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This is really sad, but I have to wonder how many commercial airlines are flying over sensitive regions of the world at any given time anyways. I wouldn't single out the airline for this.
MA must be heading for the gutter from a business standpoint by now.
This is really sad, but I have to wonder how many commercial airlines are flying over sensitive regions of the world at any given time anyways. I wouldn't single out the airline for this.
MA must be heading for the gutter from a business standpoint by now.
Well, this should be a heads' up for airlines which continue to fly thru hot spots around the globe for sure.
Of course I blame the perpetrators, but hindsight being 20/20, if the airliner hadn't been flying through that air space, nearly 300 people would still be alive today. Very sad situation and I do hope that airlines take note. I have a vested interest in this topic since my husband and I fly internationally fairly often. I'd like to hope that the airlines we travel on aren't flying through war zones.
OK please go back and read my post. All I said was that I don't hold Malaysian Airlines completely blameless in this - not that they are the sole reason that nearly 300 people are dead.
Of COURSE there should not be targeting of planes through unrestricted airspace. Of COURSE those people should not have been in possession of and known how to operate such an advanced military grade weapons system.
War zone - rebels probably funded by Russia - planes being shot down regularly - chaos and borderline anarchy - lots of reasons NOT to fly through that area. But that misjudgment is of course only part of the picture. The rest of the picture is, well...War zone - rebels probably funded by Russia - planes being shot down regularly - chaos and borderline anarchy.
But you're missing something here. It's at an altitude of 33,000 feet. There was a small handful of airlines who had recently decided to not fly through there, but the vast majority of airlines that scheduled flights through there continued to do so. Why is that? Because what happened is so completely beyond the pale that it did not make sense for airlines to stop going through that route. I think there has to be an understanding of the severity of what happened and questioning Malaysia Airlines for flying there is showing a lack of understanding of how severe and transgressive this actually is. Firing and hitting a plane flying in unrestricted space at that altitude is simply not done.
OK please go back and read my post. All I said was that I don't hold Malaysian Airlines completely blameless in this - not that they are the sole reason that nearly 300 people are dead.
Pretty much every airline traditionally flying through that airspace, with the exception of US-based carriers, was using that airspace up until the incident. It wasn't restricted by Ukraine's government or civil aviation organizations such as the ICAO.
It could just as easily have been an Air India flight, a Singapore Airlines flight or a Virgin Atlantic flight, all of which were in the general area. The latter two are pretty reputable airlines.
Well, this should be a heads' up for airlines which continue to fly thru hot spots around the globe for sure.
Of course I blame the perpetrators, but hindsight being 20/20, if the airliner hadn't been flying through that air space, nearly 300 people would still be alive today.
And If that Iran Air flight hadn't been passing over the Persian Gulf or the Aerolinee Itavia flight hadn't been flying over the Tyrrhenian Sea, they wouldn't have been shot down. All three incidents were completely unexpected.
I was just wondering how the massive loss of life was affecting your country and people.
I am going to draw heat for this, but it is not a massive loss. 193 people were killed. Over 17 million in Holland are still alive. Purely numberwise it is not much of an impact. On a personal scale it has a huge impact. And every life lost is one too many.
How does it affect the people= Those that are directly or closely indirectly affected by it, it affects them a lot. But all others, not so much. We talk about it, we´re upset and angry, but life does go on.
Please do not misunderstand me, I am in no way trying to downplay the tragedy. It is horrible and should never have happened.
I guess you didn't read much on it then. This is actually a very severe transgression rather than some boneheaded move from an airline company.
This is not a "they should know better than to fly through there."
This should be
1) "there should not be targeting of planes through unrestricted airspace"
So why the airspace was unrestricted then? The Ukrainian government was already aware that the rebels have got one of the BUKs belonging to Ukrainian Army on June 29th, and although according to officials it was in "inoperable condition," they shouldn't have played with fire, particularly after the rebels were becoming more and more successful at shooting Ukrainian war planes. Here is the problem - Ukrainian government didn't want to acknowledge that it was in the middle of the civil war, hoping to report to their masters in US/EU - whatever, that "mission is accomplished" and the East of the country is under their control. Because had they acknowledged things for what they really were, that it was indeed a war and they couldn't guarantee the industries of the East delivered in hands of Western corporations, they might have not received the loans they were looking for.
Quote:
2) "those people should not have been in possession and have known how to operate such an advanced military grade weapons system"
And why not may I ask? They have every right to defend their land by any means from the government they didn't choose, the government that kill their civilians ( no outrage there from the West, was it?) the government that is supported with the help of the nationalists. And very incompetent to say the least, I'd have to add. Because they should have acknowledged the potential danger for civil airplanes and close the airspace on time. Finnish ( and some other companies, apparently) were keeping their eye on developing situation, but Malaysia is too far away from it all. Malaysian airlines can't make decisions based on politics they are not all that familiar with; but they would have had complied with the guidelines clearly provided by Ukrainian government - that's how this tragedy could have been prevented.
As for the rebels - they announced a no-fly zone over what they've considered their territory long time ago but to no avail, since people sitting in Kiev wanted things THEIR way, while pretending to be ready for "compromises." They (the rebels) were in the middle of the fight for their lives and their land and people. And while they were fighting the enemy, the last thing they wanted ( or thought about) in the middle of that fight was to shoot some plane from far-away lands, so that 300 unknown to them people would be falling on the rooftops of the remote Ukrainian village.
And while they were fighting the enemy, the last thing they wanted ( or thought about) in the middle of that fight was to shoot some plane from far-away lands, so that 300 unknown to them people would be falling on the rooftops of the remote Ukrainian village.
Although you make some good points, it still doesn't address the question of why they didn't identity their target before shooting it down. That's what one does in any "civilized war" (yeah I know the term is oxymoronic). Secondary radar identifies a target. Why didn't they use it?
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