Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew was shot down in Ukrainian airspace, reportedly by a surface-to-air missile, according to the Associated Press.Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to Ukraine's Interior Minister, said on his Facebook page the plane was flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters (33,000 feet) when it was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher.
A similar launcher was seen by Associated Press journalists near the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne earlier Thursday.The airline's press office and its Twitter account confirmed that it lost contact with the plane, a Boeing 777, which departed from Amsterdam at 12:30 p.m. local time according to Flight Aware.
The aircraft's last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. It was scheduled to land at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 5:50 a.m. Malaysian time.Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise said that it has launched an investigation into the crash, according to the Russian media service Interfax."A meeting is currently being held on this regard in the Ukrainian State Aviation Service and investigation has been started,"
UkSATSE said according to the report.In a tweet, Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak also announced that his country would launch an investigation.I am shocked by reports that an MH plane crashed.
We are launching an immediate investigation.— Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) July 17, 2014President Obama did not respond to shouting questions about reports of a crash as he left the White House today for Delaware.
But White House press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed that the president has been briefed throughout the day about reports.