Putin blames Ukraine for loss of Flight MH17 with 298 innocent souls but DOESN'T deny Russian separatists shot it down with missile - as McCain warns there will be 'Hell to pay'
- Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 shot down over territory held by Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine
- Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the Ukrainians for not having 'peace' in the land
- But he did not deny that pro-Kremlin separatists brought down the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur
- U.S. Senator John McCain said there would be 'Hell to pay' if this was the case
-
Ukrainians called it
'terrorism' and released a recording between a
fighter they claimed was a Russian Intelligence
Officer and a separatist who apparently shot down
the plane and admitted it was 'civilian'
-
Ukrainian interior
ministry says plane was shot down by a Russian-made
BUK surface-to-air missile
-
Dutch authorities
say at least nine Britons, 154 Dutch and 27
Australians are among the dead
-
Reuters reported
earlier that 23 Americans were among the dead but
the State Department have not confirmed any
- President Obama was criticized for saying it was a 'terrible tragedy' in very brief remarks ahead of a speech
- Questions over why the flight was flying over Ukrainian airspace in what is effectively a war zone
-
All airlines now
saying they are avoiding the area
Russian President Vladimir has blamed Ukraine for the
Malaysian Airlines tragedy that claimed the lives of all
298 people on board, including around 100 children - but
didn't deny Russian-backed separatists were to blame for
shooting it out of the sky.
Flight MH17, a Boeing 777-200 aircraft on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, exploded into flames at 33,000ft as it was hit by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile over territory near Donetsk held by pro-Russian rebels.
Dutch authorities have said that at least nine
Britons, 154 Dutch, 27 Australians were among the dead.
The nationalities of 41 people on board have not been
confirmed. Earlier it was feared that 23 Americans had
perished based on a Reuters report, but there has been
no confirmation of any U.S. deaths since then from the
State Department.
As shocking pictures of bodies and debris emerged, the tragedy sparked a full-blown international crisis last night, increasing tension between Moscow and Washington.
Mr Putin said: 'This tragedy would not have happened if there were peace on this land, if the military actions had not been renewed in south-east Ukraine. And, certainly, the state over whose territory this occurred bears responsibility for this awful tragedy.
Airliner downed: Assault rifles in hand, four pro-Russian separatists survey the smouldering wreckage of a passenger jet destroyed by a missile in war-torn Ukraine
'Unspeakable horror': Emergency workers survey the wreckage of flight MH17, which came down in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine
But Ukrainian authorities laid the blame for the attack on the rebels - loyal to Russia's claims on Ukrainian territory and who have been locked in battle with Ukrainian forces in the past few months.
DEATH TOLL SO FAR:
45 Malaysians (including 15 crew members)
27 Australians
12 Indonesians
Nine Britons
Four Germans
Four Belgians
Three Filipinos
One Canadian
41 unconfirmed
President Petro Poroshenko
called the downing an act of terrorism as he called
for an international investigation into the crash.
A Ukrainian newspaper
published what it said was recordings of phone
conversations, firstly between Russian intelligence
officers and secondly between separatist commanders.
They have not been independently verified.
In the first, Igor Bezler,
who the Ukrainians claim is a Russian intelligence
officer and leading commander of the self-proclaimed
Donetsk People's Republic, tells a commander: 'We
have just shot down a plane' about '30 minutes ago'.
In the second, more
detailed recording, a rebel nicknamed ‘Major’ says
the Malaysian Airlines jet was shot down by
‘Cossacks from the Chernukhino roadblock’ adding:
‘It is definitely a civilian plane... there was a
lot of people on board.’
'Major' tells a comrade with the codename 'Greek' it was '100 per cent a passenger (civilian) aircraft'.
Greek asked: 'What kind of
aircraft?' to which Major responded: 'I haven’t
ascertained this. I haven’t been to the main site. I
am only surveying the scene where the first bodies
fell. There are the remains of internal brackets,
seats and bodies.'
Greek, still hoping at
that point a military craft had been downed, said:
'Is there anything left of the weapon?'
'Major': 'Absolutely
nothing. Civilian items, medicinal stuff, towels,
toilet paper.'
Greek: 'Are there
documents?'
Major: 'Yes, of one Indonesian student. From a university in Thompson.'
