Dutch PM Asks Russiato Cooperate in MH17 Criminal Investigation

Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 crashed after being hit by a Russian-made missile, according to a Dutch investigation into the disaster in July a year ago.

Despite the discovery, the Dutch Safety Board has yet to determine who is personally responsible for firing the missile. Rob Fredriksz, whose son Bryce was killed on the flight, said he was relieved to hear that those on board the stricken plane likely died nearly instantly.

The final report was presented at the Gilze-Rijen military airport in the country’s south, and the victims’ families were briefed first on the findings in The Hague.

It recommended worldwide aviation rules be changed to force operators to be more transparent about their choice of routes.

Robby Oehlers, whose cousin Daisy was among the dead, said the gathering was “as quiet as a mouse” as Dutch Safety Board chairman Tjibbe Joustra explained the conclusions of the 15-month investigation.

“Our assessment is unchanged – MH17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired from separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine”, National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement Tuesday morning. When pressed by a journalist on Tuesday about the reports that Zaroshenske was in fact in rebel hands at the time of the crash, Novikov said it was outside his competence to comment on “who occupied what” at the time.

This includes identification of the weapon system based on fragments in the 777’s wreckage, the crew, the damage pattern to the jet, and the manner of the in-flight break-up. Following the explosion, the front of the aircraft “broke off”, sending the plane to the ground over the eastern region of Ukraine.

The experiment, it said, disproved claims the plane was shot down from Snizhne, a village controlled by pro-Russian rebels.

Although the main focus of the Safety Board’s investigation was the crash’s cause, the agency will also address several other important questions surrounding the crash.

Shrapnel from the Russian made BUK was found inside the bodies of the crew members and everyone lost consciousness instantly, stated the report.

Meanwhile, Almaz-Antey, the Russian manufacturer of BUK missiles, held a concurrent event contesting the Dutch findings with results from experiments it carried out itself.