Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was downed over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. [Photo courtesy of @MatevzNovak]
Key Takeaways:
A Dutch court convicted two Russian men and one Ukrainian man in absentia of murder and sentenced them to life in prison for their role in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which killed all 298 people aboard.
The court determined that the aircraft was shot down by a Russian BUK missile system, which the convicted men helped transport into Ukraine, though they were not found to be the ones who launched the missile.
Ukrainian officials welcomed the ruling, while Russian officials rejected it as politically motivated, denying involvement and stating their citizens would not be extradited.
The extensive international investigation, led by the Netherlands, concluded MH17 was mistaken for a military target, and the Dutch and Australian governments are pursuing further legal action against Russia at the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Two Russian men and one Ukranian man have been convicted by a Dutch court in absentia of murder and sentenced to life in prison for their role in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, according to reports.
The crash killed all 298 people aboard the Boeing 777.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