'IN CASE IT
DISAPPEARS': HAUNTING FACEBOOK PICTURE OF DOOMED
MH17 PASSENGER
A Dutch
passenger posted a haunting Facebook picture
just moments before he boarded the doomed
plane.
Cor Pan, who is
listed on the social media site as living in
Volendam in North Holland, uploaded the
picture of the aircraft with the caption:
‘If it disappears, this is what it looks
like.’
The comment is believed to have been a reference to Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 which disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on 8 March.
Cor Pan is believed to have posted this picture of the Malaysian Airlines plane (left) with the caption 'If it disappears, this is what it looks like' just moments before the doomed plane took off from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport
After seeing
the photo friends initially went along with
the joke and wished him a good trip, but
their messages quickly turned frantic when
news of the crash emerged.
Posting
underneath the picture they asked whether
his flight was the one that had gone down
and said that they were praying that it
wasn’t true.
154 Dutch nationals were reportedly on board the doomed aircraft, according to Malaysian Airlines.
Officials for the Obama administration - which had only yesterday stepped up sanctions against Russia for backing the separatists - confirmed the plane was hit by a single missile while at cruising speed and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said that 'it was not an accident', adding it was 'blown out of the sky'.
Biden, who had talked with Ukrainian President Poroshenko on the phone, is the most senior US official to raise the idea that the aircraft was deliberately brought down - but he did not divulge who he thought was responsible.
But U.S. Senator John McCain said there 'would be hell to pay' if the plane was shot down by the Russian military or separatists. He said: 'To leap to conclusions could be very embarrassing... But if it is the result of either separatist or Russian actions mistakenly believing this was a Ukrainian war plane, I think there's going to be hell to pay and there should be'.
McCain's suspicions
were further backed up by video footage and tweets
that emerged in the aftermath of the tragedy. Rebels
can be heard gleefully bragging about bringing down
the plane as a fireball rose from the debris.
Crash site: Rescue workers inspect the wreckage of a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane which was shot down today above Ukraine, killed all 298 people on board
Crash site: A picture taken this afternoon shows bodies amongst the wreckage of the doomed plane
One of the voices is believed to be militia commander Igor Strelkov, who then penned a triumphant war cry on Twitter, saying: ‘We warned you – do not fly in “our sky”.'
It is believed that he thought he had brought down an Antonov-26 military plane of the Ukrainian Air Force. Later, when the horror became clear, the tweet was deleted.
Meanwhile, reports emerged that the separatists had recovered the plane's black box and had handed it over to Moscow - possibly giving Russia the opportunity to hinder the investigation.
According to Russian news agency Interfax, First Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Purgin of the breakaway Donestsk Republic said the box will be transferred to Moscow for examination.
'Of course, we most likely will give them to the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), to Moscow. They are highly qualified experts who will be able to accurately determine the cause of the disaster, even though it is so clear,' he said.
Whoever has the black box will be able to control what information is released from on board before the crash.
Black boxes are used to review information from the flight and record cockpit chatter. They allow officials to discover if the pilot was aware of any problems before the plane went down.
Many were left aghast that MH17 could have been taking a short cut to save fuel over what is effectively a war zone.
Aftermath: Remains of the plane lay scattered across the ground in Grabovo after the aircraft was shot down by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile
Loss: A relative struggles to contain his emotion as family members of the victims are taken away from Schiphol airport in a special bus tonight
As relatives gathered at airports for news of missing loved ones, it emerged that airlines had twice been warned about the risk of flying over an area where two Ukrainian military aircraft had already been shot down this week.
In April, the International Civil Aviation Organisation advised carriers to consider alternative routes after outlining ‘the possible existence of serious risks to the safety of international civil flights’.
On Monday, Eurocontrol – the body that coordinates all traffic across European airspace – sent out an official note to airmen, known as a Notam, repeating the warning and saying it ‘strongly advises’ avoiding the airspace.
But many carriers continued to use the route because it was shorter and therefore cheaper.
Putin and US President Barack Obama were speaking by telephone in a pre-arranged call when news of the tragedy began to emerge.
