Malaysia Airlines 777 Shot Down over Ukraine

[lannister80]

Latest reports:

"Apparently the separatists leader released a statement claiming that they had shot another AN-26. It was deleted afterwards but people managed to take a screenshot:

http://i.imgur.com/IMaKN3h.jpg"

Translation:

AN-26 airplane was shot down near Torez, it fell somewhere behind the mine "Progress".

We warned - do not fly in "our sky".

And here is the video proof of another "bird-fall" (bird = slang for an airplane).

Another bird fell behind the spoil tip, residential areas were not affected.

No civilians were harmed.

The separatists are also busy scrubbing their social media accounts of any mention of them having BUK SAMs.

Separatists are also denying access to the crash site to reports/press.

Looks like they had an "oops" and shot down the airliner instead of an AN-26.

 

[LostSoul80]

The separatists are also busy scrubbing their social media accounts of any mention of them having BUK SAMs.

Source?

Ukrainians are stating they can't access to the site, being occupied by rebels. Now rebels are denying they have access to the area?

 

[lannister80]

Source?

Ukrainians are stating they can't access to the site, being occupied by rebels. Now rebels are denying they have access to the area?

No, rebels have control of the site and are denying access (as in keeping other people away) from the crash site.

Twitter feed before: http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...witter.com/dnrpress/status/483248037629018112

Twitter feed after: https://twitter.com/dnrpress/status/483248037629018112

Here's a (the?) BUK system being moved out of the area after the crash:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU5NSSzYygk

 

[rdowns]

US officials confirming to news sources that a surface-to-air missile took out the plane.

 

[PracticalMac]

FACTS

• MH17 was flying West to East, over Ukraine.
• MH17 was about 33,000ft alt (10,000m).
• Few anti-air missiles have that range.
• Russian backed separatists have shutdown an AN-26 transport in area 3 days ago.

Because MH17 flew an established air route, Ukraine was well aware of its flight path.
The Russian separatist likely did not know the routes and saw an aircraft coming from central of Ukraine.

It is very likely the Russian supported separatists, maybe even the Russians themselves destroyed MH17.

NEWS FLASH: just now heard on BBC radio the Separatists claim they shot down MH17. Unconfirmed.


My condolences to the victims.

 

[quagmire]

How do they confuse a 777 as an AN-26?

It's a whole lot smaller than a 777, straight wings vs a 777 swept back wings, etc.

Looks like they just got trigger happy and shot the plane down without thinking.

 

[adriatomy]

feeling sorrow for passengers... look like it really got attacked by some agencies .

 

[rdowns]

Picture of air traffic over Ukraine from about an hour ago.

 

[PracticalMac]

This stinks. Another Malaysia flight went down between the borders of Russia and Ukraine. And it was another 777.....

Quagmire, can you change the title to something about the airline being shot down on boarder of Ukraine?
This will become a hot topic, I think.

----------

How do they confuse a 777 as an AN-26?

It's a whole lot smaller than a 777, straight wings vs a 777 swept back wings, etc.

Looks like they just got trigger happy and shot the plane down without thinking.

Well, a 777 at 33,000ft could look like a An-26 at 10,000ft.
(and yes, trigger happy)

Remember the Iran Air Flight 655? In some ways similar.

 

[quagmire]

Quagmire, can you change the title to something about the airline being shot down on boarder of Ukraine?
This will become a hot topic, I think.

Done.

----------

Well, a 777 at 33,000ft could look like a An-26 at 10,000ft.

Remember the Iran Air Flight 655? In some ways similar.

True size at an higher altitude could be confused, but you could still easily see the wing design.

And it is even more confusing how they could confuse an Airbus for a Tomcat.

 

[wordoflife]

From my understanding, other carriers have been avoiding certain regions like this due to its volatility for quite a while now.

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/pub..._04-29_FINAL_FDC_NOTAM4-7667_UKRAINE_SFAR.pdf

It's a shame that MAS knowingly flew over an area of concern. It's no secret that the area is dangerous.

How do they confuse a 777 as an AN-26

Not that easy to tell from 33k feet, I guess.

 

[quagmire]

Not that easy to tell from 33k feet, I guess.

I guess not to the uninformed about differences in plane design. I could give them they couldn't tell the difference between the GE90 and the turboprops and size, but like I said even at altitude, they should still be able to tell the wings were swept back vs the AN-26's straight wing design. And that is just with the naked eye. They had to have had binoculars making it a bit easier.....

 

[wordoflife]

I guess not to the uninformed about differences in plane design. I could give them they couldn't tell the difference between the GE90 and the turboprops and size, but like I said even at altitude, they should still be able to tell the wings were swept back vs the AN-26's straight wing design. And that is just with the naked eye. They had to have had binoculars making it a bit easier.....

I understand what you're saying. However, I doubt they were concerned with making sure they had the right plane. They were probably just expecting a plane and took it down when they saw it. Heuristics can tend to do things like that.

