intelligence Department of the Security Service ofUkraine (SBU), told a news conference, "We have compelling evidence that this terrorist act wascommitted with the help of the Russian Federation. We know clearly that the crew of this systemwere Russian citizens."[127][128][129] He cited what he said were recorded conversations in whichseparatists expressed satisfaction to Russian intelligence agents that they brought down anaeroplane.[130] The separatists denied that the recorded talks were related to the crash of MH17and blamed the Ukrainian government for shooting it down.[9][10][131] According to Nayda, a Buklauncher used in the shoot-down was moved back into Russia the night after the attack.[14] On 25July, the SBU released another recording, which they said was of pro-Russian-separatist leader IgorBezler being told of an approaching plane two minutes before MH17 was shot down.[132][133][134]

On 21 July, the Russian Defence Ministry held a press conference and said that just before the crash,a Ukrainian Su-25 ground-attack aircraft approached to within 3 to 5 kilometres (1.9 to 3.1Â mi) ofthe Malaysian airliner. The Ministry also stated that satellite photographs showed that the Ukrainianarmy moved a Buk SAM battery to the area close to the territory controlled by the rebels on themorning of 17 July, hours before the crash. They said the installation was then moved away again by18 July.[135][136]

US officials said that satellite data from infrared sensors detected the explosion of flight MH17.[137]American intelligence agencies said that analysis of the launch plume and trajectory suggested themissile was fired from an area between Torez and Snizhne.[54] Satellites are also likely to have

registered the heat signature of the launch of the missile and the activation of the missile launchertracking radar.[138]The Telegraph, a British paper, said: "The Telegraph's own inquiries suggest themissile - an SA-11 from a Buk mobile rocket launcher - was possibly fired from a cornfield about 12miles to the south of the epicentre of the crash site."[139]

An anonymous US intelligence official stated that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 may have been shotdown in error by pro-Russian separatists, citing evidence that separatists launched a SA-11 surface-to-air missile that blew up the Malaysian airliner. The official dismissed Russian allegations thatMH17 took evasive action and said the claim that the Ukrainian government had shot down MH17was not realistic, as Kiev had no such missile systems in that area, which was rebel-controlled.[140]US intelligence officials also claim that Russia was attempting to disguise the flow of weaponry itwas delivering to the rebels by sending older weapons that matched Ukraine's inventory.[15]

In an interview with Reuters on 23 July 2014, Alexander Khodakovsky, the commander of the pro-Russian Vostok Battalion, acknowledged that the separatists had an anti-aircraft missile of the typethe US has said was used to shoot down the plane, and admitted that it could have been sent back toRussia to remove proof of its presence;[141][142][143] he later retracted his comments, claimingthat he had been misquoted and stating that rebels never had a Buk.[144]

On 28 July, Ukrainian security official Andriy Lysenko announced, at a press conference, that blackbox recorder analysis had revealed that the aircraft had been brought down by shrapnel that caused"massive explosive decompression." Dutch officials were reported to be "stunned" by what they sawas a "premature announcement" and said that they did not know how Ukrainian officials hadobtained the data.[145]

Recovery of casualties

First arrival of bodies at Eindhoven Airport

Convoy of 40 hearses heading to Hilversum, while other traffic stopped

A Ukraine Foreign Ministry representative said that the bodies found at the crash site would betaken to Kharkiv for identification, a city 270 kilometres (170Â mi) to the north. By the day after thecrash, 181 of the 298 bodies had been found.[146]

On 19 July, Andriy Lysenko, the spokesman of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine,said that the insurgents removed 38 bodies from the crash site to extract parts of the missile used toshoot down the plane, and destroy the evidence.[147]

Al Jazeera reported that the separatist Minister of Health had initially confirmed 38 bodies had beenmoved to the Donetsk morgue, which the minister subsequently recanted.[148] Bodies wereobserved being moved, placed in body bags, and loaded on to lorries.[149][150][151]

