RE: Sticking with EL AL

About the Ukranian incident :

Ukraine says will investigate missile flash seen by El Al pilot
By Yossi Melman, Ha’aretz Correspondent, News agencies

Ukrainian government officials told Israeli officials Friday that it was prepared to work with Israel in its investigation of an incident in which the pilot of an El Al flight reported seeing a surface-to-air missile explosion as he flew over the Ukraine the previous day.

The El Al flight was en route from Tel Aviv to Moscow.

With the announcement Ukrainian officials were not denying the possibility that they were connected to the incident. They said that they had thoroughly investigated the matter and that they were not connected to it.

The report seemed to be confirmed by the pilot of a Ukrainian plane who also reported seeing a flash in the sky.

Transport Minister Ephraim Sneh said the Israeli plane was never in danger and voiced doubt it had come under attack.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Ukraine had not conducted any missile launches since accidentally downing a Russian airliner on a flight last October from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk in Siberia, killing 78 passengers and crew.

Sneh said he had spoken at length with the El Al pilot, whom he described as an experienced combat veteran of the Israeli air force.

“There is no doubt that he saw a missile that exploded in the air, apparently far from the plane,” Sneh told Army Radio. “Circumstances suggest it was not launched at the El Al plane.”

Reports of the purported missile launch followed an attack at an El Al counter at Los Angeles airport in which a gunman killed two people before security guards shot him dead.

The Ukrainian government said the military had not fired a missile. “At that time there was no military training with shooting in Ukraine,” Defense Ministry spokesman Kostiantyn Khivrenko said. “Nobody shot even from cannons and automatic rifles, not only in that direction, but in all Ukraine.”

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said that since an errant missile shot down a Sibir Airlines plan over his country on Oct 4, killing all 78 passengers, most of them immigrants to Israel, “all missile exercises in Ukraine have been banned.” Kuchma was speaking during a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark.

Amos Shapira, El Al’s managing director, told Army Radio: “The pilot saw a flash…It was at least 10 to 100 miles (16 to 160 km) away. The plane was in no danger.”

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U.N. Representative: So, Mr. Evil –
Dr. Evil: It’s Dr. Evil, I didn’t spend six years in Evil Medical School to be called “mister,” thank you very much.