[Uncle Chip]

The FAA does not control Malaysian Airlines, Finn Air, India Air, Singapore Airlines, nor any of the other 15+ international carriers that had flights through that area that day.

[Rashputin]

Was there enough difference in their routes and the route of this flight that they would seem to be headed toward a different destination (i.e. noticeably different heading)?

Were these other flights present when Su25s were hitting the units surrounding the trapped Mech Brigade at the same time they passed over this area?

Does Ukraine itself, the Kiev government, still have civilian flights of their own flying over this area? On the same or similar heading?

What are the odds Separatists ignored those other flights because there none of the activity around the surrounded unit that usually takes place to suppress AA fire before a transport comes in there to land or lowers altitude to drop supplies?

My asking goes to "state of mind" among the Separatists, not to whether or not they fired and are guilty of the shoot down. I don't see how it could anyone else unless someone can show me the Ukraine NG or Army operating the same type of system. Even then, if it's not the whole Gadfly ball of wax you'd have to prove intent because in all likelihood they would have IFF information available.

Nothing about this is black and white except the extremely high probability that the Separatists did the shooting and the significantly much lower probability it was anyone except the Separatists..

JMHO

[FR_addict]

“The FAA does not control Malaysian Airlines, Finn Air, India Air, Singapore Airlines, nor any of the other 15+ international carriers that had flights through that area that day.”

No one said the FAA controlled non-American airlines, nor was it implied that the FAA controlled them. However, the FAA should have taken the threat more seriously and made it a mandatory prohibition for US airlines. Instead, they relied on the US airlines to voluntarily stop flights over the area.