'If US has proof regarding crash of Flight MH17, they should release it'
International carriers must examine whether or not it is safe to fly over war zones in light of questions being raised by the Dutch following the investigation into the MH17 crash over Ukraine, Julian Bray, aviation security expert told RT.
RT: So the Dutch lawmakers have raised a number of questions over the MH17 tragedy - do you think they're likely to get any answers though?
Julian Bray: If everything was equal they obviously should get an answer. And this whole question of 'war zones' and 'safe-height zones' has to be looked at again, because it really is a commercial decision as to whether an aircraft will actually go into a conflict zone. You are taking civilians into conflict zones and really the operators have to look at it again, because at the end of the day, it is really up to the captain of the aircraft to decide whether he is going to fly on that particular schedule.
RT: Ukraine did not notify the European Air Traffic Organization ‘EuroControl’ about the fact that its radars hadn't been working. Why has Ukraine not been brought to account?
JB: Well, you would think so. As long as you notify something that is not working, then of course you get additional assistance from the air traffic controllers because they squawk out little numbers and the numbers can be picked up so you can actually track the aircraft. But the real problem is if you got warring factions on the ground, you really need to have some kind of communication system, even if it is just a cellphone. But it has to be something. So if the civil aircraft is going over a war zone it has to be safe. And lets face it, flying over a war zone can never be safe.
RT: Why do you think the US has not handed the key information it claims to have about the shooting down of the jet to the investigators?
JB: You've got to remember this is military intelligence and I can quite see why the military will be rather loathed to hand it over. They would have to hand it over in such a way that none of their secrets - because by backtracking through the software, through the images - you can actually geo-position where all of their military satellites are at any given time. So there are 101 different reasons why they won't hand it over but they have actually opened the door, because they say they have irrefutable proof, now, if they have the proof then somehow they're going to have to release it.
RT: So realistically are we in a situation where there could actually be several parties in this investigation who have for their own self interest to hold back the information that could help the investigation.
JB: Well unfortunately that is the way of the world these days. And you are talking about conflict zones, so nothing is normal. But the point is you are actually taking holiday makers and long distance air travelers through these war zones. They are not part of the war and should never be targets in the first place. And so I think the airlines have to get together and consider whether they are going to absolutely bar going through conflict zones, which I'm afraid will put the price of air travel right up. And at the end of the day that is the real crack of the matter. Is it commercially viable?
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
