Pro-Russia rebels may have shot down MH17 by mistake, says US official
US says all evidence suggests separatists launched SA-11 surface-to-air missile that blew up jet as Malaysia sends black boxes to Britain for analysis
Malaysian Airlines flight 17 may have been shot down by “mistake” by ill-trained pro-Russian separatists, US intelligence officials said on Tuesday, while dismissing Moscow’s accounts of the incident as propaganda.
Evidence gathered so far suggests separatists launched the SA-11 surface-to-air missile that blew up the Malaysian airliner on July 17, but it remains unclear “who pulled the trigger” and why, said a senior intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The most plausible explanation ... was that it was a mistake,” and that the missile was fired by “an ill-trained crew” using a system that requires some skill and training, the official said.
The intelligence official cited previous incidents over the years in which both Russian and US forces have mistakenly shot down civilian airliners.
A Korean airliner was downed by a Soviet fighter jet in 1983 and US naval forces mistakenly shot down an Iranian civilian passenger plane in 1988.
“We’ve all seen mistakes in the past,” the official said.