October 14, 2015

Members of the Ukrainian Emergency Ministry carry a body at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 on July 19, 2014. Credit: © Maxim Zmeyev, Reuters/Landov

On July 17, 2014, a commercial airliner carrying 298 people on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in an area of Ukraine near the border with Russia. That area, Donetsk, was then (and is still) held by pro-Russian separatists. Everyone on Flight MH17 died. Among the dead were 193 Dutch, 43 Malaysians, and 27 Australians.

Yesterday, October 13, the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) released the results of its investigation into the crash. The report stated that the crash was caused by a warhead launched by a Russian-made Buk missile system from the eastern region of Ukraine, an area held by pro-Russian separatists. In order to analyze the crash, the DSB created a reconstruction of the plane built from the shattered pieces recovered from the field in Donetsk. After meticulous study, the DSB ruled out all other possible causes for the crash, and placed the blame solely on the surface-to-air missile.

Since early 2014, Ukraine’s Western-backed central government and the eastern separatists allied with Russia have been in armed conflict. The separatists had made repeated threats against Ukrainian planes flying through air space they considered to be theirs. In the week before MH17 was shot down, separatists had fired missiles on Ukrainian military jets. Almost immediately after MH17 was downed, social media accounts linked to the rebels claimed they had shot down a Ukrainian plane. Those posts were then quickly deleted.

Once it became clear that a commercial airliner had been shot down, and not a military plane, Russia and its allies in eastern Ukraine denied any involvement in the destruction of flight MH17. The Donetsk separatists said they had no Buk missile system despite eyewitness accounts placing one in the launch area pinpointed by the Dutch report. The DSB did not assign blame for who launched the missile, however. The Dutch prosecutor’s office will determine that in a separate criminal investigation.

The DSB report stated that the missile exploded near the plane’s cockpit, ripping away the nose of the plane. A quick loss of cabin pressure would have knocked the passengers unconscious in the brief seconds before the rest of the plane broke apart and fell to the earth.

Other Behind the headline articles

• Malaysian Airliner Shot Down Over Ukraine (July 18, 2014)
• Missiles Down More Military Jets Over Eastern Ukraine (July 24, 2014)
• EU Imposes New Sanction on Russia (July 29, 2015)
• The Downing of MH17, One Year Later (July 17, 2015)

August 10, 2015

Aviation experts confirmed last week that a piece of an airplane wing that washed up on a beach at remote island in the Indian Ocean is from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The fragment represents the first physical evidence of the missing Boeing 777 aircraft yet found. The disappearance of Flight 370 more than one year ago has been one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of modern aviation.

Flight MH370 was flown in a Boeing 777-300, a large twin-engine passenger jet. The airliner can fly about a fourth of the way around the world without refueling. (The Boeing Company)

The fragment, a six-foot (2 meter) portion of a wing flap, washed ashore on July 29 at a beach on Réunion, a remote volcanic island about 400 miles (640 kilometers) east of Madagascar. Investigators quickly determined that it came from a Boeing 777, the same kind of aircraft as Flight 370.

On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 took off from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur on a flight to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew members. About 2 hours into the routine flight, all contact with the aircraft was lost. The mysterious disappearance of the flight led to a massive international search effort. This, in turn, triggered a massive media frenzy with “experts” endlessly speculating on what might have gone wrong. Clues from satellite data showed the aircraft made a controlled turn mid-flight and it then flew along the southern corridor towards the middle of the Indian Ocean. Experts believe the airplane crashed in the ocean somewhere west of Perth, Australia. But no wreckage or other remains of the airplane or passengers has been found in more than a year.

A check of records of aircraft and replacement parts found that Flight 370 was the only plane of that model missing in the world. By the weekend, the fragment was flown to Toulouse, France, for closer inspection by aeronautical engineers at a test facility run by the French military. Aviation experts think that a close examination of the wing flap could provide clues about the moment when the plane hit the water. By examining how the wing flap broke off, they can tell the direction and attitude of the airplane when it hit the water. However, the sole fragment will not likely answer the question of exactly what went wrong on the ill-fated flight. Meanwhile, the search continues for more evidence that can finally solve the mystery of Flight 370.

Other World Book articles:

• Aviation (2014) – A Back in Time article
• Disasters (2014) – A Back in Time article
• Flight MH370 Went Down in the Southern Indian Ocean, Analysts Conclude (March 24, 2014) – A Behind the Headlines article
• Vessels Search for MH370 Detect Signals off Australia (April 7, 2014) – A Behind the Headlines article

July 17, 2015

Today is the one-year anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Commemorative services are being held in Australia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine for the 298 people killed on July 17, 2014, when their plane was shot down in a war zone over eastern Ukraine. Of the passengers who died, nearly 200 were Dutch (the plane had taken off from Amsterdam), and nearly 40 were Australian.

Beginning in early 2014, Ukraine’s Western-backed central government and eastern separatists allied with Russia were in an armed conflict. Separatists had threatened Ukrainian planes that flew over the air space they considered to be theirs. In the week before MH17 was shot down, separatists had used missiles to attack Ukrainian military jets. Almost immediately after MH17 was downed,  social media accounts linked to the rebels showed posts claiming they had shot down a Ukrainian plane. These posts were quickly deleted.

