Kallas: We Presumed Missiles Would Not Strike That High Up
Outgoing EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said the airspace over eastern Ukraine has now been shut down for civilian traffic after the missile strike on flight MH17.
“Flights higher than 10,000 meters were allowed, as it was presumed no missile can reach that altitude. Only very powerful anti-air systems reach that height, but those are under strict state supervision,” he told Eesti Päevaleht on Saturday.
There is no reason to revise rules for flying over conflict zones, Kallas said, adding that the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was more the result of war and weapons of war than aircraft safety rules.
He said Ukraine has the right to lead an investigation, as the crash took place on its soil, but experts from the carrier's flag country of Malaysia, the US as the country in which the Boeing aircraft was manufactured, and investigators from nations from which citizens perished in the crash, most notably the Netherlands, are also permitted to take part.