MH17 Crash Investigation Reaches Dead End

The investigation into the crash of flight MH17 has finally been suspended, over eight years after being launched…

Basics of the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17

For a refresher, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed on July 17, 2014. The flight was operated by a Boeing 777-200ER, and was scheduled to fly from Amsterdam (AMS) to Kuala Lumpur (KUL). There were 298 people onboard, including 283 passengers and 15 crew members.

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The plane was shot down over Eastern Ukraine, only about 30 miles from the Ukraine-Russia border. This occurred in a territory controlled by Russian separatist forces, around the start of the War in Donbas.

While it quickly became apparent that the plane was shot down, the big question was who shot the plane down, how, and why. This is something that has been under investigation by an international team since that time…

What the inquiry into the crash of MH17 found

As of this week, the investigation into the crash of MH17 has been suspended, as all leads have been exhausted. Investigators know the plane was downed with a Buk missile system by Ukrainian separatists, which came from a Russian military base.

Furthermore, investigators have found “strong indications” that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the supply of the heavy anti-aircraft weapons to Ukrainian separatists. However, the investigators have insufficient evidence to prosecute Putin or any other suspects. The Russian government has consistently denied any involvement in the plane being shot down, and has also refused to participate in the investigation.

Here’s what Andy Kraag of the Dutch police had to say about the investigation:

“Are we disappointed? No, because we think we came further than we had ever thought in 2014. Would we have liked to come further? Of course, yes. We’re really clear on what has happened, but the answer to the question why MH17 was shot down still remains in Russia.”

While the investigation has been suspended, phone lines remain open for anyone with further information, and that could lead to the investigation being reopened at some point in the future.

A few months ago, a Dutch court convicted three people (two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel) for their roles in shooting down the plane. However, it’s unlikely these people will serve their sentences, as they didn’t appear for the trial.

The big question that remains is why the plane was shot down. What motive would Russians and Ukrainian separatists have for shooting down a civilian plane flying between the Netherlands and Malaysia? Was this a mistake, and was the missile intended for another plane, or…?

How awful for the families of the victims. Nearly 300 people senselessly lost their lives, and I’m sure many families would at least like some closures as to why their loved ones’ lives were unnecessarily cut short. But unfortunately it looks like they won’t be getting that.

Malaysia Airlines’ two mysterious crashes

While a complete coincidence, it’s quite remarkable how Malaysia Airlines had two crashes within months of one another, and neither have been resolved. In March 2014 (a few months before the crash of MH17), flight MH370 disappeared while enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The flight was also operated by a Boeing 777-200ER.

If you think there’s no closure for the families of those who were on MH17, the situation with MH370 is even worse. While it’s believed that the captain intentionally downed the plane, most of the plane’s wreckage was never found, and there are few facts to go off of. At least with MH17, we know what happened, we just don’t know why. In the case of MH370, we don’t know what happened, and we don’t know why.

Aviation is so incredibly safe because usually we learn from every accident and make changes to avoid a similar thing happening in the future. The disappearance of MH370 remains the biggest mystery in the history of commercial aviation (in my opinion). To think that a Boeing 777 could just vanish without a trace is mind-boggling. Nowadays an AirTag can tell you exactly where in the world your bag is, but we can’t figure out where a 777 weighing several hundred thousand pounds ended up.

Bottom line

Over eight years after the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, the investigation has finally been suspended. Investigators know the plane was shot down over Eastern Ukraine with missiles by Russian separatists. Furthermore, it’s highly likely that Putin supplied these missiles.

However, the big question remains why this tragedy happened. Why would rebels shoot down a plane that has nothing to do with the conflict? Was it a mistake, or…?

What do you make of this investigation reaching a dead end?