Why was Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 flying over Ukraine?

The investigation into the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, with 298 passengers on board – including at least 28 Australians – continues. Questions must be raised as to why this plane flew over the Ukraine region.

Malaysia Airlines confirmed that the Boeing 777 200 departed Amsterdam Airport at 12.15 pm local and was scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian time, at 6.10 am.

The airline stated in a press release that this flight route had been “declared as safe” by the International Civil Aviation Organisation( ICAO).

The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) has confirmed that the airspace traversed by the aircraft is not restricted.

Conversations were intercepted following the crash of MH17.

Is it safe to fly?

Prima facie, it appears that the area was unsafe. Someone made a mistake. ICAO warned airlines to avoid this area a few weeks ago.

Malaysia Airlines has not changed its route over the Ukraine region for unknown reasons. Other airlines have said they’ve already changed their routes as a response to this advisory.

The local airspace managers in that region did not close the entire airspace over that area; they closed only the airspace that was below 32,000ft.

Flight MH17 was said to have been flying at 33,000ft, just 1,000ft over the restricted airspace in Ukraine.

ICAO also released a statement saying that the aircraft was not within the restricted zone.

ICAO has recently sent a letter to States, warning them of a potentially unsafe situation arising due to the presence of multiple air traffic service providers in the Simferopol flight information region (FIR). The crash of MH17 took place outside the Simferopol Flight Information Region (FIR), and ICAO is ready to assist in the accident investigation on request.

If the airspace was closed, the plane could not get clearance to fly over the area.

Air traffic services in Amsterdam would not comment on the flight plan because the airspace was not completely closed. They would then forward it to other air services along that route.

Safety is first

Commercial flight plans should include all possible precautions. It is their responsibility to protect passengers, crew, and aircraft, which are their primary assets. If there is intelligence or advisories that this area may be unsafe, they should avoid the area and choose another route.

Today, the majority of airlines fly routes around Ukrainian airspace. FlighrRar24

Commercial airlines cannot afford to fly in a conflict zone, especially when a passenger aircraft can be shot down.

Parties to a dispute could fly their high-speed aircraft in conflict zones without any warning signals or lights. This makes it difficult to see them and increases the risk of an accident, especially during night flights.

You avoid these zones if there’s an advisory about a conflict.

There are other routes available.

You’ve chosen to take the shortest route between two points. This is done to save fuel, but if something happens that makes the road more dangerous, you change it.

In the absence of a conflict, the airspace above Ukraine is part of the usual air routes into Europe. It’s a good route for most airlines to minimize flight path distance. In any other situation, there would not be a problem flying over this area.

I know from my experience with Qantas, and before that, Australian Airlines, you need to sit down with analysts and experts to figure out how to solve any problems. You can’t fly into a conflict without putting the safety of your crew, passengers, and aircraft in danger.

You choose a better route and take it. To avoid putting people in danger, airlines will spend thousands more dollars on fuel for safer roads.

The tragedy

The passengers and crew aboard MH17 probably didn’t know what hit them. The pilots had no time to make a distress call.

According to reports about the intercepts, it is likely that those who fired on MH17 didn’t realize they were firing on a commercial aircraft.

In the conversation, they were searching for evidence to prove that it was a military aircraft. They probably didn’t realize what they had struck until it was already too late.

All commercial aircraft would be wise to avoid the area now and should review the handling of security intelligence.

They must have daily meetings with their staff to review the threats and take action as necessary to move their aircraft away from conflict zones.

Malaysia Airlines is not the only airline that ignores the warnings. There will be other airlines that have made a judgment to continue through the area. I’d be surprised if there were that many.