27 australians missing on downed malaysian flight

[viewmont1071]

http://www.thereporter.com.au/news/malaysia-airlines-flight-mh17-shot-down-over-ukrai/2322591/

DUTCH authorities have confirmed that 27 Australians were among the 295 on board the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 which crashed overnight.

Anyone with concerns about friends or family, contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 1300 555 135

DFAT: 'Grave concerns' for Australians on board MH17

[i-need-a-martini]

The route was to Kuala Lumpur. 

So the odds of it being a Malaysian jet would be pretty high bob.

[tcmsecretuseid]

Tragic. 

...

[bright.ton42]

RIP to those departed, and prayers for the families and friends who are left to mourn. 

[raptor_rebooted]

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@icyfroth wrote:

Update:

MH17 should have avoided route: expert

Central Queensland University accident investigation and safety specialist Professor Geoff Dell says the airline shouldn't have been flying over Ukraine.

"From as soon as the conflict started they shouldn't have been going anywhere near it," Prof Dell said.

"They should've shifted to alternate routes, like all the other airlines seemed to have done."

Entire Article Here

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the malaysian airlines were not doing anything

different to many others, there were 100s of planes flying
across the area. no different to flying over dangerous

parts over the middle east.   what the aviation authorities werent

aware of in this case was the surface to air missile capabilities.

[cherry*135]

As julia posted:

the flight route was declared
safe by international civil aviation organisation

[twyngwyn]

not any more...see:

http://planefinder.net/

[cherry*135]

MALAYSIA Airlines says the route it was flying when one of its planes was apparently hit by a ground-to-air missile was declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and was not subject to restrictions.

The nationalities of 41 passengers remain unverified.

Malaysia Airlines has now re-routed all European flights to an alternative route.
L
Airlines had been warned of the dangers of being shot down and companies had been choosing routes to avoid danger zones within reach of the long-range guided missiles possessed by Russian and Ukrainian forces, according to The Times.

But Malaysia Airlines said: “The usual flight route was earlier declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organsiation.

“(The) International Air Transport Association has stated that the airspace the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions.’’

But as airlines changed their flight plans today to avoid the Ukraine conflict, questions were being raised about why some airlines had chosen not to fly over the area and others had continued to do so.

Former Qantas pilot Graham Dutton, who regularly used to fly the route over Ukraine, said it was a busy flight path.

He said airlines had generally deemed it safe for passenger planes to overfly “hot spots” at cruising altitudes above 28,000 feet. That was considered a safe level, outside the reach of normal, portable surface-to-air missiles used by non-government forces.

[raptor_rebooted]

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@twyngwyn wrote:

not any more...see:

http://planefinder.net/

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night time restrictions would've

been in place when you posted it.

there seems to be more traffic now

[*kazumi*]

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@icyfroth wrote:

Update:

MH17 should have avoided route: expert

Central Queensland University accident investigation and safety specialist Professor Geoff Dell says the airline shouldn't have been flying over Ukraine.

"From as soon as the conflict started they shouldn't have been going anywhere near it," Prof Dell said.

"They should've shifted to alternate routes, like all the other airlines seemed to have done."

Entire Article Here

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Yes, well where should they fly?  Maybe over Afghanistan, Iran or Iraq, no not really, so maybe over Israel or Syria?    I guess they could have gone over the North Pole......

[love*today]

I keep pondering on how this morning the Americans said that if any Americans were aboard they'd be hell to pay......yet Australia has lost over 25 civilians and we seem to be (for a non slap able word) weak in our response.