"We have every expectation our son will be getting off a plane in Wellington tomorrow," says Wendy Ayley, mother of Otaki man Robert Ayley, who was on flight MH17.

Investor sentiment was hit across the globe by rising geopolitical tension following the downing of a Malaysian airliner and the start of an Israeli offensive into Gaza.

Travel agents have fielded calls from worried passengers due to fly to Europe as airlines around the world avoid Ukrainian airspace.

A Western Australia family is mourning the cruel loss of three children who were travelling with their grandfather on the doomed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

News organisations have forever struggled with determining the line where news value ends and shock value and sensationalism begin.

If history is anything to go by, the downing of Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine could trigger a dangerous chain reaction.

A New Zealand woman has been confirmed as being among the victims of the Malaysia Airlines crash. Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully confirmed the death and said another person, a British citizen who had been living in New Zealand, was also killed. The New Zealand woman, a longtime resident of Australia, was travelling with her husband, a Dutch citizen."Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those involved," says Foreign Minister Murray McCully.

Airlines were warned in April to avoid airspace over Ukraine, but experts suggest they preferred to save money on fuel.

Airlines including Deutsche Lufthansa and KLM has said they will avoid flying over eastern Ukraine after the crash of a Malaysian Airlines jet.

Everything you need to know about Malaysian Airlines MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine.

A deleted social media post by a separatist militia leader has led to accusations that pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine are to blame for the Malaysia Airlines crash.

We have live updates from the investigation into the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines MH17.

Malaysia Airlines Plane Shot Down And Crashes in Ukraine. Courtesy: YouTube/mike reyes

Images of Malaysia Airlines MH17 which crashed over Ukraine.

Soviet-built BUK surface-to-air missile launcher believed to have brought down Air Malaysia flight at 33,000ft.

The deaths of 295 people aboard Flight MH17 is one of the worst post-war civilian airline incidents involving a plane brought down by a missile attack, gunfire or terrorist-related sabotage.

The 100-day search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has not yet explored the area most likely to be the final resting place of the plane because it was diverted by bogus "black box" signals, according to Inmarsat, the British satellite firm.

A British woman sailing near Indonesia at the time MH370 vanished says she saw a plane 'burning' and billowing smoke before it crashed.

For a moment when Danica Weeks wakes up, she thinks the last seven weeks have all been a bad dream.

A new report says the missing Malaysia Airlines plane was 'thrown around like a fighter jet' - flying drastic manoeuvres in a bid to dodge radar.

A Chinese ship has detected a "pulse signal" in the southern Indian Ocean where Malaysia Airlines 370 is lost.

Malaysia's Government is deliberately concealing information that would help explain what happened to missing flight MH370, the country's Opposition Leader has claimed.

Sir Peter Jackson's personal jet is helping to relay messages between various military aircraft searching for the missing Malaysia Airline passenger plane, the Royal New Zealand Air Force says.

The Malaysian authorities have insisted that "someone on the plane" was responsible for the disappearance of Flight MH370.

Objects seen by a RNZAF crew may have no connection to MH370, but the head of NZ's Joint Forces says staff are getting good results from 'difficult and demanding' work.

More details are expected to emerge today about items spotted by an RNZAF Orion searching for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

A Chicago law firm is preparing for what could be a multimillion dollar lawsuit following the Malaysia Airlines tragedy.

Danica Weeks learned her husband Paul had died on flight MH370 via text message.

A New Zealand criminologist has come out in support of a theory that the captain of the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft was on a suicide mission.