Flight MH17 had taken off from Amsterdam at lunchtime and was flying at around 33,000ft on one of the main routes from Europe to Asia when it was struck by the missile. It came down near a poultry farm in the village of Grabovo, an area controlled by pro-Russian rebels about 30 miles from the Ukraine-Russia border.
Witnesses claimed to have seen bodies falling out of the stricken plane over the village of Rassypnaya. Some residents feared they were being bombed.
Aleks Noit, whose relatives live nearby, said more than a dozen corpses, some naked, were strewn around the village.
‘Wreckage and bodies fell on the private houses in the village and near the hospital. People in uniform collected the corpses,’ he said.
Others described an entire
field covered in debris from the plane and body
parts scattered across an area up to nine miles in
diameter, suggesting
the plane broke up in mid-air.
Destruction: The Boeing 777 aircraft was hit by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile over territory near Donetsk held by pro-Russian rebels who the Ukrainian government says are backed by the Kremlin
Laying the blame: The Ukrainian authorities laid the blame for the attack on the rebels by denying any responsibility for the missile launch, with President Petro Poroshenko called the downing an act of terrorism
Arrival: The self-proclaimed Prime Minister of the pro-Russian separatist 'Donetsk People's Republic' Alexander Borodai (centre) arrives on the site of the crash
Casualties: Dutch authorities have said that at least six Britons, 154 Dutch and 27 Australians were on board the doomed plane, and it is feared that up to 23 Americans and four French passengers had been killed
Picking up the pieces: Work at the crash site continued into the night, as world leaders called for a full investigation into the tragedy
Struggle: A firefighter sprays water on the flames in an attempt to extinguish the fire
Fighting the fire: Airline fuel continues to burn amongst the wreckage as night falls over the crash site
An emergency services
rescue worker said at least 100 bodies had so far
been found at the scene, lying alongside broken
pieces of the wings marked with the red and blue
paint used on the airline's fleet.
'I was working in the field on my tractor when I heard the sound of a plane and then a bang and shots. Then I saw the plane hit the ground and break in two. There was thick black smoke,' said a witness, who gave his name only as Vladimir.
A separatist rebel from nearby Krasnyi Luch who gave his name only as Sergei said: 'From my balcony I saw a plane begin to descend from a great height and then heard two explosions.'
He denied the rebels had shot the plane down.
WHY WAS FLIGHT
MH17 FLYING THROUGH A WARZONE IN THE FIRST
PLACE?
Map to show that there are no planes flying over Ukraine 17/07/14
The airspace
Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was flying in
when it was shot down was not restricted,
but airlines had been warned about the
potential dangers, it has emerged.
The
International Transport Association said
that an initial assessment revealed that the
airspace the aircraft was traveling through
was 'not subject to restrictions'.
However, it
emerged on Thursday that the Malaysian
Airlines Boeing 777-200 was flying just 300
meters above restricted airspace when it
shot down
Previous to
this Ukrainian authorities had barred
aircraft from ground level to 32,000 feet
but the downed plane was cruising at 33,000
feet, within range of ground-to-air
missiles, when it was hit.
Indeed,
speculation exists that the aircraft may
have taken a short-cut across the disputed
region of eastern Ukraine to save itself
fuel.
On Monday,
Eurocontrol – the body that coordinates all
traffic across European airspace – sent out
an official note to airmen,known as a Notam,
repeating the warning and saying it
‘strongly advises’ avoiding the airspace.
But many
carriers continued to use the route because
it was shorter and therefore cheaper.
On July 8, the
State Aviation Administration of Ukraine
closed its airspace to civilian aircraft
after rebels shot a military transport
aircraft that was flying over 20,000 feet.
The restriction warned commercial aircraft against using Ukrainian airspace.
Sabrina Tavernise, of the New York Times, wrote an online blog describing ‘a scene of almost unspeakable horror’.
‘Incongruously, many of the bodies strewn about in the smouldering wreckage were largely intact,’ she said.
‘A woman in a black sweater lay on her back, blood streaming from her face, her left arm raised as if signalling someone. Another victim, naked except for a black bra, lay on the field, her grey hair mixing with the green grass, one leg broken and her body torn.
‘A young boy, who looked to be around ten years old, lay on his side in a red T-shirt that read “Don’t Panic”.
