Old news that is worth remembering.
We were gone yesterday and continuing to take a bit of a breather today. In trying to catch up, I came across this story from August 30 and decided to post it for anyone who might have missed it as I did.
Russia demands publication of recordings from downed flight MH17
The data from the black boxes should be published, says Russia’s deputy defence minister, saying the ‘Boeing catastrophe throws up more and more questions’
Russia is demanding to know why international investigators have yet to publish the black box data from a Malaysian airliner that was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July, a deputy defence minister said in an interview published on Saturday.
Moscow blames Ukraine for the disaster, in which all 298 passengers and crew were killed. In a version of events widely believed in the West, Ukraine says the Boeing 777 was shot down by pro-Russian separatists with a surface-to-air missile.
“The Boeing catastrophe throws up more and more questions. But lately not many people are talking about this,” Anatoly Antonov, deputy defence minister, told RIA news agency.
“Why have the data still not been published about the conversations between the air traffic controllers and the pilots of the Boeing? Why haven’t the data been presented from the international investigation of the black boxes? Who doesn’t want this to happen?”
The interview marked the latest example of Moscow’s attempts to go on the media offensive at a time when it faces intense international pressure over mounting evidence of its military support for the rebels, something it continues to deny.
The Netherlands, which had 195 nationals on board the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, is leading the international investigation into the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
The July 17 incident stirred international outrage, which only increased when rebel fighters impeded investigators’ access to the bodies and wreckage.
Mr Antonov said Russia had established that a Ukrainian Su-25 military aircraft was in the vicinity of the Malaysian airliner.
“Where is the transcript of the recordings of conversations between the pilot of this plane and his command? How did a military aircraft come to be alongside a civilian one?
“If people are saying today that a rocket was fired from the ground towards that military plane, then I’d like to look that military pilot in the eye who used a civilian plane as cover, if of course that’s what happened,” Mr Antonov said.
His comments appeared to allow for the possibility that rebels might have downed the airliner in a failed attempt to hit a Ukrainian military plane, although he said these were only “working versions” of what may have happened.
Mr Antonov said his ministry was pressing for answers about the tragedy from the United States, Ukraine and European countries.
He reiterated Russia’s denials of military intervention in Ukraine: “When people say today that Russia has launched aggression or war against Ukraine, that is all nonsense.”
Enjoy Labor Day!
great info……..thanks…….
I agree with Bob UK that it would be almost impossible for an SU-25 to get to over 30,000 – however the lack any information being released regarding the Black box recordings or what was said by Ukrainian air traffic controllers and the fact that all the media seems to have ‘forgotten’ the story makes me highly suspicious of the original story – also the coincidence with the other ‘unexplained’ Malaysian Airlines crash still feels really odd to me
I have to agree Nigel.
“however the lack any information being released regarding the Black box recordings or what was said by Ukrainian air traffic controllers and the fact that all the media seems to have ‘forgotten’ the story makes me highly suspicious of the original story”
Exactly. The Rooskies can wait until Hell freezes over for those black boxes. If the US and Ukraine had evidence the Russians or the separatists did it you can damn well believe they would have released it by now.
There was an article circulating in cyberspace that, according to an experienced pilot and observer, indicates the cockpit area of the 777 was hit by what could only have been cannon fire, which could only have come from an interceptor-type aircraft. Unless this article has been shown to be inaccurate, there are serious questions about who fired upon whom, and with what, and in what way.
An SU-25’s maximum altitude ceiling UNLOADED is 22,000 feet. Armed it is about 16,000 feet max.
The Boeing was flying betweeen 30,000 and 35,000 feet.
The two aircraft were, in reality, no where near each other.