Ukraine: Meteorite may have caused flash that alarmed pilot

A meteorite may have caused the flash that alarmed an Israeli pilot flying over Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said Saturday, insisting that it wasn't a missile.

An El Al pilot reported seeing a missile fired from the ground over central Ukraine during a Tel Aviv-Moscow flight on Thursday night. Israeli officials said the missile exploded a few miles away from the plane.

Three Russian pilots confirmed Saturday they had seen a sizeable flash in the area of the El Al plane over eastern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Ukraine had not conducted any missile launches since accidentally downing a Russian airliner on a flight last October from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk in Siberia, killing 78 passengers and crew. Many of the passengers were new immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry released a statement saying no missiles had been fired in the area that night, and that the pilots may have witnessed a meteorite entering the Earth's atmosphere.

Officials from Ukraine's National Space Agency also suggested a meteorite could have been the culprit, as did Yaroslav Skalko, deputy chairman of Ukraine's civil aviation department, ITAR-Tass and Interfax reported.

"The airplane crews who saw over Ukrainian territory on July 4 a flash that resembled a missile explosion were observing phenomena of unidentified origin not related to the activities of the Ukrainian armed forces," the Defense Ministry statement said.

The ministry said the stocks of missiles and other long-range ammunition were inspected and nothing was missing, according to ITAR-Tass and Interfax.

Ukrainian government officials told Israeli officials Friday that it was prepared to work with Israel in its investigation of the incident.

Transport Minister Ephraim Sneh said Friday that the Israeli plane had never been in any danger and voiced doubts it had come under attack.

Sneh said he had spoken at length with the El Al pilot, whom he described as an experienced combat veteran of the Israel Air Force.

"There is no doubt that he saw a missile that exploded in the air, apparently far from the plane," Sneh told Army Radio. "Circumstances suggest it was not launched at the El Al plane."

Amos Shapira, El Al's managing director, told Army Radio: "The pilot saw a flash... It was at least 10 to 100 miles [16 to 160 kilometers] away. The plane was in no danger."

This is the second external confirmation of the report: the pilot of a Ukrainian plane also reported seeing a flash in the sky at the time.

Ukrainian government officials told Israeli officials Friday that it was prepared to work with Israel in its investigation of the incident.

With the announcement, Ukrainian officials were not denying the possibility that they were connected to the incident, but said they had thoroughly investigated the matter and found no connection.

Transport Minister Ephraim Sneh said Friday that the Israeli plane had never been in any danger and voiced doubts it had come under attack.

Sneh said he had spoken at length with the El Al pilot, whom he described as an experienced combat veteran of the Israel Air Force.

"There is no doubt that he saw a missile that exploded in the air, apparently far from the plane," Sneh told Army Radio. "Circumstances suggest it was not launched at the El Al plane."

Reports of the purported missile launch followed an attack at an El Al counter at Los Angeles airport in which a gunman killed two people before security guards shot him dead.

The Ukrainian government said the military had not fired a missile. "At that time there was no military training with shooting in Ukraine," Defense Ministry spokesman Kostiantyn Khivrenko said. "Nobody shot even from cannons and automatic rifles, not only in that direction, but in all Ukraine."

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said that since the shooting down of the Sibir Airlines plane, "all missile exercises in Ukraine have been banned."

Amos Shapira, El Al's managing director, told Army Radio: "The pilot saw a flash... It was at least 10 to 100 miles [16 to 160 kilometers] away. The plane was in no danger."

How did this article become a lightning rod for the tin-foil-hat crowd?
I don't know. What I do know is that I must NEVER, EVER express any other thought than "It was a rocket that brought flight XXX down. The government just won't tell us." Even if I have an open mind on the matter, I must never, never admit it. All mysterious plane crashes are due to rockets from Muslims in the bushes or Muslims on the plane. Never forget it. Personally, I intend never to post again on another thread about planes and rockets of any sort.

I don't know. What I do know is that I must NEVER, EVER express any other thought than "It was a rocket that brought flight XXX down. The government just won't tell us." Even if I have an open mind on the matter, I must never, never admit it. All mysterious plane crashes are due to rockets from Muslims in the bushes or Muslims on the plane. Never forget it. Personally, I intend never to post again on another thread about planes and rockets of any sort.

Some other posters are commenting to me about this rabid group attack mentality here.

One small point. Terrorism is a form of communication. The real targets are those who live, not those who die. It may be good public policy to lie about the true nature of terrorist attacks. If you call it an accident, a meteor, or a hate crime you rob it of its' real power. The risk is that if the Gov. loses credibility non terrorist attacks will be seen as terrorist. The LAX example demonstrates just how intent the US Gov. wants to make us think that terrorist acts are not terrorist acts. In that case they just look silly. -MM

Was it also a meteorite last year when an Israeli airliner was blown out of the Ukranian sky mysteriously last year?

I am not familiar with that one.Perhaps you are confused.

After brazenly lying about the downing of KAL 007 in 1983, there's no reason to trust the Russian Defense Ministry.

I am not sure why the Russian Defense Ministry would be involved in a Ukrainian affair,are you?

Just another coincidence, and the former Soviets are known for their honesty.

You could "former" yourself all the way back to the Kievan Rus,I suppose.

At least they had a meteorite problem, and not a center fuel tank problem.

A very sad event indeed (TWA).

It may be good public policy to lie about the true nature of terrorist attacks.

it was probably a very good idea for Clinton,since his prezidential campaign was around the corner(from TWA 800).

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.