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte complained about the lack of respect shown to the personalbelongings of the dead which were reportedly looted. He initially announced his disgust about thehandling of the bodies of the casualties that were reportedly being "dragged around" and "thrown",but later stated the bodies were handled with more care than originally estimated.[152][153] On 20July, Ukrainian emergency workers, observed by armed separatists, began loading the remains ofthe passengers of MH17 into refrigerated railway wagons for transport and identification.[154]

On 21 July, pro-Russian rebels allowed Dutch investigators to examine the bodies. By this time, 272bodies had been recovered.[155] Remains left Torez on a train on the evening of 21 July, en route toKharkiv to be flown to the Netherlands for identification.[112][156] On the same day, MalaysianPrime Minister Najib Razak announced that the Malaysian government had reached a tentativeagreement to retrieve the remains of the Malaysians who died in the crash, following any necessaryforensic work.[113][157]

It was reported on 21 July that with 282 bodies and 87 body fragments found, there were still 16bodies missing.[158] An agreement has been reached that the Netherlands will co-ordinate theidentification effort. All remains will be moved to the Netherlands with Dutch air force C-130 andAustralian C-17 transport planes.[159][160] A train carrying the bodies arrived at the MalyshevFactory, Kharkiv on 22 July,[161] and the first remains were flown to Eindhoven on 23 July.[162] Theinvestigation will be conducted at the Netherlands Army medical regiment training facility inHilversum by an international team.[163] The UK Metropolitan Police is liaising with internationalpartners to send specialist officers to assist with the recovery, identification and repatriation ofthose who died.[102]

Dutch authorities stated on 23 July that they found 200 bodies on the train when it arrived atKharkhiv, leaving almost 100 unaccounted for.[164] Two Dutch and one Australian aircraft flew thefirst bodies out of Kharviv later that day. The aircraft landed at Eindhoven Airport just before 16:00local time.[165] The day afterwards another 74 bodies arrived.[166]

Reactions

Main article: International reactions to the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shootdown

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the crash the result of an act of terrorism, and alsocalled for an international investigation into the crash.[167]

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in an address to parliament that the aircraft was downedby a missile which seems to have been launched by Russian-backed rebels.[168]Julie Bishop, theAustralian Minister for Foreign Affairs, said in an interview on an Australian television programmethat it was "extraordinary" that her Russian counterparts have refused to speak to her over theshoot-down after the Russian ambassador was summoned to meet her.[168] The Russiangovernment was critical of Abbott's response; Abbott was one of the first world leaders to publiclyconnect the shoot-down to Russia.[169] Abbott later criticized the recovery efforts as "shambolic",

and "more like a garden clean-up than a forensic investigation"; Bishop publicly warned separatistforces against treating the victims' bodies as hostages.[170]

Malaysian Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainuddin said that the foreign ministry would beworking with the Russian and Ukrainian governments with regard to the incident.[171] PrimeMinister Najib Razak later said that Malaysia was unable to verify the cause of the crash anddemanded that the perpetrators be punished.[172] The Malaysian government flew the national flagat half-mast from 18 July until 21 July.[173]

Flag at half mast in front of city hall of Hoorn during the national day of mourning

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and King Willem-Alexander voiced their shock at thecrash,[174][175] and Minister of Foreign Affairs Frans Timmermans joined the Dutch investigationteam sent to Ukraine.[176] Dutch government buildings flew the flag at half-mast on 18 July.[177]Music was cancelled and festivities were toned down on the last day of the Nijmegen Marches.[178]On 21 July the Netherlands opened a war crimes investigation on the downing of the aircraft. Thecountry's prosecutor is in Ukraine for that purpose. Rutte threatened tough action against Russia ifit did not help in the investigation.[179]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine bears responsibility for the incident whichhappened in its territory, which he said would not have happened if hostilities had not resumed inthe south-east of Ukraine.[7][180][181] He also said that it was important to refrain from makingany hasty conclusions and politicized statements before the end of the investigation. He said thatRussia would help an international inquiry led by the ICAO.[182] On 19 July the Russian Ministry ofDefence announced "10 questions to the Ukrainian government" regarding the incident.[183][184]

