Why Did Ukraine Fail To Close It's Airspace Once It Learned That The Rebels Had High-Altitude Air-Defense Capabilities

Members of the Ukrainian Emergency Ministry carry a body at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, near the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region July 19, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev

Ukraine Knew of Separatists' Air-Defense Capabilities, Say Officials -- Wall Street Journal

Claims Raise Questions of Why Ukraine Failed to Close Airspace

KIEV—Ukraine intelligence officials said they knew three days before the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 that rebels in the east of the country possessed sophisticated air-defense systems capable of felling a jetliner at altitudes in excess of where the Boeing 777 was flying.

The disclosure deepens the mystery of why Ukrainian aviation officials failed to entirely close off the airspace in the Donetsk region, where the jet was flying went it was shot down, killing all 298 people on board.

Three Buk-M1 medium-range antiaircraft systems, also known as the SA-11 Gadfly under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization designation, were known to be in rebel hands as early as July 14, said Vitaly Nayda, the head of the counterintelligence division of Ukraine's security service.

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My Comment: I know that some are wondering if a conspiracy is involved .... but I think the answer is a more simpler one. I worked at ICAO (the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization for about 5 years). When it comes to international aviation .... I learned very quickly that change is always slow and bureaucratic. For MH17 .... the request to declare the region of Donetsk as a no-fly zone was probably lost in the paperwork and/or going up the "chain of command".