Debunked: Proof that MH-17 is MH-370? [MH-17 actually did have a covered window]

[Mick West]

Some web pages and video claim that photo of the debris of MH-17 does not match the plane 9M-MRD that was flying the MH-17 route that day, and instead matches 9M-MRO, which was the plane that vanished as MH-370. They claim that the wreckage shows a blanked out window that MH-MRD did not have.

However this claim is easily debunked by looking at photos of MH-MRD which show that window has been blanked out since the plane was reconfigured in 2006. They are simply using old photos, and ignoring the many more recent photos.

As evidence they present this image from the wreckage of MH-17 (9M-MRD)

And claim it more closely matches 9M-MRO (MH-370) by comparing it to a out-of-date 2005 photo of 9M-MRD where the window to the front of the center door is not blanked out.

However a Jun 2012 Photo of 9M-MRD matches the debris perfectly (look at the flag, and blocked off windows under it to the left)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/40083599@N04/7332908556/

As does this July 5th, 2014 photo (just 12 days before the crash)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/100721023@N05/14625482185/

You can look at the history of 9M-MRD's configuration on planespotters.net and see when the window changed.
http://www.planespotters.net/Aviation_Photos/search.php?tag=9M-mrd

And you can see the window has been covered since the plane was temporarily re-painted in the blue livery in 2006:

Hence this claim that the crashed plane is not 9M-MRD because it lacks a window is debunked.

And the suggestion that it's 9M-MRO based on the above evidence is very silly, because at the same time 9M-MRD had a window there, SO DID 9M-MRO!
http://www.raischstudios.com/malaysia-airlines-flight-370/

Here's a close-up of 9M-MRD from 2012

https://www.flickr.com/photos/46156186@N08/7096304097

And
http://www.raischstudios.com/mh17-memorial/

 

[David Coulter]

Some CT's are just too extreme to bother debunking. However, two attempts: Equipment gets changed out all the time, MH17 is a route designation, not an aircraft identification. The plane was repainted since the photos were taken.

 

[Pete Tar]

Would this do it?
http://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/mh17/

 

[bbron]

MH17 is a route designation, not an aircraft identification.

This seems most logical if this is true.

 

[bbron]

Seems that the 9M-MRD does have a plate over the window discrediting the claims in the video. Debunked?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/40083599@N04/7332908556/

 

[bbron]

Had plate on window since at least 2009. Didn't have plate on window in 2005. Lots of images.

http://www.planespotters.net/Aviation_Photos/search.php?tag=9M-MRD

Had a different paint job between 2005-2007 too. Was repainted some time after 2007 and window plated.

I think we can call this debunked.

 

[Mick West]

9M-MRC/D discussion moved to:
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/mh-17-was-9m-mrd-so-why-are-there-photos-of-9m-mrc.4006/

 

[Mick West]

Updated the OP with some more photos of MH-MRD showing when the window was blanked out:

 

[Efftup]

I am intrigued as to how, in some of the photos, te blanked off window is there, and on others it is missing.

Ct sites are suggesting it is "obviously" photoshopped to cover up their "mistake".
Apart form the fact it has already been shown that the plane DID have a blanked off window prior to the crash, and there are other parts of the wreckage that clearly show the MRD part of the registration, if not more.

but, either SOMEBODY did photoshop it, OR somehow the window blank has been knocked out somehow. Does anyone have any answers for this?
If the wreckage was moved slightly, how hard would it be to knock the window out accidentally?

EDIT: Sorry, just seen the other thread about the window.

I did read one of the articles with the "this is clearly photoshopped" bit but what was even more abundantly clear was the comparison was clearly NOT the same photograph. So they could have easily been taken days apart and this is an explanation the author of the article clearly wasn't going to entertain.

 

[Mick West]

OPOB has been banned for spam. Opob.com is a content aggregator that just takes posts of the internet and labels them as being by "analysts". The "analyst" mentioned above, Sophie Matthews-Paul, writes for a printing magazine. The pages OPOB linked included several sections by me. Including one where I was described as an analyst. I have nothing at all to do with OPOB.

 

[youniquelikeme]

"I am intrigued as to how, in some of the photos, te blanked off window is there, and on others it is missing.

Ct sites are suggesting it is "obviously" photoshopped to cover up their "mistake".
Apart form the fact it has already been shown that the plane DID have a blanked off window prior to the crash, and there are other parts of the wreckage that clearly show the MRD part of the registration, if not more.

but, either SOMEBODY did photoshop it, OR somehow the window blank has been knocked out somehow. Does anyone have any answers for this?
If the wreckage was moved slightly, how hard would it be to knock the window out accidentally?

EDIT: Sorry, just seen the other thread about the window.

I did read one of the articles with the "this is clearly photoshopped" bit but what was even more abundantly clear was the comparison was clearly NOT the same photograph. So they could have easily been taken days apart and this is an explanation the author of the article clearly wasn't going to entertain."

It might help you and the audience here to know it is not a "blanked out" or a "painted" window. It is called a 'window plug' because that is exactly what it is. A plug that can be removed and added easily. Consider that configuration for seating can change often, and when it does, privacy walls move, and a window will be plugged where a wall is situated.

Also in curtain areas it can be a pain to close windows letting in light at altitude, when people are trying to sleep. Putting a plug in the window means passengers don't have to get up to close the blind, and a Flight Attendant does not have to step on people's toes or wake people up to close it. (There are aesthetic reasons as well)

 

[Efftup]

Well I assumed it was a blanking plate rather than just painted over.