‘Pieces of the plane were scattered across the road and field, a seat back with its television display cracked, a tail fin clearly displaying the red and blue colours of Malaysian Airlines. One televised image showed a travel guide for Bali, almost untouched.’
Miss Tavernise, who had been reporting on the separatist militants from the border region of Ukraine and Russia where the plane went down, was among the first on the scene.
Writing on the NYT website, she said: ‘Rescue workers tied pieces of white cloth on nearby tree branches to mark where bodies were found.
‘Many of the victims were still in their seat belts and attached to pieces of the plane. One man, still in his socks, but without pants, lay akimbo on the field, his right arm placed on his stomach, as if in repose.
Discarded: Luggage from the plane is piled up at the crash site by rescue workers performing recovery work in east Ukraine
Search: The Foreign Office is in talks with consular teams in Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur to obtain passenger lists to establish how many UK nationals were on board the plane
Action: A Whitehall source said that this evening's meeting was involving Government officials, rather than ministers, and was focused on establishing what needs to be done for any British citizens caught up in the incident
'Terrible': Twenty-three Americans are feared dead in the crash, which President Barack Obama called a 'terrible tragedy'. There was actually one American student.
‘A young man in blue shorts, wearing red Nike sneakers, lay with his arms and legs splayed outward, clutching his iPhone.’
Noah Sneider, a Ukraine-based journalist freelancing for the New York Times, tweeted regularly from the scene.
‘At crash site of #MH17. Bodies everywhere,’ he wrote. ‘Too gruesome to post photographs. This is an absolute disaster.
‘Locals say everything exploded in the air, fell in pieces, both bodies and plane itself. People thought they were being bombed.’
He reported firefighters’ attempts to put out the flames on the smouldering wreckage, writing: ‘Impossible to comprehend.’
Graphic images showed a huge pall of smoke billowing into the sky, charred wreckage and many bodies.
President Barack Obama
called it a 'terrible tragedy', in remarks earlier
on Wednesday, which drew criticism for their
brevity.
The president spoke about
the crash as he appeared in Wilmington, Delaware on
Thursday afternoon and said his national security
team are working to determine if there were any U.S.
citizens on board the plane that was carrying 295
people to Kuala Lumpur.
'Our thoughts and prayers are with all the passengers' families,' he added.
Burning: Rescue workers walk through the burning wreckage of the plane after it crashed near the town of Shaktarsk in rebel-held east Ukraine
No survivors: Witnesses say body parts are scattered over a distance of 15km, suggesting the plane broke up in mid-air
Meanwhile, the new British Foreign secretary Philip Hammond said tonight he does not have detailed information as to the exact number of Britons dead, or what had caused the plane to crash.
Speaking at the Foreign Office following emergency talks with ministers and officials, he called for an international investigation led by the United Nations to establish exactly what happened to the aircraft.
Smoke signals: A plume of thick grey smoke rises from the spot where the Malaysia Airlines commercial plane crashed in eastern Ukraine
Insignia: The red and blue stripes which decorate the Malaysia Airlines fleet can be seen in this broken piece of the plane's exterior, as can a Malaysian flag
In pieces: Part of the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines plane lies in an otherwise deserted cornfield
Destroyed: An armed pro-Russian separatist stands at a site of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash in the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region of Ukraine
Salvage operation: Emergencies Ministry members work at the crash site after the plane was shot down, killing all 295 on board
Into a war zone: The jet was flying over the crisis-hit region of Ukraine, where the authorities have accused Russia-backed separatists of previous attacks on aircraft
Catastrophic: A view of one of a crash site in the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region. Witnesses said bodies were found scattered for many kilometres
DESIGNED TO PROVIDE AIR DEFENCE FOR
TROOPS FACING ATTACK: WHAT IS A BUK MISSILE
LAUNCHER?
The BUK missile system is a set of medium range surface-to-air missile systems which were first developed in the Soviet Union and continue to be produced by Russia.
Designed to take out cruise missiles, aircrafts, helicopters and short range ballistic missiles, they can reach altitudes of up to 15.5miles, according to the manufacturer's website.
Powerful: The BUK surface-to-air missile system (like this one) that is believed to have shot down flight MH17 is an old Soviet-built weapon designed to engage light aircraft, cruise missiles and drones
Developed by Moscow firm Almaz-Antey, they are thought to have been used during the Russian war with Georgia in the territory of South Ossetia in 2008.
