Originally Posted by Dmcontent

Are you a pilot, aircraft controller or any way related to airline industry?

controllers request all the time aircraft to change altitude due to other aircraft in the vicinity or weather related is very common except for areas where there isn't radar coverage, outside radar coverage areas each flight is issued a track which is like a tunnel that the aircraft must follow.

On that day the NOTAM for that particular route was minimum ceiling of 32 000 feet , the aircraft was at 33 700 feet so it was above the NOTAM issued note.

There was a Singapore airlines flying at FL 35 000 feet in the same route just 5 minutes behind and an air india at 32 500 feet 10 minutes ahead of the Malaysian airlines. they were exactly in the same corridor only at different altitudes.

Two possible thing could have happened

1- Its was cloudy so they could fire the missile blindly, that means being fired only by rdar lock

2- Malaysia airlines airplanes belly is painted the same color as Ukrainian military transport aircraft and could have been mistaken by on of the Antonov.

Before you start blaming people get some info on how airplanes, routes and controllers work