Flight MH17 hit by high energy objects, report finds

The Hague: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was likely struck by multiple “high energy objects from outside the aircraft,” causing it to break up over eastern Ukraine, a preliminary report into the deadly aviation disaster concluded on Tuesday.

The report by the Dutch Safety Board stopped short of saying the Boeing 777 was shot down by a missile, but its findings appear to point to that conclusion. It also did not say who might have been responsible.

“The damage observed in the forward section of the aircraft appears to indicate that the aircraft was penetrated by a large number of high energy objects from outside the aircraft,” the report said. “It is likely that this damage resulted in a loss of structural integrity of the aircraft, leading to an in-flight break up.”

India calls for 'broad-based' Intl probe into MH17 downing

Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar): India today sought a "broad-based" international investigation into the downing of a Malaysia Airlines plane in Ukraine and called for steps to ensure that such a tragedy was not repeated.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, in her address at the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting here, also underlined the need for finding a diplomatic solution to the situation in Ukraine.
"The senseless loss of lives in the crash of MH17 on July 17 has left the international community with responsibility to ensure safety of civil aviation. Parties in conflict situations must urgently abjure violence and work for diplomatic solutions," Swaraj said.

"We must ensure that such a tragedy is never repeated. A broad-based international investigation must cover all aspects of this incident," she said.

Singapore govt stand suggests AI aircraft was flying close to MH17

Mumbai:  When Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down in Ukraine on July 17, two other passenger aircraft — of Air India and Singapore Airlines — were flying close to it. While India has denied this, a Singapore government statement in that country's parliament on Monday seemed to confirm it.

Singapore's transport minister Lui Tuck Yew told the parliament that Flight SQ351, headed to Singapore from Copenhagen, was just 90km (56 miles) from the Malaysian plane at that time. TOI had carried a report on July 20 saying AI's Delhi-Birmingham flight was flying barely 25km, or 90 seconds away, from the Malaysian aircraft when the latter was hit. All 298 people on board flight MH17 had died

Pilots' group president says MH17 shot down after attempt to avoid storms

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was guided off its most recently used course as its pilots hoped to avoid thunderstorms brewing in the south of Ukraine, it has been claimed.

When it was shot down, the doomed jet was many miles north of the flight paths it had used on previous days to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

Nico Voorbach, a pilot who flew the same journey earlier this summer for KLM, and who is president of the European Cockpit Association, said poor weather might have been the reason why flight MH17 found itself in the sights of a surface-to-air missile launcher. The aircraft was shot down in the separatist Donetsk region of east Ukraine.

Voorbach said: "I heard that they were diverting from some showers. I think there were thunderclouds. You would ask air traffic control to divert left or right, and they would give you the permission."

It also emerged that flight MH17 had initially filed a flight plan requesting to fly at 35,000ft above Ukrainian territory. On entering Ukrainian airspace, however, the plane's pilots were instructed to fly at 33,000ft by the local air traffic control due to other traffic. Malaysia Airlines said the pilots had to follow the lead of the local authorities.

Malaysia's transport minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, told a press conference: "MH17's flight path was a busy major airway, like a highway in the sky. It followed a route which was set out by the international aviation authorities, approved by Eurocontrol, and used by hundreds of other aircraft.

MH17 disaster: Indian organisations mourn death of Aids researcher in downed Malaysia plane

Mumbai: The Aids Society of India (ASI) has mourned the death of pioneering Aids researcher Dr Joep Lange.

Dr Lange was one of the more than 100 HIV and Aids activists, researchers and health workers who died when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed, after being shot down in the Ukraine.

They were all bound for Melbourne, to attend the 20th International Aids Conference (July 20-25), which was to be attended by 14,000 delegates.

“On behalf of the ASI and Indian delegation, we’ll move a condolence resolution to be passed at the opening ceremony of the conference in Melbourne,” ASI president Dr I.S. Gilada said. “We’ll pray for those who lost their lives and for their family and loved ones. We hope the perpetrators will be brought to book sooner than later.”

How Close was Modi to the Ill-fated Malaysian Airlines MH17?

There are different theories on how close Prime Minister Narendra Modi was, when he was aboard the Air India One that flew over Ukraine on Thursday, the day Malaysian Airlines MH17 crashed.
One report suggests that Modi's Air India flight would have flown over the zone where the Malaysian Airlines MH-17 was shot down.
While Modi is said to have not been in danger, his plane was scheduled to fly over the Ukraine Flight Information Region just an hour after the ill-fated MH-17, reported The Hindu.
"There was no danger to the PM's plane, but obviously the area that they would have flown over would have been the same. The pilot would have to decide whether to divert over Russia or the Black sea instead," an aviation official told the newspaper.

