COMMENT Have you ever encountered a lemming? Chances are, you wouldn’t have, unless you live in the Arctic region. A lemming is a type of rodent that reproduces very quickly. So quickly, in fact, that entire colonies often embark on mass migrations in order to find new territory.

In popular folklore, this is commonly portrayed as thousands of lemmings leaping off a cliff, committing group suicide because they obey herd instinct.

In light of the latest tragedy that’s hit Malaysia Airlines this past week, many people have questioned why Flight MH17 was allowed to fly into hostile airspace to begin with.

Why didn’t the management choose to deviate to a safer route? Why were no warnings issued? Did corporate profiteering eclipse passenger safety?

Malaysia Airlines has defended its decision. The management pointed to the fact that the International Civil Aviation Organisation had cleared Ukrainian airspace for use by commercial traffic. No red flags had been issued.

In addition, other notable carriers such as Singapore Airlines and Aeroloft were also using that exact same flight path. Some even did so with a higher level of frequency than Malaysia Airlines.

So does this absolve the powers-that-be of responsibility? In my opinion, only partially.

Some airlines did avoid route

In the months leading up to the tragic shoot-down, several carriers such as Qantas Airways and Korean Air had, in fact, made the decision to deviate from that flight path. They did so as early as March.

This was in response to several notices issued by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the Federal Aviation Administration. For the most part, these were yellow flags urging caution, as opposed to red flags urging avoidance.

Still, it appeared that the management of these carriers exercised their own judgement. They chose to treat the yellow flags as red flags.

What prompted their vigilant decision? Well, for one thing, the tempo of the fighting in Eastern Ukraine had grown increasingly fierce in recent months.

This has led to several military aircraft being shot down over the conflict zone. Most notably, on 16th July, mere days before the MH17 tragedy, a Ukrainian fighter jet had been brought down by enemy fire.

At the time, it was widely believed that the most immediate threat came from shoulder-fired missiles, which posed a danger to aircraft flying below 30,000 feet.

Not many people, it seemed, stopped to consider the possibility that vehicle-fired missiles with a range beyond 30,000 feet might also pose an additional danger.

Bad luck or tidak apa attitude?

In Malaysian corporate culture, there is a mythic attitude known as ‘tidak apa’. Loosely translated, it means ‘It doesn’t matter.’

Right now, it’s impossible to determine how much of a factor that mindset may have played in the decision-making process. Until a full and independent inquiry is carried out, we won’t know very much at all.

Nonetheless, in the grand scheme of things, the ‘tidak apa’ attitude isn’t confined to Malaysia Airlines alone. Singapore Airlines is just as guilty of the attitude. So is Aeroloft. So is Lufthansa. So is every carrier that made the negligent decision to fly over Eastern Ukraine.

Unfortunately, through a combination of bad luck and hubris, it was the innocent passengers aboard Flight MH17 that paid the ultimate price.

If you’re a frequent flyer, chances are, you will select a carrier based on price, convenience and quality of service. But how often does security awareness factor into your choice? Do you actually know why your plane is taking a particular flight path? Do you even care? Take a moment to process all of that.

People often say lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice. But, as any meteorologist will tell you, probability is not the same as possibility. We shouldn’t make false assumptions that will only put us in peril.

In short, don't act like a lemming.

JOHN LING is a Malaysian-born author based in New Zealand. You can find out more about him and his work at johnling.net