Veteran Pilot Has 'No Doubt' MH17 Was Shot Down by Ukrainian Fighter

Peter Haisenko, a veteran pilot for Germany's Lufthansa Airlines, told Sputnik Friday that evidence on the wreckage of the MH17 clearly indicates that the plane was shot down by a Ukrainian fighter jet.

"Wreckage from the plane clearly shows that the plane was shot at by a fighter jet in the air. This is an undisputable fact," Haisenko noted. "We have photos of the aircraft, showing evidence that it was fired upon [from the air]. The aircraft's remains, the majority of which have now been collected in the Netherlands, do not bear any traces of having been fired upon by the Buk missile system. This is sufficient evidence to form a clear conclusion."

The veteran pilot noted that "moreover, the remains of an R-60M air-to-air rocket have been found alongside the remains of the aircraft. This confirms that the course of events is exactly as I have described them: the [aircraft-launched] missile hit one of the airliner's engines, and after it failed to fall out of the sky, the cockpit was fired upon directly."

Haisenko noted that the plane's pilots were targeted specifically, stating that "like hunters  finishing off a wounded animal, the plane, whose engine had already been hit, was finished off."

Responding to Haisenko's theory about a shoot down by an attack aircraft, specifically the Su 25 fighter jet, German media have recently reported that the attack aircraft could not have shot down the plane, due to its altitude limit of 7,000 meters, while MH17 was flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters.

"The assertion that the Su25 cannot fly to a height of 10 km is just nonsense," Haisenko noted. "This plane has repeatedly proven to be capable of flying at an altitude of 12 km, with a maximum altitude of 14,000 meters. The only issue for the aircraft at this height is the pilot's oxygen supply. Above 7,000 meters, it is restricted. Consequently, the normal operating altitude of the aircraft is 7,000 meters. If the pilot has a regular supply of oxygen, it is not a problem to climb higher, and at this height he could shoot."

In Haisenko's words, the version of the German media, which had reverted to the Buk hypothesis, "was based on the oldest information," much of it grounded on pure speculation.

Noting the importance of finding out the truth about what happened to the plane, Haisenko stated that Europe and the United States have based their sanctions policy and an aggressive media campaign against Russia on a theory backed up by "zero evidence." The veteran pilot noted that "as soon as they have to admit that the aircraft was shot down by a Ukrainian fighter jet, all the sanctions against Russia must be canceled, and immediately! It should have happened a long time ago already."

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed July 17, 2014 in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, killing all 298 people on board. Western officials and much of the media were quick to blame eastern Ukrainian militia opposed to Kiev, as well as Russia, which has been accused of backing the rebels. Donbas militia and Russian officials have repeatedly denied the charges, citing lack of evidence. An investigation report into the MH17 tragedy is expected to be published by the Dutch Safety Board later this year.