Downed Malaysian plane had clean bill of health

Kuala Lumpur, July 18 (IANS) The Malaysian aircraft that was went down over Ukraine had a "clean bill of health", a media statement said here Friday.

As many as 298 people were killed when the Malaysian Airlines aircraft crashed iver Ukraine near the Russain border while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

"The B777-200 aircraft bearing registration No. 9M-MRD that operated MH17 July 17 had a clean maintenance record," said the statement.

"The aircraft's last maintenance check was July 11, 2014. The next check was due Aug 27, 2014...The aircraft had a clean bill of health," it said.

"The aircraft was manufactured in July 1997, and had 17 years in service...All communication systems on the aircraft were functioning normally. The B777-200 uses the Rolls-Royce Trent-800 engine and has a 282-seat capacity," it added.