Ukraine's ATC Should Bear Some Responsibility

KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 (Bernama) -- Ukraine's air traffic control (ATC) should bear some responsibility over the downing of the Malaysia Airlines (MAS)Flight MH17 on July 17. Special Adviser to the Transport Minister, M. Kayveas said that each route in which airlines pass through was based on the local ATC's jurisdiction. "International Air Transport Association (IATA) chief executive Tony Tyler has also stated that Ukraine bears responsibility for keeping its airspace open to flights. "Airlines depend on governments and ATC authorities to advise which air space is available for flights," he said in a statement to Bernama here, Thursday. Kayveas was responding to critics lambasting MAS for flying over Ukraine's air space when the aircraft was shot down although the flight path taken by MH17 was deemed safe by the world's highest aviation safety body, IATA and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). ICAO's Notice to Airmen (Notam) was published with a restriction of 22,000 feet while Ukraine's ATC told MH17 to fly above 32,000 feet which MAS did at 33,000 feet. Prior to this, MAS director of operations Captain Izham Ismail said that Flight MH17 planned to fly at 35,000 feet but according to the ATC, there was other traffic at that time and the ATC ordered the doomed plane to fly at the next best altitude at 33,000 feet, which was above the restricted altitude. Kayveas said that Flight MH17 flew based on the advice from the authorities and acted accordingly, thus, it was clearly unfair to blame MAS. "MAS flight route is also confirmed to be safe by John Cox, a former airline pilot and accident investigator. Despite the caution, the airspace was not closed. "The MAS crew filed a flight plan and Russia and Ukraine both accepted the airplane into their airspace," he said. He added that Flight MH17 was a simple war casualty and it was a very unfortunate situation which could have happened to any of those few hundred airlines which were flying at the same vicinity at the same time. --BERNAMA