Malaysia Airlines MH17 flew 480km north of normal route

The Malaysian airliner shot down over Ukraine was reportedly taking a significantly different route to its usual course for flights from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
According to the Telegraph, the doomed MH17 flight took a route about 480 km (300 miles) to the north of its usual path and went down near Donetsk while most Malaysia Airlines flights from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur travel a route significantly further south of the Donetsk region, and cross the zone above the Sea of Azov.
Flight MH17 was flying an active air route known as airway L980. Hours before the crash, Russia closed four airways near the Ukrainian border, including airway A87 that was a continuation of MH17’s route.
Reports suggested the pilot might have diverted from his usual flight plan to avoid a thunderstorm. Malaysia Airlines has insisted that its plane had travelled on an ‘approved route’ used by many other carriers.