Ukraine crash may be 'act of war' for insurers

Mumbai:  The fact that the ill-fated Malaysian flight MH17 was brought down by a missile may trigger the war exclusion clause, which will mean that aircraft insurers pay only towards compensation for victims. General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India is part of the consortium of worldwide underwriters which have covered the airline. The underwriters may term the crash an 'act of war', sources said.
Bulk of the claim arising out of an aviation accident is not the cost of the aircraft but the compensation paid to the victims. Given that there were 295 passengers on board, the total liability claim could be in the region of $400 million or Rs 2,400 crore. GIC's share is 3-4% of the total claim. But since that the reinsurer has protection for losses over $6 million, which ensures that the maximum balance sheet impact is limited to Rs 36 crore due to the liability claim. Although the cost of a new aircraft is a little over $300 million, insures said that the hull claim for the 17-year Boeing 777 would be in the region of $100 million.

Malaysia Airlines tragedy to impact aviation insurance

Mumbai: The shooting down of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 in Ukraine might lead to an increase in insurance premium rates in war-risk category, according to experts. They say insurers are likely to insist on riders or ask for higher premium for war risk from airlines flying to and over troubled areas such as Ukraine.

The aircraft that crashed over eastern Ukraine, MH17, killing all 298 on board, is the second loss for the airline in four months. In March another Malaysia Airlines aircraft, MH370, had mysteriously disappeared in the Indian Ocean.

UN Aviation body: It is not our job to warn nations about dangers of missiles

The UN civil aviation body said on Friday it was not responsible for issuing warnings about potential dangers such as military conflicts, saying that duty fell to individual nations.
The role of the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) has come under scrutiny after a Malaysian airliner was shot down by a missile on Thursday over eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people.
Montreal-based ICAO rejected suggestions it should have issued a warning about the potential dangers of flying over the area.
"ICAO does not declare airspace safe or unsafe or undertake any other direct operational responsibilities with respect to civilian air services," said spokesman Anthony Philbin.
"It is always the responsibility of our sovereign member states to advise other states of potential safety hazards."

Asian airlines stopped flying over Ukraine months ago

The Malaysian airliner apparently shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine was flying over airspace that a number of other Asian carriers had already abandoned months ago because of security concerns.
South Korea's two main airlines, Korean Air and Asiana, as well as Australia's Qantas and Taiwan's China Airlines said they had all re-routed flights from as early as the beginning of March when Russian troops moved into Crimea.
"We stopped flying over Ukraine because of safety concerns," Asiana spokeswoman Lee Hyo-Min said.
Korean Air moved its flight paths 250 kilometres (160 miles) south of Ukraine from March 3 "due to the political unrest in the region", an official for the carrier told AFP.
A Qantas spokeswoman said its London to Dubai service used to fly over Ukraine, but the route was changed "several months ago", while Taiwan's China Airlines diverted its flights from April 3.
Asked why Malaysia Airlines had not taken similar precautions, the Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak said international air authorities had deemed the flight path secure.

Fare hike likely after flights re-routed

New Delhi: The downing of Flight MH-17 is expected to force airlines across the world to reassess routes over trouble spots and decide whether they would charge more for the longer flights that will burn more fuel.

Air India and Jet Airways claimed they had re-routed their flights to several destinations in Europe almost three months ago to avoid strife-torn eastern Ukraine.

Air India, the national carrier, said it had diverted the route of its flights to London and Paris when the conflict in the area first flared up.

An Air India flight was near MH17: Technology nails Indian Ministry's lie

Australian honeymooners Simone La Posta and her husband Juan Jovel will be eternally grateful they chose to fly Malaysia Airlines MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur a day earlier than scheduled because they didn't want to be too jetlagged for work on Monday.
If they had taken MH17 on Thursday, they would have been dead now. And in what should send a chill down Indian spines, it turns out that an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner (registration VT-ANB) flying from Amritsar to Delhi and then to Birmingham in the UK was just around 25 kms away from the ill-fated Malaysian Boeing 777-200.
According to another aviation website Flightstats.com, the Air India 787 departed the gate at Delhi at 1:34 PM yesterday, a minute before scheduled time and landed in Birmingham 3 minutes before schedule at 5:57 PM GMT.
A file photo of the crash site. ReutersA file photo of the crash site. Reuters
A Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200 (the same type of aircraft as the downed Malaysian one) flying from Copenhagen in Denmark to Singapore was also in the vicinity of MH17 and would actually have been at almost the same altitude as MH17 because it was on the same route heading eastwards.
The Air India 787 which was flying westwards was a full 7,000 feet higher at 40,000 feet at the Ukraine-Russia border because aircraft flying in opposite directions maintain different levels to avoid the danger of the mid-air collisions. In aviation terms when an aircraft is travelling at a speed of around 900+ kms an hour, 25 kms is almost nothing and it does seem like it would have been sheer chance that the trigger happy shooter shot down MH17.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash: Why was a passenger plane flying over a conflict zone in Ukraine?

