With the tragic end of flight MH 17 from Malaysia Airlines above the East of the Ukraine, EVERYTHING seems unimportant. I started this blog a couple of days ago, when the beginning of the 33d WGC was one of the high leveled items for this blog. Now it is all totally unimportant, totally not relevant!!!  MH 17 departed Amsterdam at 12.15 and I straight away thought how many times I have used that flight via Kuala Lumpour to Melbourne. I guess from the nearly 30 times, at least 12.  In the beginning loving the old mosaic arrival hall, now the very modern one, knowing it was only about 8 hours more and I would be in Australia.

Lot’s of the passengers from this MH 17 had the same idea, looking forward to see Australia,  New Zealand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mali or other destinations.

About 100 were on their way to the Melbourne HIV/AIDS conference. Among them famous 58 year old professor and researcher on HIV Joep Lange. As they say; “We lost a giant”

From the Southern part of Holland only, 50 people died in this inferno. A total of 298 passengers and crew [2 captains, 2 co pilots and cabin crew, some might have even served me] lost their lives,193 from Holland and 27 from Australia, also 4 from Germany and 4 from Belgium and from other parts of the world.  Each province here in Holland feels the pain, we are NUMB. Every time when you read a story tears come up. Families from 5, mum and dad and the 3 kids, brother and sister just ready at high school on their way for a great “escape”, young families with babies, mum and dad without kids and those kids are by their selves now, scientists, political toppers and just a lot of other lovely people on their way to a dream destination or to a very important congress.

Such a tragedy is unheard of, certainly when you estimate how they died. I leave investigations to the experts, it’s their job to sort out WHAT happened, but when a Russian separatist proudly announces on the social media that they shot an Antonov out of the air and that might have been MH 17 with it’s 298 passengers there will be no words to express the ANGER and pain.

To see on TV, how those separatists walk through the bodies and search to find something of value for them self, you can throw up!! As the Aussie prime minister Abbott said; “those bodies  deserve a dignified treatment.” Hopefully the team to do the research after the accident and the identification-team  will be allowed NOW STRAIGHT away to do their difficult job.

The whole world is involved. Top US diplomat John Kerry, as I read, has told his Russian counterpart that Washington was “deeply concerned” that international investigators were being denied access to a passenger jet’s crash site in Ukraine. “For the second day in a row, OSCE monitors and international investigators were denied proper access to the crash site.” 

One person was more than lucky. He was offered 600 dollar to take a flight later, as MH 17 in co-operation with KLM, was fully booked. He doesn’t know why they came to him, whilst  waiting in a long row with so many other people. He accepted the money and took the KLM flight a couple of hours later to only find out in Kuala Lumpour, what happened to his original flight.

As said I started my blog and the bit I did will follow now. I hope you excuse me that words fail me now to write about our soaring sport but it will come again.

The TOP of the Gliding world arrived now in Poland [Leszno]  for the 33d WGC for flapped gliders.
Unpacking started this week. Laurens and Susie with help of a friend, unpack the container which arrived from South Africa.It’s always a special moment to see that all gliders have arrived in good condition.

Also my Aussie mates have arrived to the 33d WGC at Leszno. Tom flew already about 400 km. around the Wroclaw airspace. Good checking that before, as those penalty points of violating the airspace are high, expensive and not necessary.

Tom Claffey’s glider

Ritz