MH17 clean record prior to crash

Speaking at a press conference at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on Friday, Malaysia Airlines European Vice President Huib Gorter said the Boeing 777 “had a clean maintenance record,” adding “all systems on the aircraft were running normally” when contact was lost with the aircraft.

"Many airlines were flying at that point of time through that airspace. It was a tragic incident that could have happened to any of us," he said.

"This usual flight route was declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the crossing was not...subject to restrictions," he added.

The plane crashed over eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing all 298 people on board. More than 180 of the victims of the crash were Dutch nationals. Gorter said the families of the victims would be given $5,000 (3,700 euros) for initial expenses.

US officials said Friday that Washington strongly suspected the Malaysian Airlines passenger plane had been shot down by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile that had been fired on by pro-Russian separatists.

Black boxes found

News agency Interfax-Ukraine reported that Ukraine's emergency services have found two black boxes at the crash site of the Malaysian airliner, quoting an advisor to the governor of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region.

“Two black boxes were found by our emergency services. I have no information on where these boxes are at the moment,” Interfax quoted Kostyantyn Batovsky as saying Friday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday during an interview with the state television broadcaster, that “despite what Kyiv is saying, we do not plan to take the (black) boxes. We do not plan to violate existing (international) norms for such situations.”

Precedent dictates the flight recorders are to be studied in Ukraine as that is where the accident occurred.

“We want international experts to get to the site of the crash as soon as possible so that they get the black boxes right away,” Lavrov added.

OSCE to be allowed access

Following the announcement about the black boxes, pro-Russian separatists said they were allowing experts from the Organization for Security in Europe (OSCE) and from Ukraine's government to enter the crash site.

“Today 17 new workers and four official experts from Kyiv arrived in Donetsk. Soon they are due to arrive at the site of the tragedy. We support the maximum number of experts possible,” Sergei Kavtaradze, one of group's leaders said.

International response

World leaders are demanding an international investigation into the fate of the Malaysian Airlines plane.

A NATO source on Friday also weighed in on the debate, saying it was concerned by the “increasing sophistication” and number of weapons deployed by pro-Russian rebels.

“We are concerned about the growing number of heavy weapons being operated…as well as the increasing sophistication of these systems,” the unnamed NATO official told the AFP news agency.

Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an immediate halt to the fighting in eastern Ukraine.

"What is important now is for an independent investigation to take place as soon as possible," Merkel said. "For that, a ceasefire is needed, and then it is of course crucial for those responsible to be brought to justice."

The US and the European Union have placed sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, but analysts say the only response to Thursday's disaster would be to impose more sanctions on Moscow.

Merkel said it was too early to decide on further sanctions before it is known what happened to the airplane.

jlw/hc (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)