JUNE 2015 / NO. 2
TAGS: MH17, EUROCONTROL, ICAO, IATA, UKRAINE, CRIMEA, DUTCH MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AIVD, OPEN DATA

The drama of MH17

“I didn’t have the information that other airlines were behaving differently. The flight route was declared safe. The impression was that you would be safe at an altitude of 10 kilometers, however it was apparently not so because of the advanced missile systems”, Camiel Eurlings, former CEO of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
“If we should have gotten signals that the area was unsafe, then we never would have been flying there”, Spokesman KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
These are merely two among many other comments relating to the dramatic flight of MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. We can’t blame them, we can’t blame anyone, except those persons actually responsible for launching the missile on 17th July, 2014. But we can learn from this to overcome such dramatic events in the future!
Some facts:
  1. On 3rd April, 2014, the US Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines not to fly over the Ukraine. This information was available to all airlines
  2. On 30th June, 2014, NATO issued a warning at a press conference that the Russians were training ‘separatists’ in the use of advanced missile systems capable of reaching altitudes of 25 kilometers
  3. Data from the UK-based “Flight Radar” shows that British Airways avoided flying over the areas of the Crimea and Ukraine. In early July 2014, the British again warned of the risks of flying over parts of Ukraine
  4. The International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO, IATA and Eurocontrol gave no signs of risks about Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities and Eurocontrol approved the MI17 flight plan
  5. Security information is dealt with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and AIVD, the Dutch Central Intelligence Service. However, the AIVD only informs airlines about their own investigations in cases where this is relevant for their aviation activities

So what can be done?

As we see in almost all cases, companies/organizations rely fully on limited sources of information and neglect to organize their own intelligence efforts. From open data – information – knowledge sources, companies and organizations are able to collect the relevant bits and pieces of the intelligence puzzle, which enables them to identify the potential risks and potential impact of future events. It is necessary to do this in every sector of industry, including the airline sector! Georgian, British, Delta, Iran, SriLankan, Vietnam and Russian UTair airlines did not fly over East-Ukraine, and passengers of UTair asked the airline to avoid East-Ukraine.
“Who delivers the crucial information on security and safe flight routes to the airlines? Is it the Aviation Authorities, Eurocontrol, IATA, ICAO, Foreign Affairs, or National Intelligence Services? Nobody in the sector really knows!”
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