On 17 July 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was lost in the Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, while cruising at an altitude of 33,000 feet. All 298 persons on board were killed. Although the investigation is still ongoing, it can be deemed certain that the aircraft was downed as the result of the current armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The case of MH 17 shows how the established international order for the safe, regular and efficient navigation of international civil aviation can crumble, if a State cannot warrant its international obligations. The Chicago Convention1 is built upon the monolithic principle of State sovereignty. However, when a State cannot fully exercise its executive control over its entire territory, there are serious effects on the protection of civil aviation, aircraft accident investigation and the closing of airspace for security purposes.
Air and Space Law