White House calls Dutch report on MH17 crash ‘milestone’

On the other side, Ned Price, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said the US remained convinced that the Russian-backed rebels were responsible. The Russian-made Buk had always been speculated as the cause and the report found that missile fragments found in the cockpit crew’s bodies, paint traces and the spray pattern of the blast were all consistent with the Buk.

“The results of the experiment completely dispute the conclusions of the Dutch commission about the type of the rocket and the launch site”, said Yan Novikov, director of Almaz-Antey, which has been put under Western sanctions.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The investigation also plotted simulated flight paths and concluded the missile was launched from a 124-square-mile region.

Investigators found no evidence of “conscious actions” by anyone on board flight MH17 after the missile struck.

Between July 14 and 17 a year ago, 61 operators from 32 countries routed their flights through the airspace over eastern Ukraine.

The Russians, of course, continue to insist that the missile must have been fired by the Ukrainian forces – in much the same way they insist they are targeting only the Islamic State in Syria with their airstrikes and surely not the Syrian rebels fighting the Assad regime.

The Dutch Safety Board, which led the global team of investigators, has stressed its mandate was not to determine who pulled the trigger, amid a separate criminal probe by Dutch prosecutors. “The Task Force recommended that ICAO should establish an online system where States could share their conflict zone information more effectively, and where the public could also access it”.

The plane broke apart in the air, with the tail falling to earth first and then the central section with the engines, which landed upside down and caught fire.

While noting that Russian Federation is studying the final report released on Tuesday by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB), Zakharova said Russian Federation has always expressed willingness but was refused to participate in previous investigations “on different pretexts”.

Analyst Peter Felstead of Jane’s Defense Weekly said the airliner was most likely shot down “by mistake” by a BUK missile crew, who crossed the border to help the rebels counter Ukrainian air threats. On the day of the crash, 160 flights flew over the area but no one thought civil aviation was at risk. Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine may set up an independent tribunal instead, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said last month.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called on Russian Federation to cooperate in the criminal investigation, adding “the priority now is to find and pursue those who are responsible”. We have, however, concluded that, as a precaution, there was sufficient reason for Ukraine authorities to close the airspace above the eastern part of their country.