The video from Russian Ministry of Defense includes playback of Russian civilian radar record. Based on it, a participant of
aviaforum.ru determined coordinates of the missile strike:
http://sf.uploads.ru/cUoK2.jpg
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=ru&lat=48...7&z=12&m=b&v=2
Meteo: 757.2 mm Hg at sea level. Flight level 33000 feet = 10058 m, pressure correction 2,8 mm Hg = 34 m, altitude 10024 m (please check my calculations).
Geolocation of Buk missile launch site from several photos and testimonies:
http://avva.livejournal.com/2788606.html
It's betwen Snezhnoe town and Saur-Mogila hill, near Pervomajskoe village, Pervomajskij township, Chervonyj Zhovten/Krasnyj Oktjabr hamlet (AKA Beregis hamlet), Saurovka airstrip:
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=ru&lat=47...1&z=12&m=b&v=2
Elevation 231 m (from Google Earth 47.98245N 38.754101E).
Distance between launch and strike 22.5 km, altitude difference 9793 m, slant range 24.5 km, elevation angle atan(9793/22500)= 23.5°.
The SAM suspected is the single radar+launcher vehicle from
9K37M1 (Buk-M1,
SA-11 Gadfly) system, missile range 35 km distance, 22 km altitude.
I suppose that the radar+launcher vehicle crew expected a military transport plane similar to the
An-26 hit at altitude 6.2 km 3 days before that. For elevation 6.2 km and distance 22.5 km, elevation angle is 15.4°, elevation angle difference 8.1°. But that's at the strike. The crew saw the dot on the radar screen earlier, at farther distance. In case of distance 35 km, elevation angle difference would be 5.6°. 56 km - 3.6°. 80 km - 2.5°. I think that so little angle difference is quite difficult to notice.
If the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine)
version is to be believed then I think that the Buk crew might be not informed that the target is a Russian civilian plane. They could believe that the target is a military transport.