Malaysian 777 shot down over Ukraine - 295 dead

[CJ]

http://news.sky.com/story/1302864/malaysian-plane-shot-down-with-295-on-board

A Malaysian passenger plane with 295 people on board has been shot down as it flew above eastern Ukraine, according to aviation sources.

The plane, which is believed to have been flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was travelling at an altitude of 10km (6.2 miles) when it was shot down, Russia's Inferfax reported.

The aircraft, reportedly a Boeing 777, was brought down by a ground-to-air missile, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior ministry quoted by the news agency said.

A spokesman for Malaysian Airlines confirmed it had lost contact with flight MH17, which departed from Amsterdam at 12.14am local time.

The flight disappeared from radar as it flew over Ukrainian airspace, he said.

Sky's Katie Stallard, in Moscow, said media reports suggest the plane came down in the Donestk region, where there has been recent heavy fighting amid continuing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Video apparently filmed in the area, which Sky News has not been able to independently verify, shows plumes of thick, black smoke rising high into the air.

An aviation source told the Reuters news agency the wreckage of a burning aircraft had been found on the ground.

Ukrainian interior minister is confirming it was shot down by a Russian BUK missile.

[03mustangdude]

Wow rip maybe now someone will do something in the situation. Ukraine needs like 12 billion? To be solvent?

[BP]

It just happened.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/17/malaysia-airlines-jet-reportedly-crashes-in-ukraine/

Holy cussword.

[03mustangdude]

How are those sanctions working out now mr. president.

[jakesford]

Oh fuck... first article I saw mentioned that it had crashed, not having been taken down by a missle.

[2011GT]

Ok I'm missing something here. Why would Russia shoot down a civilian jet?

[8mpg]

Malaysian airlines again?

[Baron Von Crowder]

wow

[Mike]

Damn

[zachary]

Ok I'm missing something here. Why would Russia shoot down a civilian jet?

Either side could have done it for instigation purposes and to get backing from everyone

[sc281]

I'm thinking russia or some separatists working for them got into a Ukrainian facility and shot it down asca false flag operation. Russia isn't stupid enough to do this and ukraine knows it'd just give russia a free hand at invasion.

[CJ]

Ok I'm missing something here. Why would Russia shoot down a civilian jet?

Well, just theorizing here, but the BUK missile system is a mobile system, they would be in the field wherever they are. It may not have been Russia, I believe Ukraine has those missiles as well. However, it's possible they detected a high flying aircraft, made a mistake about identification, and thought it may be a bomber or something and fired. Who knows.

[Cobraman]

I haven't seen any proof of it being shot down. Everyone is still reporting crashed on tv

[silverranger]

Fox news reporting as shot down

RIP to all those people.

I would say shit is about to get real, but nothing will come of this.

[CJ]

I haven't seen any proof of it being shot down. Everyone is still reporting crashed on tv

You're not going to have proof for a while. We're going off of government statements.

Aviation expert Major Charles Hayman told Sky News: "It's highly likely this aircraft was flying along a fault line between Russian and Ukrainian defences.

"It’s possible the Ukrainians flapped a bit, thought it was hostile and shot it down.

"Perhaps it was confusion at the Ukrainian air defence centre.

"It looks like someone failed to recognise this was a civilian plane and shot it down."

A spokesman for Boeing said it was aware of reports of MH17's disappearance, while a Foreign Office official added: "We're urgently working to establish what has happened."

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/07/17/ukraine-adviser-malaysian-airlines-jet-shot-down-by-missile-near-ukraine-russia-border/

Ukraine Adviser: Malaysian Airlines Jet Shot Down By Missile Near Ukraine-Russia Border
KIEV, Ukraine (CBSDC/AP)

An adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Minister says a Malaysian passenger plane carrying 295 people has been shot down over a town in the east of the country.

Anton Gerashenko says on his Facebook page the Boeing 777 plane was flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters (33,000 feet) when it was hit Thursday by a missile fired from a Buk launcher.

CBS News had yet to confirm if the plane was shot down.

The plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur before it went down, according to Reuters.
Interfax reports that the Ukrainian Interior Ministry says that everyone on board was killed.
A source told Interfax that the plane “began to drop, afterwards it was found burning on the ground on Ukrainian territory.”
Ukrainian officials said that one of its military planes was shot down in the same area on Monday.
Malaysia Airlines posted on Twitter that it lost contact with the MH17 flight from Amsterdam.

“Malaysia Airlines has lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam. The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. More details to follow,” the airline tweeted.

A similar launcher was seen by Associated Press journalists near the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne earlier Thursday.
CBS News reports that President Barack Obama has been briefed on the crash.

Video on YouTube shows the reported aftermath of the crash. The video is unverified.