The Boeing 777 downed in Ukraine with the loss of 295 passengers was flying just 1,000 feet above a “no-fly” zone covering the troubled region, The Independent has learned.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was on a routine flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed, apparently after being hit by a missile.

The jet was travelling east across Ukraine along an airway designated A87. Eurocontrol, the co-ordination centre for air-traffic control in Europe, said: “This route had been closed by the Ukrainian authorities from ground to flight level 320 [32,000 feet] but was open at the level at which the aircraft was flying.” The plane was flying at the lowest permitted altitude over the area, flight level 330 [33,000 feet], when it disappeared from the radar.

Since the crash, all the airspace of eastern Ukraine has been closed to civil aircraft until further notice. Flight plans submitted by pilots are automatically checked against closed areas of airspace. Eurocontrol said: “All flight plans that are filed using these routes are now being rejected.”
As the security situation in Ukraine deteriorated in April, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning to American pilots and airlines operating in the region. The “Notam” (Notice to Airmen) ordered “Exercise extreme caution due to the continuing potential for instability”.

Nevertheless, civil aviation continued to fly over the conflict zone, along airways that normally carry thousands of passengers on dozens of flights each day.

Since the news broke, many passengers have expressed astonishment that commercial flights should be routed over a conflict zone such as eastern Ukraine. One traveller, Nicholas Eeley, said: “I cannot believe that civilian aircraft blithely overfly active battle zones. How bad does it have to get to order a fly-round?”

MH17 plane crash: who are the pro-Russian separatists blamed for incident?

Ukraine's security service has released intercepted phone calls which it says are proof that that Russian-backed separatists are to blame for shooting down the plane.
Mr Oliphant said that the intercepted recording of rebel commanders “does seem to implicate whoever was involved”.
He said: “They speak Russian, at least one of the people meant to be speaking is a very well known Russian commander called Igor Vesler.
“However, it is impossible to verify the veracity of that recording. It falls into the Ukrainian narrative a little too conveniently.”
Speaking from Ukraine, Mr Oliphant gave his analysis of the situation: “It looks like the plane was shot down by some kind of missile.
"The question is who fired that missile. There are three suspects - the Ukrainians, the Russians or the separatist rebels.

MH17 crash: Swapping shift cost ethnic Indian flight steward Sanjid Singh Sandu his life

Kuala Lumpur: Swapping shift with a colleague cost ethnic Indian flight steward Sanjid Singh Sandu his life.
41-year-old Sanjid had switched his shift with a colleague on the ill-fated Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur which was shot down over Eastern Ukraine on Thursday.
All 298 people on board were killed in the crash. According to his distraught father Jijar Singh, Sanjid's mother had planned to cook her son's favourite dishes upon his arrival in Penang, Malaysia.
"My son spoke to me over the phone just before his flight. I didn't know that would be my last conversation with him. What has happened has happened," Jijar, with tears flowing, told reporters at his house in Penang.

MH17 Shot Down: Air India, Jet Airways to Avoid Airspace Over War-Torn Ukraine

New Delhi: New Delhi:  Indian carriers, Air India and Jet Airways, will avoid the airspace of war-torn eastern Ukraine following a directive issued to them by the DGCA in the wake of reported shooting down of a Malaysian airliner in which all 295 people on board were killed on Thursday.

The aviation regulator, Director General of Civil Aviation issued instructions to Air India and Jet Airways, the only two Indian carriers that fly to Europe and North America, to avoid Ukrainian airspace while flying to and from destinations in both the continents, official sources said in New Delhi.

Air India flight with 126 on board was right behind MH 17

New Delhi: When Malaysia Airlines' MH 17 was shot down over Ukraine on Thursday night, an Air India flight with 126 passengers was right behind it. The flight, AI 113 en route from Birmingham to Delhi, and a Singapore Airlines flight flying home from Copenhagen were both about 25 to 50 nautical miles (40 to 80 km) behind the ill-fated Malaysian Boeing 777.

This gap, say pilots, is covered in less than five minutes. Both the planes clearly had a narrow escape.

Indian-Origin Steward On-Board MH17, says Father

Kaula Lampur:  An Indian origin flight steward was among the fifteen crew members on-board the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 that was shot down over Ukraine, Malaysian media reported on Friday.
According to Sanjid Singh Sandu's father Jijar Singh, Sandu was not supposed to be on MH17 as he had switched his shift with a colleague, the Malaysian Star reported.

His mother had planned to cook Sanjid's favourite dishes for him upon his arrival in Penang.

Sanjid was Jijar's youngest child and only son. "He last came home last month," Jijar said.

"My son spoke to me over the phone just before his flight. I didn't know that would be my last conversation with him," Jijar added.