Information blackout slows Malaysian Airlines Boeing probe - expert
VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 27 (Interfax) - Chairman of the Civil Aviation Commission of the federal transport oversight agency Rostransnadzor's Public Council, Oleg Smirnov, said the investigation into the Malaysian Boeing crash in Ukraine may be deliberately slowed.
"The absence of data [about the Ukrainian 'military sector'] in the interim document [the Dutch report on the causes of the air disaster] is surprising, as this very data may throw light on the cause of the air crash. It is the mandatory condition. Numerous rockets and planes flew in the disaster area. What kind of rockets and what kinds of planes? This is being silenced and obstacles are being raised, obstructing the investigation commission's efforts to find out who shot down the Boeing. This only means that efforts are being made to hide the guilt," Smirnov said in an interview with Sergei Brilyov's Saturday news program, broadcast to the Far East.
It is very easy to identify the site from which the rocket was launched, he said.
"The wreckage must be gathered and put through chemical analysis which will show what kind of metal it was. This information will provide clues to what rocket was involved and where it was made," the expert said.
He also said that the air disaster must be investigated in compliance with all international standards.
"This air disaster is a problem of planetary scope. It must be investigated to the end by all means, as regulated by all international aviation rules. One must get back to these regulations and complete the probe before snow covers all of the wreckage and remains. All satellite images and pictures from radars must be analyzed and gathered by experts, who must identify the cause. And then competent services must track down the guilty party and punish it severely for killing 300 people," Smirnov said.
A Boeing 777 passenger liner of Malaysian Airlines, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 on board. An interim report on the probe into the air disaster, carried out by the Dutch Security Council, says that the plane was flight worthy and fell apart in mid-air after it was hit by a large number of objects.
