Episode 3 – Malaysian Airlines MH 17 and how it was shot down by a Russian BUK missile

Every week we delve into the causes and repercussions of plane crashes across the world and how these have led to improved aviation safety over time. This week its the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines MH17 which was hit by a Russian Buk missile (SA-11) while flying at 33 000 feet over the eastern Ukraine in July 2014. While Moscow has denied its air-to-ground missile systems were involved, an investigation by Dutch and independent journalists has found otherwise as I'll explain. I have also used phone recordings made at the time where separatists discussed the fact they had mistaken the MH17 Boeing for an Antonov military aircraft. The killing of 298 passengers and crew remains the most deadly crash of its type in history. But it also led to airlines taking a more active approach to the diversion of air routes. At the end of this week's podcast in our History Of section I'll track some of the incidents starting in 1938 where commercial planes were targeted.