More‘Unreal’ Scenes From MH17 Crash Site In the aftermath of the downing of a Malaysia Airlines jet, it has been widely assumed that death—or at least unconsciousness—came quickly for the 298 people aboard when the Boeing 777 came apart in the oxygen-thin, cold air at 33,000 feet. But some medical and aviation experts who spoke to TIME are questioning this assumption. As photos from the MH17 debris field near Gravboro, Ukraine, have shown, many of the victims’ bodies appeared completely intact after falling from a great altitude.