A Malaysia Airlines flight flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur has crashed in Ukraine, Interfax says.
A Malaysian Airlines passenger plane with 295 aboard is believed to have been shot down by a surface-to-air missile in Ukraine near the Russian border, according to multiple reports. The aircraft may have been accidentally shot down by Ukranian separatists as it was on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur at cruising altitude (25,000 to 33,000). Analysts are now questioning why a passenger jet was flying in a risky conflict area. The aircraft crashed near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, about 35 miles west of the Russia-Ukraine border.
Malaysia Airlines released a statement, saying “it received notification from Ukrainian ATC that it had lost contact with flight MH17 at 14.15 (UTC) at 30 kilometres (19 mi) from [the] TAMAK waypoint, approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.” The crash occurred about 9:15 a.m. CDT in Chicago.
A debris field with scattered bodies spans a diameter of 9 miles.
Video from social media shows smoke billowing upwards following reports that a Malaysian Airlines flight has been shot down over the Ukraine-Russia border.
Alleged photo of Malaysian Airlines #MH17 wreckage (via @Novorossia) http://t.co/x3ufu5gKvq pic.twitter.com/4Vf3768p26
— New York Post (@nypost) July 17, 2014
FIRST PHOTO: Eyewitness' alleged photo of debris of #MH17 Malaysian Airlines plane in #Ukraine http://t.co/cOfyUnXeky pic.twitter.com/TbIPiH0iCh
— RT (@RT_com) July 17, 2014
Breaking: #Ukraine official tells me indications Malaysian jet "came apart at altitude" 1st photos of wreckage: pic.twitter.com/tQS7vK329u
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) July 17, 2014
As of Thursday about 1700 GMT it is not known if a fighter jet missile or a Surface-to-Air (SAM) missile downed the aircraft.
POSSIBLE SAM MISSILE INFORMATION:
The Buk missile system includes self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the former Soviet Union and Russian Federation and designed to engage cruise missiles, smart bombs, fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The missiles are given a NATO reporting name “Gadfly” as well as a US Department of Defense designation of SA-11. The Buk missile system has been upgraded and refined. A new missile the Buk-M1-2 and Buk-M2 systems also received a new NATO reporting name Grizzly and a new DoD designation SA-17. The missiles of this type are believed to have a maximum range of 72,000 feet.
The flight manifest is reported to hve included the names of j23 Americans.
The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 crashed today is the third aircraft downed in the area since Monday. A Ukrainian An-26 cargo plane was shot down. Late Wednesday, a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet crashed, though it could not be confirmed if it was shot down.
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