The manufacturer's website, which also lists military equipment including radar and naval missile systems, displays two models of Buk launchers - the Buk-M1-2 and the Buk-M2E.
A description of the Buk-M1-2, which has an altitude target range of up to 25km (15.5 miles or 82,000ft), reads: 'The "Buk-M1-2" ADMC is designed to provide air defence for troops and facilities against attacks from current and future high-speed manoeuvring tactical and strategic aircraft, attack helicopters including hovering helicopters, and tactical ballistic, cruise, and air-to-air missiles, in conditions of heavy radio jamming and counter fire; as well as to destroy water and ground surface targets.'
Meanwhile, the Buk-M2E 'is designed to destroy tactical and strategic aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, and other aerodynamic aircraft at any point in their range of operation, along with tactical ballistic and aircraft missiles, and smart air bombs in conditions of heavy enemy counter fire and radio jamming; as well as to attack water and ground surface contrast targets.'
'I'm deeply shocked by this appalling incident and I send my heartfelt condolences to all those who may have lost family and friends. We're determined to get to the bottom of understanding what has happened here,' he said.
'As yet we do not have any definitive information about how this incident occurred and I don't want to speculate at this stage. We believe that there must be a UN-led international investigation of the facts.'
He said that Britain was prepared to make Air Accident Investigation Branch assets and specialists available to assist such an investigation.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: 'I'm shocked and saddened by the Malaysian air disaster. Officials from across Whitehall are meeting to establish the facts.'
A Whitehall source said that this meeting was involving Government officials, rather than ministers, and was focused on establishing what needs to be done for any British citizens caught up in the incident.
Britain has also requested an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York, the Foreign Office said.
The Foreign Office is also in talks with consular teams in Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur to obtain passenger lists to establish how many UK nationals were on board.
Catastrophe: Fire and smoke rises from the wreckage. Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko denied his forces were involved in shooting down the plane
The aircraft, which was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew, was flying between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur after taking off at lunchtime
'Terrorist act': The Ukrainian authorities laid the blame for the attack on the rebels by denying any responsibility for the missile launch
Ripped apart: Wreckage of the Malaysian Airlines flight after it crashed in rebel-held territory in Eastern Ukraine
Down: Smoke billows into the sky after a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane was shot out of the sky at 33,000ft over eastern Ukraine, killing all 295 people on board
Tragedy: TV pictures show a pall of smoke billowing into the sky apparently from the stricken aircraft
An unverified image posted online show Ukrainian inspecting what appears to be wreckage from the doomed flight
Poignant: Passports of some of the victims. Emergency services rescue worker said at least 100 bodies had so far been found at the scene near the village of Grabovo
Doomed: Flight MH17 takes off from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam hours before it was shot down over Ukraine
SHOT OUT OF THE SKY: OTHER PLANES HIT MID-FLIGHT
April 20,
1978: Korean
Airlines Flight 902, which diverted from its
planned course on a flight from Paris to
Seoul and strayed over the Soviet Union.
After being
fired upon by an interceptor aircraft, the
crew made a forced landing at night on the
surface of a frozen lake. Two of the 97
passengers were killed by the hostile fire
September 1, 1983: Korean
Air Lines Flight 007 shot down by at least
one Soviet air-to-air missile after the 747
had strayed into Soviet airspace. All 240
passengers and 29 crew were killed
July 3, 1988: Iran
Air Flight 655 Aircraft was shot down by a
surface to air missile from the American
naval vessel U.S.S. Vincennes. All 16 crew
and 274 passengers were killed
‘We
are aware of the reports and are urgently working to
establish what has happened,’ a Foreign Office spokesman
said.
Immediate suspicion focused on pro-Moscow insurgents using a Buk surface-to air-missile supplied by Russia.
The missile system is an old Soviet-built weapon
designed to engage light aircraft, cruise missiles and
drones.
Anton Gerashenko, an aide to the Ukrainian Interior
Minister, said on his Facebook page that the plane was
hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher.
A similar launcher was reported by journalists near the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne earlier yesterday.
