Dutch investigators have released a report into the MH17 incident, highlighting the final moments of the 298 passengers and crew on board Malaysia Airlines’ 777-300ER.
Organised by the Dutch Safety Board, the report said it was around 1.20pm on 17 July 2014 (UTC) when the aircraft was struck by a ‘BUK Missile’ – a weapon originally created to provide defence against cruise missiles, smart bombs and aircraft.
It was launched ‘somewhere in an area of 320 sq km in Eastern Ukraine’ and struck the aircraft from the front left, causing the plane to rip apart into several pieces.
Six sights were identified where parts of the aircraft came down, including Hrabove where the aft and tail landed as well as Rozsypne and Petropavlivka.
Despite travelling at a higher section of air space over Ukraine, the Dutch Safety Board believes ‘there was sufficient reason to close airspace’ above the eastern part of Ukraine as a precaution. This was due to previous incidents involving 16 military aircraft which had been shot down in the weeks prior to MH17.
Sadly, the report did reveal that passengers were likely to have ‘remained conscious for some time during the one-and-a-half minutes for which the crash lasted’.
That’s 90 seconds of fear and panic after the plane was hit by the missile.
Concluding the report, the Dutch Safety Board said in the future more must be done to protect civil aviation during times of conflict.
The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, believes it’s now vital for authorities to ‘trace and prosecute the perpetrators’.
Further details of the report can be found in the video below released by the Dutch Safety Board.
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Malaysia Airlines welcomed the report, saying it would give clarity to families affected by the tragedy.
“Malaysia Airlines is very grateful for the support from the Dutch government in dealing with all aspects of the tragedy and in leading the technical investigation.”
Malaysia Airlines
“MAS has worked very closely with the Dutch Authorities and given full cooperation to the investigative team. We welcome the publication of the report and hope that it will give clarity to the affected families of the tragic incident.”
