Malaysian Airliner Crash In Ukraine

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has crashed in Ukraine's eastern region just before the border with Russia. The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, with 295 passengers and an unknown crew compliment. The government of Ukraine and separatist forces are exchanging accusations that each shot the civil airliner out of the sky.

Allegations include downing the jet with a surface to air missile(s). It is hard to imagine that so-called man-portable short range weapons would be capable of reaching the aircraft at cruising altitude, so if the claims prove true, it is more likely long range, highly sophisticated systems normally seen in the inventory of national armed forces were used.

Odd also that a route over the contested airspace in the region of the plane crash was in use at all by civil fleets given the recent combat losses by the government of the Ukraine of both helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft to separatist missile attacks.

After the news that Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed, various airlines began announcing new routes that would avoid the contested airspace.

It is being reported that the crash scene is under the control of separatist forces and it is highly unlikely there are any survivors.

This video allegedly includes a conversation between a separatist soldier and a Russian intelligence officer describing the separatist's awareness that the airplane was civilian and that it was shot down by some element of the separatist forces. The video and translation were provided by the Ukrainian Government and they are solely responsible for the accuracy of the information contained therein.