One pro-Russia rebel leader said they now intend to call a three-day ceasefire to allow an investigation of the crash.
Rebel leader Alexander Borodai told the RIA-Novosti agency that discussions were under way with Ukrainian authorities on calling the short truce for humanitarian reasons.
He said international organisations would be allowed
into the region.
Ukraine has been ripped apart by internal conflict since
the overthrow of the Moscow-backed regime of President
Viktor Yanukovych, which led to President Putin annexing
the disputed Crimea region.
Outspoken: Rebel commander Igor Strelkov bragged on Twitter, ¿We warned you ¿ do not fly in ¿our sky¿¿ but deleted the tweet when the full horror of the disaster became clear
The Russian-backed separatists, who want their own
breakaway region linked to Moscow, have already been
accused by the authorities in Kiev of shooting down
military jets with missiles supplied by Russia.
Ukraine's state security chief accused two Russian military intelligence officers of involvement in the downing of a Malaysian passenger plane in eastern Ukraine on Thursday and said they must be punished for their 'crime'.
SBU chief Valentyn Nalivaychenko said he based his allegation on intercepts of phone conversations between the two officers.
'Now you know who carried out this crime. We will do everything for the Russian military who carried out this crime to be punished,' he told journalists.
Fear: A relative of one suspected victim walks arrives at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam tonight
Torment: Worried relatives are driven away from Schiphol airport by bus tonight
Najib Razak, the Malaysian prime minister, said: 'I am shocked by reports that an MH plane crashed. We are launching an immediate investigation.'
Later, addressing a press briefing, he described it as:
'A tragic day in a tragic year', adding that the
Malaysia Airlines jetliner did not make any distress
call before it went down in Ukraine, and that the flight
route was declared safe by the International Civil
Aviation Organization.
Overcome: A female relative of one passenger weeps as she tells reporters in Kuala Lumpur she believe a relative of hers was on Malaysia Airlines flight MH-17
Tearful: The woman reacts to news regarding the tragic plane crash in eastern Ukraine
Grief: A family member cries as she receives the news of the ill-fated flight MH17 during a phone call at Kuala Lumpur airport
Worry: A relative of a passenger on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam speaks on the phone as he waits for information outside the family holding area at the airport in Kuala Lumpur
On alert: Airport police stand guard at the arrival hall at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where the plane had been due to land
'The Ukrainian authorities believe that the plane was
shot down,' Najib said in the statement.
'At this stage, however, Malaysia is unable to verify the cause of this tragedy. But we must, and we will, find out precisely what happened to this flight. No stone will be left unturned.
'If it transpires that the plane was indeed shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must swiftly be brought to justice.'
He said also that Malaysia was sending a special flight
to Kiev with a disaster assistance and rescue team.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for 'a full and transparent international investigation' into what brought down the plane.
'I am closely monitoring the reports, along with the
International Civil Aviation Organization, a United
Nations agency. There is clearly a need for a full and
transparent international investigation,' he said.
Grief tinged with anger: A woman lights a candle near a placard reading 'Stop Russian terrorism!' in front of the Dutch Embassy in Kiev. Pro-Russian rebels have denied involvement in the crash.
Sympathy:A young Ukrainian girl and a man thought to be her father place flowers in commemoration of the crash victim
WHAT WILL MH-17 MEAN FOR AIR TRAVEL, AND WHAT WILL
THE FUTURE HOLD FOR MALAYSIA AIRLINES?
The suspected shooting down of a large passenger plane while flying at altitude presents airlines and their passengers with an extremely serious new development in air travel, according to aviation experts.
They also question the future of Malaysia Airlines - caught in the global glare of bad publicity following the disappearance of flight MH 370 earlier this year.
If today's incident is confirmed as a deliberate act then Ukraine airspace could well be closed down, meaning diversions for UK carriers who currently fly to and over the area.
'This could be a very serious development,' said David Kaminski-Morrow, air transport editor of Flightglobal magazine.
He went on: 'If reports are true, we are not talking about small-arm fire but serious weaponry. Normally even if planes fly over a war zone they can go high enough for the conflict not to be a worry.
'Any decision about the opening or closing of Ukranian airspace will be a matter for the Ukrainians. It could well be that part or all of that airspace will now be closed.
