Disaster in the Sky

Last Thursday, July 17, Malaysian flight MH-17 departed from Amsterdam heading for Kuala Lumpur. I'm sure it started out as a routine flight, but it crashed in Ukraine after being shot down by a missile. Everyone on board (283 passengers and 15 crew members) died. This tragedy comes just months after Malaysian flight 370 disappeared on March 8. That plane carried 239 people and has yet to be recovered. That's 537 people between the two flights. Just terrible.

The details as to what exactly happened and why are still sketchy, but the following photos show just how terrible the devastation was.

The following is a map showing the path that flight 17 took. It departed from Amsterdam and then crashed in Donetsk, Ukraine. I'm also including a picture showing the nationalities of the 298 people on board.

If there is a positive outcome to a tragedy like this it's that people––even complete strangers––rally around each other. These sorts of tragedies and disasters are definitely sobering and really put life into perspective. Suddenly all of the little things that seemed so important become really insignificant when you realize that the things that are the most important will not always be there (and may be gone sooner than you think).

Here are a few pictures of some of the memorials in different parts of the world for the victims of flight 17:

I'm not sure when we will know who's responsible for firing the missile that brought down the plane, but I hope that information comes out eventually. So far there has seemed to be quite a bit of resistance from Russia as far as the investigation and investigators haven't been allowed full access to the crash site. It will definitely be interesting to see what evidence turns up as the days, weeks and months go on. I'm sure concrete answers will help bring the victim's families more peace.