Quote:I inquired about this with a friend of mine who is a former naval aviator, flying F14s for the Navy, and commanding a squadron on the east coast up until he retired a few years ago.  The guy who told you there is some sort of protocol for planes flying at different altitudes is incorrect.  The limitations for altitude for military transports or any other military aircraft is based on their specific tolerances and missions. 

 

In 1983, the Russians used the same "hardly conclusive" line when the US played audio of the pilot shooting down the KAL flight.  You don't know any better than anyone else that it's hardly conclusive, just like you don't know for certain that there's zero chance the plane was shot down by accident. 

 

This isn't a uniformed military we're talking about here.  It's rebels.