After prodding, you picked:

No 2 is of key interest

And no 2 is: 2. The flight path was changed.

For which there is 1) presently no evidence the flight path changed actually happened, although it remains possible but more importantly there is 2) zero evidence the flight was ordered to change route, and all claims that this is true are mere speculation.

Yet instead you want people to look at more hand waving and hands wringing tin foil.

The Malaysian airlines are referenced as confirming the change of the route and the altitude by Ukraine air traffic control.

They are indeed referenced, but MA did not confirm change of route, only change in altitude.

1.    Flight plan

MH17's flight plan was approved by Eurocontrol, who are solely responsible for determining civil aircraft flight paths over European airspace. Eurocontrol is the air navigation service provider for Europe and is governed under ICAO rules.

The route over Ukrainian airspace where the incident occurred is commonly used for Europe to Asia flights. A flight from a different carrier was on the same route at the time of the MH17 incident, as were a number of other flights from other carriers in the days and weeks before. Eurocontrol maintains records of all flights across European airspace, including those across Ukraine.

In April, the International Civil Aviation Organization identified an area over the Crimean peninsula as risky. At no point did MH17 fly into, or request to fly into, this area. At all times, MH17 was in airspace approved by the ICAO.

2.    Altitude

MH17 filed a flight plan requesting to fly at 35,000ft throughout Ukrainian airspace. This is close to the `optimum' altitude.

However, an aircraft's altitude in flight is determined by air traffic control on the ground. Upon entering Ukrainian airspace, MH17 was instructed by Ukrainian air traffic control to fly at 33,000ft.

The audio records of MH17 were taken (confiscated) by Ukraine authorities. I saw BBC mentioning this as well.

Completely unfounded. The audio records weren't and the BBC didn't. If you saw this, provide an actual website reference or a screenshot, or this is simply unfounded.

The British media explained the route change by Azov thunderstorms, but that was denied by MAS operations director.

More of that trustworthy he said, she said, not backed up by any actual website reference or a screenshot of this so-called British media report. Thus: more unfounded claims.

Sick of them.

Malaysia wants the 'missing' Ukrainian ATC tapes

KUALA LUMPUR (New Straits Times) Aug. 8, 2014 - Ukraine has denied that its State Security Service (SBU) had seized the air-to-ground transmission tapes between its air traffic controllers and Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on the day the jetliner was shot down.

Its ambassador to Malaysia Ihor Humennyi, in an exclusive interview with the New Straits Times, said that reports alleging that the SBU had seized the recordings had not been independently verified or confirmed by Kiev.

"There is no proof or any evidence that the tapes were confiscated by the SBU. I only read this in the newspapers."

Interview Ukrainian Ambassador Ihor Humennyi on MH17: Status of Ukrainian tapes still in question.

Almost immediately after the shootdown, several news agencies, including the British Broadcasting Corporation, carried reports saying that Ukraine's SBU security service had confiscated recordings of conversations between Ukrainian air traffic control officers and the crew of the doomed airliner.

If indeed the SBU had not seized the tapes, then where are the air-to-ground communications tapes between MH17 and the ATC? When asked this, Humennyi said he did not have the answers.

Asked if the tapes had been handed over to the investigators, Humennyi said: "We don't have any information that it had not been given to the investigation team or that it was not received by the (team of international) investigators."

Humennyi said that if a formal request was made by Malaysia or the international investigation team, Ukraine would extend its cooperation. At one point, Humennyi seemed to question the significance of the ATC tapes, saying that "it is just the same as the flight data and cockpit voice recorders".

Address of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Tragic Death of People as a Result of a Terrorist Act over the Territory of Ukraine - July 22, 2014

○ Data Cockpit Voice Recorder MH17 Downloaded - July 24, 2014
○ Preliminary report on MH17 investigations out next week, says Malysian Transport Minister

Cross-posted from my recent diary - Dutch PM Rutte Abruptly Calls-off MH-17 Recovery Mission.

'Sapere aude'