United States President Barack Obama said the US would help determine the cause.[7] In a pressstatement, White House spokesman Josh Earnest called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine toallow for a full investigation.[185] Vice-President Joe Biden said the plane appeared to have beendeliberately shot down, and offered US assistance for the investigation into thecrash.[181]USÂ Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power called on Russia to end thewar.[2] The British government requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations SecurityCouncil and called an emergency Cobra meeting after the incident.[186][187] Commander of theDonbass People's Militia Igor Girkin was quoted as stating that "a significant number of the bodiesweren't fresh". He followed up by saying "Ukrainian authorities are capable of any baseness"; andalso said that blood serum and medications were found in the plane's remnants in largequantities.[188][189]

The European Union's representatives José Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy released ajoint statement calling for immediate and thorough investigation.[190] The EU officials also said thatUkraine has first claim on the plane's black boxes.[191]

The International Civil Aviation Organization declared that it was sending its team of experts toassist the National Bureau of Air Accidents Investigation of Ukraine (NBAAI), under Article 26 of theConvention on International Civil Aviation.[192] The United Nations Security Council adoptedResolution 2166 on 21 July, regarding an official crime investigation into the incident.

A makeshift memorial at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Netherlands, for victims of flight MH17

Since the crash, memorial services have been held in Australia[193] and in the Netherlands, whichdeclared 23 July, the day when the first victims arrived in the country, a national day of mourning,the first since 1962.[194][195] The opening ceremony of the AIDS 2014 conference, of which severaldelegates were on board flight MH17, began with a tribute to the victims of the crash.[196] InMalaysia, makeshift memorials were created in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.[197]

Media coverage

See also: Media portrayal of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine

Media coverage of the crash in Russia has differed from coverage by other unaffiliated media.[198]On 22 July a US official claimed that the Russian government was manipulating the media towardsRussia's version of the story.[15]

The Russian government-funded[199] outlet RT initially said that the plane was shot down byUkraine in a failed attempt to assassinate Vladimir Putin, in a plot which was organized by Ukraine's"Western backers".[200] Other theories propagated by Russian media include: an allegation that theUkrainians shot down the plane in a botched attempt at mass murder of Russian citizens; thatUkrainian air traffic controllers purposefully redirected the flight to fly over the war zone; and thatthe Ukrainian government organized the attack on the plane to bring infamy upon the pro-Russianrebels.[201]

Sara Firth, a correspondent with RT, for which she had worked over the previous five years,resigned in protest at the channel's coverage which she described as "shockingly obviousmisinformation".[202] RT issued a statement after Firth went public with reasons for herresignation, saying "we were not surprised by Sara Firth's decision to leave RT after five years as aMoscow and London correspondent, as she has recently informed us that she was likely to take anoffer from another firm".[203]

On 25 July, the left-leaning Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta published a "provocative apology" forthe disaster, printing a bold headline in Dutch that read "Vergeef ons, Nederland" ("Forgive Us,

Netherlands").[204][205]

On 18 July, The Daily Telegraph, along with other sources,[206][207] reported that the Russiangovernment agencies had edited Russian Wikipedia pages relating to the MH17 incident in order toremove statements that it helped provide the missile system used to shoot down the aircraft. TheToronto Star also reported that an IP address associated with Putin's office also made edits to thearticle.[208] Among the pages that were said to have been edited was the Russian version of anarticle listing civil aviation incidents, to say that "the plane [Flight MH17] was shot down byUkrainian soldiers".[209]

Also, on the evening of 17 July, the lifenews.ru portal released a statement saying that a "UkrainianAir Force An-26 transport plane" had been shot down by a missile and crashed.[210]ITAR-TASS andRIA Novosti had also reported that an An-26 had been shot down by the militia (separatists) nearTorez at around 16:00 local time.[211][212]

Maps

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Crash site

Kuala Lumpur International Airport

Location of departure, crash site and destination

Amsterdam Airport

Crash site

Location of departure and crash site

Presumed route ending in an area controlled by pro-Russian rebels[213][k]

See also

List of aircraft accidents and incidents resulting in at least 50 fatalities

Notes

^ MH is the IATA designator and MAS is the ICAO designator. The flight is also marketed as KLMFlight 4103 (KL4103) through a codeshare agreement.[3]

^ The aircraft is a Boeing 777-200ER (for Extended Range) model; Boeing assigns a uniquecustomer code for each company that buys one of its aircraft, which is applied as an infix in themodel number at the time the aircraft is built. The code for Malaysia Airlines is "H6", hence "777-

2H6ER".

