Flight MH17 hit by high-energy objects, says Dutch preliminary report

The report, which was published today by the Dutch Safety Board, said that there are no indications that the MH17 tragedy was caused by a technical fault, emergency or by actions of the crew.

Chairman of the Dutch Safety Board, Tjibbe Joustra, said more research will be necessary to determine the cause with greater precision.

“The Safety Board believes that additional evidence will become available for investigation in the period ahead.”

“The preliminary report issues the first findings in the ongoing investigation. From this point on, the investigation team will be working towards producing its final report. The Board aims to publish this report within one year of the date of the crash.”

According to the report, the cockpit voice recorder revealed no signs of any technical faults or an emergency situation.

“The flight data recorder registered no aircraft system warnings, and aircraft engine parameters were consistent with normal operation during the flight.

“The radio communications with Ukrainian air traffic control confirm that no emergency call was made by the cockpit crew.

“The final calls by Ukrainian air traffic control made between 13.20:00 and 13.22:02 (UTC) remained unanswered,” the report said.

The report further said that the pattern of damage to the aircraft fuselage and the cockpit is consistent with that which may be expected from a large number of high-energy objects that penetrated the aircraft from outside.

“It’s likely that this damage resulted in a loss of structural integrity of the aircraft, leading to an in-flight break up.

“This also explains the abrupt end to the data registration on the recorders, the simultaneous loss of contact with air traffic control and the aircraft's disappearance from radar.”

Furthermore, it said based on the available maintenance history the airplane was airworthy when it took off from Amsterdam and there were no known technical problems.

“The aircraft was manned by a qualified and experienced crew.”

The draft preliminary report has been sent to the Accredited Representative of the states that participate in the investigation (Malaysia, Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia) for review.