MH17 crash report: Dutch investigators confirm Buk missile hit plane - live updates

Here’s Luke Harding’s latest dispatch from the Gilze Rijen airbase.

With that we are going to bring this blog to a close.

Dutch investigators released this animation of what they conclude happened to flight MH17.

Cameron: report a step closer to the truth

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David Cameron said the report advances the search for truth about how MH17 was shot down.

In a statement the prime minister said:

“We have always been clear that justice must be done for all of the victims of MH17 and today’s report brings us one step closer to establishing the truth. We, alongside our partners, will continue to send a clear message; those responsible for downing this plane will be held to account.”

Claudio Villaca-Vanetta, whose husband Glenn Thomas, from Blackpool, died on board MH17, told BBC Radio 4’s World at One:

“We had some of the answers we were looking for today, but by far not all of them.

“We now know for sure that Malaysia Airlines was allowed to fly there, and we know now that it was a bad decision by Ukraine to leave the airspace open and that by just raising the cruise height it was safe for commercial airliners. We know there was a missile which is manufactured in Russia only.

“Of course, this doesn’t tell us who did it, who is accountable for it. That is where we want to get now.”

Mr Villaca-Vanetta said victims’ families had been told their loved ones would have died instantly or very quickly. But he added: “Even if it was the estimated nine seconds for somebody to lose consciousness, it is still a lot of time. For most families of victims, including myself, we went through counselling and this was maybe the hardest point to accept - the cruelty and the violence on bodies.”

Rob Fredriksz, whose son Bryce was killed on the flight MH17 says that those on board felt and knew nothing when they died.

In case there is still any doubt that Buk missile was used to shoot down MH17, Julian Borger picks out a section from Annex X of the report - an analysis of the high-energy objects that hit the plane conducted by the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory.

“Based upon the damage examination it is concluded that the impact damage on the wreckage of flight MH17 is caused by a warhead with various types of preformed fragments in the 6-14 mm size range, including one type with a bowtie shape detonating to the left of, and above, the cockpit.”

“The damage observed on the wreckage is not consistent with the damage caused by the warhead of an air-to-air missile in use in the region in amount of damage, type of damage and type of fragments. The high-energy object damage on the wreckage of flight MH17 is therefore not caused by an air-to-air missile.”

“Of the investigated warheads only the 9N314M contains the unique bowtie shaped fragments found in the wreckage. The damage observed on the wreckage in amount of damage, type of damage, boundary and impact angles of damage, number and density of hits, size of penetrations and bowtie fragments found in the wreckage, is consistent with the damage caused by the 9N314M warhead used in the 9M38 and 9M38M1 BUK surface-to-air missile.”

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Julian Borger picks out more key passages from the report.

Missile shrapnel found in debris

The investigators collected pieces apparently from a surface-to-air missile. “In order to not risk impeding the criminal investigation, the Dutch Safety Board has decided not to publish images of all of the recovered fragments,” it says, but it does show three parts: an engine nozzle, part of one of the four stabiliser fins and a data cable. The report says: “The shape and form of the parts recovered is consistent with a 9M38 series surface-to-air missile.”

As a reference, the report shows pictures of a 9M38M1 missile, but in the text it just refers to the missile involved more vaguely as a ‘9M38 series’ missile.

Metal fragments bound in the bodies of crew members

120 objects (mostly metal graments) were found in the body of the First Officer, mostly in the left side of the upper torso.

More than 100 objects werre found in the body of the Purser. “Hundreds” of metal fragments were found in the fragmented body of the Captain

Explosive traces found

“Approximately 30 of the 126 swab samples showed traces of mainly two different explosives; the nitroamine RDX and the trinitrotoluene (TNT). A few of the 30 samples showed traces of PETN. On the tested missile part traces of RDX was found.”

Fragment analysis

“72 fragments that were similar in size, mass and shape were further investigated”

“43 of the 72 fragments were found to be made of unalloyed steel and four of these fragments, although heavily deformed and damaged, had distinctive shapes; cubic and in the form of a bow-tie.”

Victim found with emergency oxygen mask

“During the victim identification process in the Netherlands, one passenger was found with an emergency oxygen mask ... The strap was around the passenger’s neck and the mask was around the throat.”

Here’s a summary of the Dutch Safety Board account of the MH17 crash, and the reaction to its report.

• The report concluded that MH17 was shot down by a Buk surface-to-air missile which exploded less than a metre from the cockpit. It said the front of the aircraft was destroyed by the missile, killing the three pilots instantly and causing the rest of the plane to break apart.
• Bow-tie shape fragments in the debris and traces of paint were crucial in determining the precise model of warhead involved. The report named the missile used as a 9N314M warhead as carried on a 9M38-series missile and launched by a Buk surface-to-air missile system.
• A partial-reconstruction of the Malaysian Airlines Boeing shot down has been pieced together from wreckage from the crash site in eastern Ukraine. The reconstruction has helped to validate the board’s conclusions, according to Tjibbe Joustra, the board’s chairman.
• The makers of Buk missile systems, Almaz-Antey, gave a press conference on Tuesday morning apparently aimed at distracting attention from the Dutch report. It said it had performed two experiments proves one of its missiles could not have been launched from areas under pro-Russia separatist control.
• Barry Sweeney, whose son Liam, was one of 10 British victims of the crash said he hoped all the passengers were killed as soon as the plane was hit. He said: “We can’t be 100% sure [that nobody suffered on the flight] but we’ve got to sort of think that was the case.”
  
• But the report found that some passengers could have been conscious after the missile hit. It said: “It could not be ascertained at which exact moment occupants died, but it is certain that the impact on the ground was not survivable.”
• The Russian government has challenged the finding that a Buk missile shot down the plane. The DSB noted Russia’s objections but issued a point-by-point rebuttal.
• Britain’s foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, welcomed the report and called on those responsible to be “held to account”. Ukraine repeated its accusation that Russian militants were behind the attack.
• The report did not deal with “blame and culpability”. A second criminal investigation by the Dutch prosecutor’s office, scheduled to conclude early in 2016, is expected to answer the most politically charged question: who shot down flight MH17?

The report discusses the difficulty in recovering the wreckage, writes Julian Borger. He picks out this passage:

“It should be noted that many pieces of the wreckage were not physically examined by the Dutch Safety Board until four months after the crash. During this period some parts were removed, therefore it was not possible to retrieve all wreckage pieces. Wherever possible, the photographs taken immediately after the crash were used in conjuction with the wreckage found.”

When investigators first arrived at the crash site, they photographed upper parts of the fuselage above the business class, which showed perforation and soot. But the report adds: “The upper parts of the fuselage above the business class were no longer present at the time of the recovery mission.”

Britain’s foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, has welcomed the report and called on those responsible to “held to account”.

Ukraine has repeated its accusation that Russian militants were behind the attack. Deputy prime minister Hennadiy Zubko said the attack was launched in territory controlled by Russian-backed rebels.

The British Airline Pilots’ Association has called for clear No Fly Zone guidance to prevent a repeat of the MH17 tragedy.

Stephen Landells flight safety specialist at Balpa, said:

“Pilots want to make every flight safe and comfortable for passengers and need cast-iron information to ensure where they are flying is safe. Passengers and pilots want an open and uniform level of safety, not one that is decided in secret and in different ways by airlines and countries.

“The aviation community worldwide needs to work together to share information. We would like ICAO and the UN to use their influence to encourage all nation states to take advantage of this unique resource to ensure the safety of the travelling public worldwide.”