Members of the Ukrainian Emergency Ministry carry a body at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 on July 19, 2014. Ukraine accused Russia and pro-Moscow rebels of destroying evidence of “international crimes” from the wreckage of the Malaysian airliner.
Credit: © Maxim Zmeyev, Reuters/Landov

Within days of the incident, American intelligence officials blamed pro-Russian separatists for downing the plane with advanced antiaircraft missiles supplied by Russia. Most international experts now feel the evidence does point in that direction. Russia and the separatists deny attacking the plane. Originally, Russia claimed that the Ukrainian government had fired missiles downing the plane. Later, Russia claimed that a Ukrainian military jet was responsible. However, the satellite images that supported both of these claims were publicly shown to have been doctored. 

It has been difficult for family members of those who died on Flight MH17 to obtain justice for their loved ones. In the initial days following the crash, Russian separatists refused to allow investigators into the site. Consequently, the crime site was never handled properly.

This week, the government of Malaysia requested that the United Nations (UN) form an international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for shooting MH17 down. Australia supported this request. However, Russia is a permanent member of the UN security council, and the nation’s veto blocks proposals with which it disagrees.

Other World Book articles: 

• Aviation (2014-a Back in time article)
• Malaysia (2014-a Back in time article)
• Ukraine (2014-a Back in time article)

July 29, 2014

The European Union today adopted new economic sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. The latest sanctions are designed to target Russia’s all-important oil sector as well as limit Russian access to Western defense equipment and sensitive technologies. EU banks are also likely to restrict Russian access to European capital, that is, bar Russia’s biggest state-owned banks from selling stock or long-term debt on European markets.

This latest round of EU sanctions was made in response to the downing of flight Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine on July 17, which resulted in the deaths of all 298 passengers and crew members. The United States and its European allies have declared that Russian-backed separatist rebels almost certainly shot the plane down with a Russian surface-to-air missile. Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to deny charges that Russia is supplying heavy weapons to the separatist rebels.

Heavy fighting between the Ukrainian army and separatist rebels near the city of Donetsk has prevented an international team from investigating the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on July 17, 2014. (World Book map; map data © MapQuest.com, Inc.)

Intense fighting between the rebels and the Ukrainian military in eastern Ukraine has kept an international team of investigators from gaining access to the crash site. United States Secretary of State John Kerry said this morning that there has been “no shred of evidence” that Putin is willing to help end the deadly conflict between the Ukraine separatists and the Ukrainian government and warned that further U.S. sanctions are being contemplated in Washington, D.C.

For additional information on the Ukrainian crisis, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.

Additional World Book articles:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)
• Ukraine 2013 (a Back in Time article)

April 7, 2014

An Australian ship searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane in the southern Indian Ocean yesterday detected signals consistent with those from “black box” flight recorders. Using a towed pinger locater, the crew of the Ocean Shield picked up the signal twice–once for 2 hours and 20 minute–about 1,040 miles (1,680 kilometers) northwest of Perth, Australia. The leader of the search team, Australian Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, told the media “two distinct pinger returns were audible. Significantly this would be consistent with transmissions from both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder.” A Chinese vessel also detected signals on April 5 in the same general area. The southern Indian Ocean in that region is approximately 14,770  feet (4,500 meters) deep.

Flight MH370 was flown in a Boeing 777-300, a large twin-engine passenger jet. The airliner can fly about a fourth of the way around the world without refueling. (The Boeing Company)

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, carrying 239 people, was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 when it disappeared, most likely in the southern Indian Ocean. Authorities describe the search operation as a race against time because the batteries operating the flight recorders are about to run out. “I believe they have got three to four more days of good, solid output,” the BBC quotes Chris Portale, the director of the American company that makes the device that emits signals from flight recorders.

Additional World Book article:

• Turbulence: Hidden Threat in the Skies (a special report)

March 24, 2014

Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, announced today that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which has been missing for two weeks, crashed into the southern Indian Ocean and sank without a trace. Razak stated that the British government’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and Inmarsat, a private British company that provides satellite data, “have concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor, and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth [Australia].” “This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites,” he noted. “It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.” Before the announcement, the families of the people on board the fight were told that the British analysts had concluded “beyond reasonable doubt” that the plane was lost and that there were no survivors.

Flight MH370 was en route from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew members when it disappeared on March 8. The mysterious disappearance of the Boeing 777 led to a massive international search effort. This, in turn, triggered a massive media frenzy with “experts” endlessly speculating on what might have gone wrong.

Flight MH370 was flown in a Boeing 777-300, a large twin-engine passenger jet. The airliner can fly about a fourth of the way around the world without refueling. (The Boeing Company)

The day after the plane disappeared, Interpol revealed that two male passengers aboard the flight were traveling on passports stolen from an Austrian and an Italian in Thailand. This disclosure led to theories involving terrorism. Police discovered a flight simulator in the home of the pilot, from which files had recently been deleted. This led to speculation about his involvement. Just today, the chief executive of Malaysia Airlines, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, revealed that MH370 carried several hundreds pounds of lithium batteries in the cargo hold. Such batteries can be a fire hazard under certain circumstances. He noted, however, that the batteries had been handled and packaged so that they were deemed “non-hazardous” under civil aviation standards.

While the Australian Navy continues to look for debris in the southern Indian Ocean, Flight MH370 remains the only commercial flight in history that seems to have disappeared without a trace.

Additional World Book articles:

• Airplane
• Turbulence: Hidden Threat in the Skies (a special report)