'Also, individual airlines, including UK carriers, could decide to detour around Ukraine.'
Mr Kaminski-Morrow continued: 'It's really quite incredible that it should be Malaysia Airlines involved in this, after what happened earlier in the year.
'This is not a small airline on a faraway route. This was a major airline flying from a European destination to a capital in the Far East. There must be serious concerns about how the airline can recover from this.
'There will
obviously be political as well as aviation
concerns from all this. This will run and run.'
The crash comes four months after the mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 which is though to have crashed into the Indian Ocean.
Two weeks ago, investigators say what little evidence they have to work with suggests the plane was deliberately diverted thousands of kilometres from its scheduled route before eventually plunging into the Indian Ocean.
But a month later, officials conceded the wreckage was not in that concentrated area, some 1,000 miles off the northwest coast of Australia, and the search area would have to be expanded.
The next phase of the search is expected to start in August and take a year, covering some 60,000 sq km at a cost of AU$60 million ($56 million) or more. The search is already the most expensive in aviation history.
The new priority search area is around 2,000km west of
Perth, a stretch of isolated ocean frequently lashed by
storm force winds and massive swells.
Today's downing of a Malaysian Airlines passenger plane is a grim reminder of events more than 30 years involving a Korean Airlines flight.
In an incident still shrouded in controversy and conspiracy theories, a Korean Airlines flight 007, flying from Alaska to Seoul in South Korea, was shot down by a Russian fighter on September 1 1983.
The aircraft came down at sea, killing all 269 people on board.
Anxious: Family members of the victims are gathering at Schiphol airport's dakotabar to wait for news of their loved ones
It had entered Soviet airspace and it later transpired that it had flown a long way off course. But this was the height of the Cold War and there were 61 Americans on board the doomed plane, so immediately recriminations began.
The Soviets assumed the passenger plane was a US spy aircraft while the US President Ronald Reagan called it 'a massacre' and 'a crime against humanity'.
Initially, the Soviet Union denied responsibility. Years later the Russians conceded that the Soviet action had been tragic but necessary, given just how far off course the civilian plane had got.
HIJACKINGS, CRASHES AND UNSOLVED MYSTERIES: A
TIMELINE OF OTHER DISASTERS TO HIT MALAYSIA
AIRLINES
December, 4 1977 - Flight MH653 was hijacked and crashed in Tanjung Kupang, Johor, killing all 100 people on board.
September 15, 1995 - Flight MH2133 touched down too far along the runway at Tawau Airport, Sabah, killing 32 passengers and two crew members.
March 15, 2000 - Flight MH85, travelling to Kuala Lumpur to Beijin, was damaged by the chemical oxalyl chloride, which leaked from canisters during unloading. The Airbus A330-300 was sufficiently damaged to be written-off.
March 8, 2014 - Fight
MH370, carrying 12 Malaysian crew members and
227 passengers, went missing on a flight from
Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing
Capital International Airport.
The Boeing 777 has still yet to be found, despite months of extensive searches in the southern Indian Ocean where it was believed to have crashed. The next phase of the search is expected to start in August and take a year, covering some 60,000 sq km at a cost of AU$60 million ($56 million) or more.
March 24, 2014 - Flight
MH066, travelling from Kuala Lumper to Incheon,
South Korea, was forced to make an emergency
landing in Hong Kong after its main electricity
generator failed.
Passengers onboard the flight later revealed they were told to prepare for an emergency water landing. However, the plane landed safely in Hong Kong in the early hours of the morning.
April 21, 2014 - Flight MH192, carrying 166 people, was forced to turn back to Kuala Lumpur while flying to India after a tyre burst and the right-hand landing gear malfunctioned. Police later confirmed an investigation had begun into whether the flight had been interfered with before take-off.
April 24, 2014 - A
plane belonging to Firefly Airlines (a
subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines) was forced to
return to Penang after suffering problems with
its landing gear.
A statement on the company's website said: 'This was because the aircraft's landing gear was unable to retract after being airborne. As safety is of utmost priority to Firefly Airlines, the aircraft was required to turn back to Penang.'
