[KarlInOhio]

I had heard on Thursday or Friday that there were storms to the south and planes were being assigned to this more northerly flight path. Has anything new been released on that?

[gandalftb]

Thank you for the post.

There were three approved routes A, B, and C. The “A”, southerly route is the most direct and the most used.

Correct, there were a number of heavy cell thunderstorms covering A and B so they flew the C (most northerly) route that day.

What has not been released is that there had been a total of 12 shootdowns in the previous months, but not above 7,000 feet, so no concern was noted.

However, last Tuesday there was a shootdown at 22,000 feet, indicating a vehicle mounted anti-aircraft system was in play.

There should have been an immediate air traffic advisory that was not done.

BTW, the separatists are known for drinking. Given the sloppy command and control, I would not be surprised if alcohol consumption may have been a factor.

Also, there was apparently no command vehicle that normally carries the aquisition radar for the SA-11 that could IFF the commercial and passenger carrier squak.

[Fire_on_High]

That’s what I recall as well...they diverted away from the typical flight path to avoid severe storms.