Who Shot MH17 Plane down? Was it an Error?

Who was responsible for the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 plane? Was it an avoidable error?

Who shot MH17 Plane down? Was it an error? Who should be held responsible and accountable? Here is what we have known about the sad downing of a Malaysia Airlines commercial aeroplane more than seven years ago (2014). What credible information has been gathered so far regarding one of the most heart-wrenching aviation tragedies we have seen in this century?

Who shot MH17 Plane down? Was it an error?

On 17 July 2014, at an altitude of 33,000 feet, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was being flown from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia with the flight number MH17. It was one of 160 planes that day that flew across eastern Ukraine's airspace. MH17 collided with a mountain near the Ukrainian hamlet of Hrabove. Onboard, all 298 passengers and personnel perished. At 32,000 feet, an exclusion zone was established due to the war between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists.

Five nations namely, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, and Ukraine have formed The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) into the catastrophe. The JIT announced on 24 May 2018 that the Buk missile system that brought the aeroplane down belonged to the Russian army. The Buk missile, which has a range of 80,000 feet, was launched from rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine-possibly against a target mistaken for a Ukrainian military aircraft.

Who is accountable for shooting down MH17 plane?

Three Russians, namely Sergey Dubinsky, Igor Girkin, and Oleg Pulatov-and a Ukrainian, Leonid Kharchenko, are being held "totally accountable" for shooting down the Malaysia Airlines flight. While they did not launch the Buk missile, they were directly responsible for its placement.

Igor Girkin, commonly known as "Strelkov," is a former colonel in the Russian intelligence organisation FSB. He is also the ex-commander of the militia of the Donetsk People's Republic, a rebel organisation. Sergei Dubinsky is a former member of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence organisation, that is being investigated for allegedly carrying out the Novichok assault in Salisbury in 2018. Oleg Pulatov is a former Spetsnaz GRU special forces soldier. Leonid Kharchenko is one of the members of the "military intelligence" unit of the Donetsk People's Republic.

The four suspects have been tried in their absence in a 20-month-long criminal case at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

The 4 Suspects Who Shot Down MH17 Plane

Source: Guardian

"The killings of 298 innocent individuals of 17 different nationalities must not go unpunished," the Dutch government stated at the outset. Prosecutor Thijs Berger stated in his closing statements at the conclusion of the trial: "The four suspects are jointly and severally liable for shooting down flight MH17, which resulted in the killing of 298 persons on board and the murder of those on board."

Numerous casualties originated in the Netherlands and Australia. Belgium, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Romania, South Africa, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, as well as the United States of America all lost citizens.

What did the investigators find about the downing of MH17 Plane?

Investigators cobbled together bits of the cockpit and cabin that were blasted apart by the explosion at a Dutch airfield. The Dutch Safety Board issued its final findings in October 2015. The 279-page study makes no mention of who fired the weapon or who directed the slaughter of so many innocent passengers on a routine Malaysia Airlines aircraft from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Circumstantial evidence and on-the-ground sightings strongly suggest that a Russian Buk system arrived in the area on the day MH17 was shot down. They calculated that the warhead was travelling at a rate of over 1,500mph when it burst inches in front of the aircraft's nose, just 10 feet left of and 13 feet above the cockpit.

Their proof includes an investigation of the flight deck's microphones, which revealed a minute discrepancy in the time the explosion's sounds reached each of the sensors. Additionally, the scientists constructed a computer-generated reconstruction depicting the blast's consequences.

The Crash Site of MH17

According to the investigators, the form of the shrapnel particles recovered in the wreckage and on the perished corpses of some of those on board confirms that "the aircraft was struck by a 9N315M warhead carried by a 9M38-series missile and launched by a Buk surface-to-air missile system." It determines that when the warhead exploded, the two pilots and purser were instantaneously killed.

However, it is possible that some of the aircraft's occupants remained awake for part or all of the time required for the aircraft to impact the ground, up to 90 seconds after the Buk missile exploded. The collision itself may have knocked many unconscious, while others may have had "reduced consciousness" due to variables such as intense cold and decreased oxygen levels.

