Just when everyone thought the missing Malaysian flight MH370 in Mar-2014 was the worst air disaster in the country, little did we expect another bigger and worse disaster was waiting to explode in slightly 4-months away. Today, it is confirmed that Malaysian flight MH17 was shot down which killed all 298 people including 15 crew onboard, dwarfing MH370 incident that carried 239 people. It was believed there were at least 3 infants onboard the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.

 

Malaysia Airlines has lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam. The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. More details to follow.

— Malaysia Airlines (@MAS) July 17, 2014

 

[#MASalert] With immediate effect, all European flights will be taking alternative routes avoiding the usual route http://t.co/HUIWQXl7dx

— Malaysia Airlines (@MAS) July 17, 2014

 

 

Unlike earlier flight MH370 that went missing and is still yet to be found till today, MH17 disaster was quite straight forward. The aircraft exploded into flames at 33,000ft as it was hit by a sophisticated BUK surface-to-air missile, believed by pro-Russian rebels who the Ukrainian government says are backed by the Kremlin. The news was first revealed by Ukrainian officials.

 

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said his country’s armed forces didn’t shoot at any airborne targets. Malaysia Airlines said on its Twitter feed that it “has lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam. The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace.” However, a YouTube video clip shows how pro-Russian rebels discussed the shooting down of the flight MH17.

 

 

According to the European air traffic control body, Eurocontrol, Ukrainian authorities had barred aircraft from ground level to 32,000 feet but the doomed aircraft was cruising at 33,000 feet, still within range of sophisticated ground-to-air Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile. After the incident, international flights have been diverted away from Ukrainian airspace.

Based on Malaysian Airlines latest update, the nationality of passengers are as follow: 154 Netherlands, 43 Malaysians (including 15 crews and 2 infants), 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians (including 1 infant), 9 Britains, 4 Germans, 4 Belgiums, 3 Philippines, 1 Canadians and 41 still unverified. But according to Fox News, there were at least 23 Americans onboard.

 

This is the fourth commercial airliner to face such fate in the aviation history. The previous three incidents were as follows:

• April 20, 1978: Korean Airlines Flight 902, which diverted from its planned course on a flight from Paris to Seoul and strayed over the Soviet Union. After being fired upon by an interceptor aircraft, the crew made a forced landing at night on the surface of a frozen lake. Two of the 97 passengers were killed by the hostile fire.

 

• Sept. 1, 1983: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 shot down by at least one Soviet air-to-air missile after the 747 had strayed into Soviet airspace. All 240 passengers and 29 crew were killed.

 

• July 3, 1988: Iran Air Flight 655 Aircraft was shot down by a surface to air missile from the American naval vessel U.S.S. Vincennes. All 16 crew and 274 passengers were killed.

 

There’s absolutely no survivor as witnesses say body parts are scattered over a distance of 15-km, a clear sign that the commercial plane was indeed blown up in the sky. An emergency services rescue worker said at least 100 bodies had so far been found at the scene, lying alongside broken pieces of the wings marked with the red and blue paint used on the airline’s fleet.

 

So, why was a commercial plane such as flight MH17 shot down? While PM Najib refuses to “directly” admit it had been shot down, and most probably would not do so for many weeks to come until a full investigation is carried out, the fact is there may never be any “concrete proofs” for his administration. Flight MH17 flew into a warzone where rebels were excitedly looking for trophies by shooting down anything that flies in the sky with their BUK surface-to-air missile.

 

Perhaps if they were serious about news that two other aircrafts – a Ukrainian An-26 cargo plane and a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet – were shot down earlier and avoid flying into the conflict zone, or at least fly much much higher than the safety gap of 32,000 feet, things could be a little different. But it’s water under the bridge now so it doesn’t matter if 298 lives could be saved.

 

Most probably pro-Russian rebels have mistaken MH17 as Ukrainian Air Force’s Antonov-26 military plane. And now that the biggest blunder is revealed, both Ukrainian government and Russian separatists have started finger-pointing, as expected. And if it’s true about a report that pro-Russian separatists have found the “black box” and sent it to Moscow, it would make any investigation even tougher.

The fact that the plane crashed in a warzone also means it will take weeks, if not months, for international investigators to examine all aspects of the tragedy. By then, evidence would have disappeared or tampered with. And what can Malaysia do to Russia or even the rebels, when not even America can intimidate the super power, if indeed it was deliberately shot down by their missile?

 

Beside repetitively “demanding”, “requesting” and “urging” for a comprehensive investigation by Ukraine authorities, Malaysian and other countries can actually do nothing. This is an international crisis that is much bigger than the missing flight MH370. We’re talking about potential World War 3 if not handled cautiously. And an international politics of such scale is not the cup of tea that Najib administration can stomach.

It should not be a surprise that Malaysian government is now working under Obama administration’s guidance on how to approach this disaster and crisis. This incident can easily be categorized as an “Act of Terrorism” or “Act of War”, but because the opponent is Russia, no leaders dare to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin for a fight.

 

PM Najib is being naive if he actually believes the perpetrators can swiftly be brought to justice. Playing the reverse role as the victim, he can now feel how others felt when his administration dragged their feet, flip-flop and cover-up the truth about the missing flight MH370, if indeed there was a cover-up in the first place as many believe.

Nevertheless, this latest incident is not a “terrible tragedy” as suggested by President Obama but rather a deliberate act of terrorism, and therefore should be condemned. This is the best opportunity for PM Najib to correct his past mistake during MH370’s weak and cowardice handling, and he should start acting like a strong leader. After two mega disasters to the country’s aircraft in less than 6-months, he shouldn’t wait for a third to happen before showing his leadership. In the meantime, avoid flying Malaysian Airlines – it’s jinxed.

 

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July 18th, 2014 by financetwitter

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