New investigations led by the Dutch Safety Board regarding the July 17 crash of Malaysia Airlines of Flight 17 indicate that 'high-energy objects' took down the plane when flying over rebel Ukrainian territory. The weapon would have detonated near the plane, showering it with shrapnel and causing the Boeing 777 to break apart mid-air. This supports the widely held belief that the plane was brought down not by a hand-held missile but rather a sophisticated anti-aircraft weapon.
The area where the crash occurred is a current warzone of the Ukrainian conflict, which means investigators have limited access to the actual scene and have been unable to visit the fields where the aircraft fell to the groups after the attack. The Wall Street Journal reports that, because of this, investigators have relied heavily on photographs taken by Ukrainian and Malaysian examiners that visited the site when the crash first happened.
In any case, investigators on the case say that they will not have a complete report of the crash for another year.
Because of the Ukrainian political conflict, it is also unclear what side of the struggle was responsible for the takedown, as the Ukrainian government accuses pro-Russia rebels and they in turn stand by claims that Ukrainian officials were the responsible parties. According to United States intelligence agents, the plane was taken down by pro-Russian rebels; potentially, the weapon would have been a Buk missile.
In the meantime, Netherlands prosecutors are gathering evidence to make a case in the country's courts for the death of 193 Dutch citizens.
The crash, which was said to have occurred at the hands of pro-Russian separatists, took the lives of all 298 passengers and crew who had boarded the aircraft in Amsterdam; these included mostly passengers of Dutch nationality, but also Malaysians and Australians, among others.