"It is probable that the individuals were scarcely aware of their position," the Dutch Safety Board said. "The majority of passengers in the cabin had numerous fractures as a result of the plane's in-flight breakup and contact with the ground."

Other Theories on The Bombing of MH17 Plane?

Numerous other ideas, ranging from air-to-air missiles to a meteor collision, have been suggested-as was the case with the second Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that went missing in 2014, flight MH370. According to one reliable source, one or more Ukrainian fighter jets were the culprits who shot down the passenger plane. Natasha Voronina, an eyewitness, stated that she observed two planes flying in opposite directions.

The Dutch Safety Board found that this may be explained by the power of the blast separating the front section of the plane from the remainder of the jet. According to the report, no other aircraft were seen on radar screens. A satellite image shown on Russian television purporting to show a jet closing in on the Malaysia Airlines plane has been debunked as a forgery.

Based on another opinion, the missile was said to be fired by the Ukrainian army. However, no reliable evidence has been produced to support that assertion. Due to the evidence of burns on the corpses of several fatalities and fire damage to the wreckage, an in-flight fire has been hypothesised. However, investigations found that "no in-flight fire occurred prior to the in-flight break-up." It is claimed that immediately following the collision, fires started at two wreckage sites.

Mechanical failure during the flight has also been studied, but the final study concludes: "There were no known technical failures that may jeopardise the flight's safety."

As an alternate hypothesis, a meteor has been proposed. However, the final report said that no ultrasonic sound waves associated with a meteor's fall had been observed. Additionally, it says that the probability of a meteor colliding with an aeroplane has been assessed to be one in every 59,000 years. Nor could the catastrophe have been caused by a falling satellite: no space debris was seen re-entering the earth's atmosphere in the week after the accident.

The Dutch Safety Board rules out any alternative explanation, stating that "no other scenario can account for this mix of variables."

Why was the MH17 plane in a location where an armed war was raging?

That is precisely the inquiry made by the investigators. Three days before the incident, Ukrainian officials briefed Western diplomats on the downing of a military transport aircraft over the combat zone.

Ukraine then increased the minimum "safe" altitude to 32,000 feet-1,000 feet lower than the height of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Airlines determine their own flight trajectories. At the time of the shooting, several carriers chose to avoid eastern Ukraine, despite the fact that this meant longer travels and increased fuel consumption on the key air routes connecting Europe and Southeast Asia.

If the aviation community had known what Western intelligence services knew about the armament on the ground at the time, no civilian aircraft would have flown in the vicinity. According to Ukrainian officials, military systems capable of reaching civil aeroplanes at cruising altitude was utilised.

What is Moscow's Perspective About MH17?

Russia has always denied any role in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. When the accusations were revealed, the Kremlin repeated its denial of any role in the Malaysian airliner's downing and accused the JIT probe of being "biassed and politically motivated."

According to Tass, Russia's official news agency, "Russian officials have repeatedly expressed mistrust in the JIT's conclusions, which conducted a criminal investigation into the MH17 case and pointed out the prosecution's arguments' illogic and reluctance to use Moscow's conclusions in conducting the investigation." The accused is extremely unlikely to ever be seen outside of Russia again.

What recommendations do the investigators provide for future operations?

Airlines should offer clear information to prospective passengers regarding flight routes that travel through conflict zones and should hold themselves accountable for their choices on a minimum annual basis.

Civil aviation authorities should require airlines to do their own risk assessments for nations over which they travel. They are required to notify airlines and foreign governments "as soon as feasible" in the case of an armed conflict posing a threat to civil aviation.

Governments and airlines must communicate "relevant information regarding dangers within a foreign airspace." Nations that block their airspace due to the possibility of violence occurring on their territory should be provided incentives – maybe financial – to do so. Hopefully, the MH17 plane tragedy will be the last we will ever see.