July 17, 2014 - Flight MH17 was shot down on the Russian-Ukraine border, killing all 298 people on board
Relatives of passengers of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 get onto a bus at Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on July 17, 2014, headed for an unkown destination after they received additional information about the Malaysia Airlines plane traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that crashed near the town of Shaktarsk, in rebel-held east Ukraine. A Malaysian airliner carrying 295 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed on July 17 in rebel-held east Ukraine, as Kiev said the jet was shot down in a 'terrorist' attack. Ukraine's government and pro-Russian insurgents traded blame for the disaster, with comments attributed to a rebel commander suggesting his men may have downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by mistake, believing it was a Ukrainian army transport plane. AFP PHOTO / ANP / OLAF KRAAK --NETHERLANDS OUT-- (Photo credit should read OLAF KRAAK/AFP/Getty Images)
BY CHRIS BRUMMITT
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Two Boeing 777s. Two incredibly rare aviation disasters. And one airline.
In what appears to be a mind-boggling coincidence, Malaysia is reeling from the second tragedy to hit its national airline in less than five months.
On March 8, a Malaysia Airlines jetliner vanished about an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, spawning an international mystery that remains unsolved. On Thursday, the airline - and the nation - were pitched into another crisis after the same type of aircraft was reported shot down over Ukraine.
Ukraine said the plane was brought down by a missile over the violence-wracked eastern part of the country. Other details were only just beginning to emerge.
But what's certain is that the struggling airline and the nation must now prepare for another agonizing encounter with grief, recriminations, international scrutiny and serious legal and diplomatic implications.
"This is a tragic day in what has already been a tragic year for Malaysia," Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said.
Amid it all, a question: Just how could disaster strike the airline twice in such a short space of time?
"Either one of these events has an unbelievably low probability," said John Cox, president and CEO of Safety Operating Systems and a former airline pilot and accident investigator. "To have two in a just a few months of each other is certainly unprecedented."
The first disaster deeply scarred Malaysia and left the world dumbstruck. How could a Boeing 777-200ER, a modern jumbo jet, simply disappear? Flight 370 had veered off course during a flight to Beijing and is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean far off the western Australian coast.
The search area has changed several times, but no sign of the aircraft, or the 239 people aboard, has been found. Until then, how the plane got there is likely to remain a mystery.
On Thursday, there was no mystery over the whereabouts of the Boeing 777-200ER, which went down on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew members. Its wreckage was found in Ukraine, and there were no survivors.
Officials said the plane was shot down at an altitude of 10,000 meters (33,000 feet.) The region has seen severe fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia separatists in recent days.
"If it transpires that the plane was indeed shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must swiftly be brought to justice," Malaysia's prime minister said.
Malaysia Airlines was widely criticized for the way it handled the Flight 370 hunt and investigation. Some relatives of those on board accused the airline of engaging in a cover-up, and there have been persistent conspiracy theories over the fate of the plane, including that it might have been shot down.
There was no immediate reason to think the two disasters to befall the airline were in any way linked.
Najib said the plane's flight route had been declared safe by the global civil aviation body. And Cox said that to his knowledge, there was no prohibition against flying over eastern Ukraine despite the fighting on the ground.
Charles Oman, a lecturer at the department of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said it was too early to draw conclusions.
"Given the military conflict in the region, one has to be concerned that identities could have been mistaken," he said in an email.
Malaysia Airlines was especially criticized for the way it handled the communications around the missing jetliner, which presented unique challenges because of the uncertainty facing the relatives of those on board. With the plane crashing Thursday over land and its wreckage already located, there will be no such uncertainty.
But the investigation will be just as sensitive. There will be legal and diplomatic implications depending on who was responsible.
"The airline and the Malaysian transport ministry took a lot of hits for the way they handled MH370, due to their inexperience," Oman said. "Hopefully they will do better this time."
The accident will surely inflict more financial damage on Malaysia Airlines. Even before the March disaster, it reported a loss of $370 million in 2013 when most of the word's other airlines were posting an average profit of 4.7 percent. After the Flight 370 disaster, passengers canceled flights, and even though the airline is insured, it faces uncertainty over payouts to the victims' families.
"They were in worse shape than any other airline in the world before even the first incident," said Seth Kaplan, managing partner of industry newsletter Airline Weekly. "There's little precedent for an airline going through what they have gone through let alone surviving it."