 

[chabig]

I guess not to the uninformed about differences in plane design. I could give them they couldn't tell the difference between the GE90 and the turboprops and size, but like I said even at altitude, they should still be able to tell the wings were swept back vs the AN-26's straight wing design. And that is just with the naked eye. They had to have had binoculars making it a bit easier.....

You don't shoot down airplanes with binoculars. Most SAMs are radar guided.

 

[quagmire]

You don't shoot down airplanes with binoculars. Most SAMs are radar guided.

But you would( or at least should) to visually identify the plane before firing that SAM to make sure something like this doesn't happen. Just don't rely on radar saying there is a plane and blindly fire a missile without making visual contact.....

 

[wordoflife]

But you would( or at least should) to visually identify the plane before firing that SAM to make sure something like this doesn't happen. Just don't rely on radar saying there is a plane and blindly fire a missile without making visual contact.....

Remember who we're dealing with. A relatively amateur group of rebels with powerful weaponry. I would expect what you say from a highly trained army or something, but not from what I just described.

 

[zioxide]

Report the post, stating your reason.
Unfortunately, given the easy access to many civilians to the scene, a lot of terrible photos are surfacing on the internet, and some are being reposted by mainstream media, too. That is rather atrocious.

I disagree. It's gruesome as ****, no doubt, but people need to see and realize the reality of this situation. The world should not be shielded from this atrocity.

 

[Prof.]

From twitter: Apparently the target was President Putin's plane, and not the Malaysian Passenger Jet.

 

[Plutonius]

How do they confuse a 777 as an AN-26?

According to the news reports, it had to be an SA 11/17 that shot the plane down. The missile has an operational range of 70,000 ft and the plane was at 33,000 ft. This type of missile has some built in intelligence that causes it to change targets if a better target is sighted unless disabled by the operator. The missile was either launched at the plane without visual identification or there was AN-26 in the area and the missile switched targets (I'm betting that they didn't bother to check visually).

Remember who we're dealing with. A relatively amateur group of rebels with powerful weaponry. I would expect what you say from a highly trained army or something, but not from what I just described.

Yep, no way should Putin have given this group the missiles.

 

[Kaylor]

From twitter: Apparently the target was President Putin's plane, and not the Malaysian Passenger Jet.

If true, that's a devastating mistake.

 

[quagmire]

From twitter: Apparently the target was President Putin's plane, and not the Malaysian Passenger Jet.

Separatists were aiming for Putin's plane or is this disputing the current belief it was the separatists at all that shot the plane down?

 

[Prof.]

If true, that's a devastating mistake.

Separatists were aiming for Putin's plane or is this disputing the current belief it was the separatists at all that shot the plane down?

Putin's plane was allegedly in the same corridor within the same time as the Malaysian jet. This is what's currently going around on twitter

 

[quagmire]

Putin's plane was allegedly in the same corridor within the same time as the Malaysian jet. This is what's currently going around on twitter

I wouldn't take a brand managers word saying the true target was Putin as fact.

Until this comes from a reputable media source, this is just people speculating like crazy like they did for MH370.

Cause like I said, it wouldn't make sense for the separatists to shoot down the president's plane of the country they want to join.

 

[chilly willy]

Putin's plane was allegedly in the same corridor within the same time as the Malaysian jet. This is what's currently going around on twitter

Saw one twitter post that seemed to imply US had to do something "big" and blame on Russians to stop Putin, ergo US did it to frame Russia/Putin. Wow.

This is just going to be crazy, and in the end, people all over will believe what they want, regardless of what an independent investigation reveals. Ukranians, Russians, US(!), and who knows what else. I can only imagine the cottage industry of conspiracy sites for whatever theory one wants to believe.

In the end, there is one absolutely irrefutable fact, almost 300 people lost their lives and did nothing to deserve their fate. Rest in Peace, and peace to their families and friends.

 

[Prof.]

I wouldn't take a brand managers word saying the true target was Putin as fact.

Until this comes from a reputable media source, this is just people speculating like crazy like they did for MH370.

Cause like I said, it wouldn't make sense for the separatists to shoot down the president's plane of the country they want to join.

Saw one twitter post that seemed to imply US had to do something "big" and blame on Russians to stop Putin, ergo US did it to frame Russia/Putin. Wow.

This is just going to be crazy, and in the end, people all over will believe what they want, regardless of what an independent investigation reveals. Ukranians, Russians, US(!), and who knows what else. I can only imagine the cottage industry of conspiracy sites for whatever theory one wants to believe.

In the end, there is one absolutely irrefutable fact, almost 300 people lost their lives and did nothing to deserve their fate. Rest in Peace, and peace to their families and friends.

That's the dangers of social media. All it takes is for a 16 year-old punk to post one thing and if it's good/crazy/believable enough, it will spread like wildfire.