^ Dual Canadian-Romanian citizen boarding with Canadian passport.

^ Including:

1 dual German-Dutch citizen

^ Including 15 crew

^ Including:

1 dual Dutch-Belgian citizen;

1 dual Dutch-Israeli citizen;

1 dual Dutch-Italian citizen;

1 dual Dutch-American citizen

^ Including:

1 dual British-South African citizen; and

1 dual British-New Zealand citizen.

^ The Wall Street Journal cited a report from FlightAware which stated that 17 July was the first dayin July that Flight 17 flew so far north over eastern Ukraine; on the previous 16 days it "appeared tofly just south of the restricted airspace, according to FlightAware".[58] FlightAware has no coverageover Ukraine;[67] and all of the track reported for MH17 on the previous day's flight beyond51°10?23?N 24°23?55?E / 51.17306°N 24.39861°E is based on estimates.[68] Anothertracking site, Flightradar24, shows that MH17 consistently flew over separatist held areas, betweenDonetsk and Horlivka, in the previous 16 days.[69] Nico Voorbach, president of the EuropeanCockpit Association, believed that poor weather on the usual southerly route on 17 July promptedthe diversion.[70]

^ The time stated by Malaysia Airlines is erroneous; the correct time should be 13:15 (UTC) or14:15 (WEST).

^ Intercepted phone calls, verified with voice recognition by the National Security Agency,[126]between rebels discussing which rebel group shot down the aircraft and initial reports it was acivilian aircraft. Audio (in Russian) released by Security Service of Ukraine with English subtitles.

^ "A United States official said the missile that shot down the plane was launched from a regionnear the towns of Torez and Snizhne"[2]

References

^ "Doomed flight likely downed by pro-Russian separatists; at least 1 American aboard, saysObama". Fox News. 18 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.

^ a b c Shear, Michael D.; Sengupta, Somini; Tavernise, Sabrina (18 July 2014). "Obama Points toPro-Russia Separatists in Downing of Malaysia Airlines Plane". The New York Times. Retrieved 18July 2014.

^ "Statement Malaysia Airlines MH17". KLM. Retrieved 18 July 2014.

^ Malaysian airliner crashes in E. Ukraine near Russian border, over 280 people on board. RT. 17July 2014.

^ "Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down over Ukraine, 298 dead". The Sydney Morning Herald.Retrieved 17 July 2014.

^ de Carbonnel, Alissa (17 July 2014). "Malaysian passenger plane crashes in Ukraine near Russianborder -Ifax". Reuters. Retrieved 17 July 2014.

^ a b c d Alexander, Harriet (17 July 2014). "Malaysia Airlines plane crashes on Ukraine-Russiaborder - live". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July2014.

^ Reuters - Pro-Russian Separatists Shoot Down Two Fighter Jets, Says Ukraine - Newsweek - 23July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.

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^ "Donetsk People's Republic militia downs another Ukraine's An-26 plane - eyewitnesses". ITAR-TASS. 17 July 2014. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.

^ "???????????? ??-26 ???? ?? ??????? ???????, ??????? ????????".http://ria.ru/world/20140717/1016409306.html. RIA Novosti. Retrieved 29/07/2014.

^ "Maps of the Crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. 19 July2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

Wikinews has related news: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing 298

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, official updates regarding Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

MH17 Passenger Manifest at Malaysia Airlines (official passenger list)

Malaysia Airlines plane MH17 'shot down' in Ukraine - as it happened, The Guardian

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 playback on Flightradar24

MH17 17 July 2014 on FlightAware

Images and videos from Daily News

Images from RT

MH17 Boeing 777 Plane Crash, Ukraine (Jul 2014) - an album on Flickr

Maps of the crash - New York Times

Dutch Safety Board

Wall Street Journal map of a tragedy:how MH17 came Apart over Ukraine

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