Dutch Safety Board reports on MH17 crash (updated)

This was announced by Chairman of the Dutch Safety Board Tjibbe Joustra during presentation of the final report on the crash causes, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Flight MH17 crashed as a result of the detonation of a warhead outside the airplane against the left-hand side of the cockpit. This warhead fits the kind of missile that is installed in the BUK surface-to-air missile system," the Chairman said.

"The aeroplane was struck by a 9N314M warhead as carried on a 9M38-series missile and launched by a Buk surface-to-air missile system at 13:20 in eastern Ukraine," the Safety Board noted.

The investigation revealed that the front part of the plane had been hit by hundreds of fragments. "As a result, three crew members were killed. The aircraft broke apart in the air," the Board announced, noting that establishment of the exact location of missile launch requires further examination.

As Tjibbe Joustra noted, no one was aware of hazard to civil aircrafts while operating flights over the eastern part of Ukraine.

As reported, the Dutch Safety Board spent 15 months to establish the causes of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 crash killing 298 people on board, mostly the Dutch citizens.

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