MOSCOW (Sputnik), Yulia Shamporova – The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down near the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board, mostly Dutch citizens, were killed.
"I would say that for me the most important issue is why did a responsible modern airline decide to fly over a known war zone? I wonder what the economic advantages were from cutting a corner. I understand that there is risk in almost anything, but it seems to me that risk analysis is particularly important for international airlines," Robert Francis said.
A total of 61 aircraft operators representing 32 countries flew over the area of Ukraine where the fighting was taking place. On the day of the crash 165 flights traversed the area until the airspace was closed, Tjibbe Joustra, Dutch Safety Board chairman, said when presenting the report.
Sixteen military airplanes and helicopters had been shot down in the area in the months before the MH17 downing.
Joustra criticized the Ukrainian authorities for not shutting the airspace over the region.
