Global Task Force Created After Plane Shot Down
AP, Jul 29 2014
MONTREAL — The UN agency that governs civil aviation said Tuesday it is creating a task force aimed at improving security measures after the shoot-down of a MH17 over eastern Ukraine. In an emergency meeting in Montreal, top officials from four international organizations discussed risks to civilian aviation in conflict zones. The head of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the UN agency, said there is a pressing need for information and intelligence that can potentially affect the safety of passengers and crew members. Countries, which have sovereignty over their airspace, have been reminded of their responsibility to address any potential risks to civil aviation, Raymond Benjamin said. ICAO is convening a high-level safety meeting with its 191 member states in Feb 2015. The International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines; the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization; and the Airports Council International also participated in Tuesday’s meeting. IATA Dir-Gen Tony Tyler said:
This incident has identified a gap in the system that needs to be addressed. It has to be the government of that country that takes responsibility. If that country cannot declare its air space to be safe, then it should say so, and airlines will know that the air space is closed and they won’t fly over it. In the case of MH17, airlines were told that flights that traverse Ukraine above 32,000 feet would not be at risk. We now know how wrong that guidance was.
MH17 was destroyed on Jul 17 by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile as the plane cruised at an altitude of 33,000 feet (10 km) above rebel-held battlefields in eastern Ukraine. Tyler said MH17 has demonstrated that powerful and sophisticated anti-aircraft weaponry is in the hands of non-state entities. (In other words, he prejudged the issue of responsibility, which is supposed to be the subject of an expert panel yet to be convened – RB)
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