Malaysia Airlines 777-200 Crashed En Route from Amsterdam

0825am PST: July 17 brings us another disheartening day in Air Travel as initial reports are claiming that Malaysia Airlines flight 17 to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam appears to have crashed 50 miles shy of the Russian border, inside Ukraine. This news hits hard, as Malaysia Airlines is still searching for missing flight MH370 which went missing with 227 passengers and 14 crew members on March 8, 2014.  There has been no official reports confirming this crash yet, however Russian media is reporting it along with US sources, such as the Business Insider and Reuters.

Per the business insider:

Boeing Malaysian airlines operate flights to Amsterdam — Kuala Lumpur for 50 miles before entering the airspace of Russia, began to decline, he was subsequently found burning on the ground in Ukraine,” the source said, adding that 280 passengers and 15 crew members were onboard.

Per Reuters:

Malaysian passenger airliner with 295 people on board crashed in Ukraine near the Russian border, Interfax cited an aviation industry source as saying on Thursday.

It said the Boeing plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Reuters could not immediately confirm the Interfax report.

What is most disturbing about this piece of news is not only has it not been confirmed, but the crash happened over a region in Ukraine that has seen heavy fighting recently from Pro-Russian separatist. The Business insider reports:

Military expert Dmitry Tymchuk says the Malaysia Airlines plane crashed to the north of Torez in the Donetsk region, according to Ukrainian journalist Myroslava.

The area is controlled by pro-Russian separatists who are fighting the Ukrainian army.

On July 8, the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine closed the airspace to civilian aircraft after a military transport plane was shot down.

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The aircraft reportedly had to cross the Russian border at about 9:30 EDT.

This brings speculation that the plane, if confirmed down, may have been shot down by rebels or Russia. This news comes on the heals as Ukraine reports Russia shot and hit a Ukrainian Military Jet in Ukrainian air space, which only adds to my own speculation. This news story is still developing, but if this provides true. Not only is this a sad tragedy from everyone on board and their family, but could lead to the financial collapse of already struggling Malaysia Airlines.

More to come via your local news sources and live updates via the BBC.

****Update as of 0910 PST

Since writing this post almost an hour ago the following information has been shared via the BBC:

17:05:The Ukrainian prime minister has reportedly launched an investigation into what he calls the “airplane catastrophe”, according to Reuters.

17:02:The Interfax-Ukraine news agency has quoted a Ukrainian Interior Ministry as saying he believes all 295 passengers on board have been killed.

16:50: The Associated Press says one of its journalists saw a similar launcher near the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhe earlier on Thursday.

16:50: An advisor to the Ukrainian interior minister, Anton Gerashenko, says the plane was flying at an altitude of 10,000 metres (33,000 feet) when it was “hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher”, in a post on his Facebook page, according to the Associated Press.

16:42: Aviation expert Chris Yates says the plane would have been full, if reports that it was carrying 295 passengers are correct. He says the plane would have been flying at a height of some six miles (9.7km).

16:36: The BBC’s Daniel Sandford in Moscow says that the area in which the plane is reported to have come down is right in the centre of the area controlled by anti-Kiev rebels – although of course details are still coming in.

*****UPDATE 0931PST****

First pictures of crash sites are coming in via Lifenews: