[5] Contact with the aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER, was lost when it was about 50km (31mi) from the UkraineRussia border, and wreckage from the aircraft fell near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, 40km (25mi) from the border. Bezler said the recording was real, but referred to a different incident. Korean Air Lines flight 007, flight of a passenger jet that was shot down by Soviet air-to-air missiles on September 1, 1983, near Sakhalin Island, Russia, killing all 269 persons on board. [170] The separatists later denied involvement, saying they did not have the equipment or training to hit a target at that altitude. [18] Radar data, allegedly from Russian air traffic controllers, which was leaked to a Moscow newspaper, was claimed to be proof that there were Ukrainian military jets near MH17. [186] American intelligence agencies said that analysis of the launch plume and trajectory suggested the missile was fired from an area near Torez and Snizhne. [292], Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the crash the result of an act of terrorism, and also called for an international investigation into the crash. [342][343], On the evening of the crash, the LifeNews portal reported that at around 16:00 local time the separatists shot down "Ukrainian Air Force An-26 transport plane" with a missile, calling it "a new victory for the Donetsk militia". [284][285], In July 2015 a writ was filed in an American court by families of 18 victims accusing the separatist leader Igor Girkin of "orchestrating the shootdown" and the Russian government of being complicit in the act. Narrowing down a specific launch site was outside the DSB's mandate. [3]:44[134] The voice recorder was damaged but there was no evidence that data had been tampered with. The report also noted that "Russian claims the missile had been fired by Ukrainian soldiers and that a Ukrainian fighter jet had been flying close to the passenger jet were false". ", "Did the Ukrainian rebels even know they were shooting at a civilian aircraft? [171][172][173] Russian media also reported that Alexander Borodai called one of the Moscow media managers 40 minutes after the crash, saying that "likely we shot down a civilian airliner". ", "High-tech spycraft tracked missile's path to Malaysia Airlines jet", "MH17: why the culprits may never be caught", "MH17 likely shot down by mistake by Russian separatists, US intelligence official says", "SBU releases more conversations implicating Russia in shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight (Video, Transcript)", "Design of Surface-to-Air Missile Systems Makes Accidents Far from Improbable", "This Flaw In The Buk Missile System Makes It Really Easy To Accidentally Shoot Down A Passenger Jet", "Wreckage Offers Clues on Why Flight 17 Went Down", "Photo of MH17 wreckage proves missile attack, claims report", "Evidence of Separatists' Possession of Buk System Before Downing of MH17", "Novaya Gazeta Editor: Boroday Called Moscow Press About Downing of Civilian Airliner", " MH17: ", "Donetsk People's Republic militia downs another Ukraine's An-26 plane eyewitnesses", "Attack on Flight MH17: After the tragedy, the accusations rain down", "MH17: Ultimate responsibility lies with Putin", "Web evidence points to pro-Russia rebels in downing of MH17 (+video)", "Ukrainians report sightings of missile launcher on day of MH17 crash", "Ukraine says has 'compelling evidence' Russian crew shot down Malaysian plane", " "", Boeing-777 , ", "Ukraine video claims proof of Russia-supplied anti-aircraft system", "Smoking Guns: Russian Separatists Shot Down Malaysian Flight MH17; Putin Must Be Held Responsible", "Here Are The Intercepted Transcripts Indicating Russian Rebels Shot Down Malaysian Flight MH17", "Both sides in Ukraine deny shooting down plane", "Malaysian plane was shot down by rebels, intercepted phone calls prove, Ukraine's president says", "An audience with Ukraine rebel chief Igor Bezler, the Demon of Donetsk", "Separatists planned terrorist attacks against Aeroflot aircraft on day of MH17 crash as pretext for Russian invasion into Ukraine- SBU chief", "Ukraine Says Rebels Mistook Doomed Flight MH17 for Aeroflot Plane", "Terrorists and militants planned cynical terrorist attack at Aeroflot civil aircraft", "U.S scrambles to determine who fired Russian-made missile at jet", "Ukraine war zone tempers Federal Police attempts to access MH17 crash site", "MH17 crash: Black boxes show plane suffered 'massive explosive decompression' following shrapnel hit", "MH17 disaster: Russians 'controlled Buk missile system', "Is The MH17 Joint Investigation Team Avoiding The Question of Kremlin Guilt? [141], On 30 July 2014, a Ukrainian representative said that pro-Russian rebels had mined approaches to the crash site and moved heavy artillery. Some occupants might have suffered serious injuries that contributed to their deaths before the crash. The man, who was an asylum-seeker from Ukraine, did not witness the crash and his speech, texted to him by Omtzigt prior to the interview, repeated the Russian-promoted version that Ukrainian jets downed the Boeing. [62][63] 37 airlines continued overflying eastern Ukraine and about 900 flights crossed the Donetsk region in the seven days before the Boeing 777 was shot down. 7:01 7-Minute Listen Playlist Download Embed Enlarge this image An apartment building in Izium, Ukraine, that was damaged by Russian forces. "[158] Other sources suggest the missile was launched from the separatist-controlled town of Chernukhino. [3]:60, 136 An explosive decompression occurred, tearing the forward section of the aircraft into pieces, causing the middle and rear sections to tear into three sections and depressurizing the cabin. [74] Photographs from the site of the crash show scattered pieces of broken fuselage and engine parts, bodies, and passports. [174], On 19 July 2014, Vitaly Nayda, the chief of the Counter Intelligence Department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), told a news conference, "We have compelling evidence that this terrorist act was committed with the help of the Russian Federation. [126][228] According to JIT head prosecutor Fred Westerbeke the criminal investigation is based on "immense body of evidence," including testimonies of live witnesses who saw the Buk launcher, primary radar data, original photos and videos. [3]:149163 The aircraft began disintegrating immediately after being struck by a missile. [29] Many initial reports had erroneously indicated that around 100 delegates to the conference were aboard, but this was later revised to six. [96] It took until late July before the full international team could start working at the crash site,[140] under the leadership of the Dutch Ministry of Defence. [223], In the week following the public appeal, the JIT received more than 300 responses resulting in dozens of "serious witnesses". "[328] In 2014 Newcastle United installed the 'Alder Sweeney Memorial Garden' outside their St James' Park stadium in memory of Alder, Sweeney and all those killed on Flight MH17. "[239] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia to "accept responsibility and fully cooperate in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2166. [372][373] Military and security analyst Luk Visingr also said that the Su-25 could not shoot down a Boeing 777. [169] Russian news agency TASS also reported eyewitness accounts claiming that the Donbas militia had just shot down a Ukrainian An-26 military aircraft with a missile. Conversely the Malaysian prosecutor supported the investigation by saying the findings "are based on extensive investigations and also legal research". What is known about flight MH17? [93] An agreement had been reached that the Netherlands would co-ordinate the identification effort. [61], In April, the International Civil Aviation Organization had warned governments that there was a risk to commercial passenger flights over south-eastern Ukraine. [6] In a press statement, White House spokesman Josh Earnest called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine to allow for a full investigation. This was quickly dismissed as Putin's flight route was hundreds of kilometres north of Ukraine. [386], On 17 September 2018, Russia's Ministry of Defence held a press conference at which Lt. Gen. Nikolai Parshin, chief of the Missile and Artillery Directorate, said that after Dutch investigators displayed parts of the missile and their serial numbers, they had studied and declassified archives at the research centre that produced the Buk missiles. [3]:23 It was due to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 06:10 MYT, Friday, 18 July (22:10 UTC, 17 July). [5][3]:4647 & 111 The flight recorders show no sign of warning or unusual occurrence prior to the end of their recordings, but two sound peaks are heard in the last 20 milliseconds of the CVR recording. Korean Air Lines flight 007 | Missiles, Investigation, & Facts [271] On 17 November 2022, the court handed down life sentences to three defendants, Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Leonid Kharchenko for the murder of 298 passengers and crew. Dat liet het OM de nabestaanden van de vliegramp vanmiddag weten. ET, February 24, 2022 Ukraine armed forces say a sixth Russian plane has been shot down. Netherlands Foreign Minister Stef Blok stated that "the government is now taking the next step by formally holding Russia accountable," and, "The Netherlands and Australia today asked Russia to enter into talks aimed at finding a solution that would do justice to the tremendous suffering and damage caused by the downing of MH17. Airliner carrying 172 passengers nearly shot down over Syria, Russia says [147][148] The recovery operation took a week. The transcript and published segments of the video indicated that Russian-backed rebels arrived at the crash site expecting to find the wreckage of a military aircraft and crew who had parachuted from the aircraft. [50][157] The Daily Telegraph said: "The Telegraph's own inquiries suggest the missile, an SA-11 from a Buk mobile rocket launcher, was possibly fired from a cornfield about 19 kilometres (12mi) to the south of the epicentre of the crash site. [6][309][310] At the end of July, State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev said in an interview for Die Welt that the separatists had shot down the airliner by mistake and that Putin now realised he had supplied the weapon to the "wrong people". [379] Ukrainska Pravda questioned claims about the Ukrainian anti-aircraft unit and stated that Zaroshchenske was under control of pro-Russian forces on the day of the shoot-down. This resolution was jointly proposed by the five JIT member countries. [215][214], The criminal investigation into the downing of MH17 is being led by the Public Prosecution Service of the Dutch Ministry of Justice, and is the largest in Dutch history, involving dozens of prosecutors and 200 investigators. [284][340][341], In July 2014, Sara Firth, who had worked as a correspondent with RT for the previous five years, resigned in protest at the channel's coverage of the crash, which she described as "lies". [376][377] In June 2015, the report was the subject of a press conference and was attributed to Mikhail Malisevskiy, chief engineer at Moscow-headquartered Almaz-Antey, the Buk missile manufacturer. Wagner Forces Shoot Down Russian Airborne Command Post Inside Russia [101] The examination and identification of the bodies was conducted at the Netherlands Army medical regiment training facility in Hilversum and was coordinated by a Dutch forensic team. A train carrying the bodies arrived at the Malyshev Factory, Kharkiv on 22 July. [24] Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 892 engines and carrying 280 seats (33 business and 247 economy), the aircraft had recorded more than 76,300 hours in 11,430 cycles before the crash. [222] The video included some previously undisclosed recordings allegedly of tapped phone conversations between rebel fighters about the Buk. [208][226], On 9 April 2015 Dutch authorities made available 569 documents concerning the shootdown. [338] This is both the largest number of tweets in any 24 hour period, and for any topic in the history of the Internet Research Agency (IRA). [77], Three other commercial aircraft were in the same area when the Malaysian airliner was shot down: Air India Flight 113 (AI113), a Boeing 787 en route from Delhi to Birmingham, EVA Air Flight 88 (BR88), a Boeing 777 en route from Paris to Taipei, and the closest aircraft, Singapore Airlines Flight 351 (SQ351), was 33 kilometres (21mi) away, a Boeing 777 en route from Copenhagen to Singapore. Our fact-check sources: The Boeing 747 airliner was en route from Anchorage to Seoul, but owing to a navigational mistake made by the crew, the airliner drifted from its original planned route and flew through Soviet prohibited airspace. [25] In June 2014 there were about 1,212 aircraft in service, with 340 more on order. [356], On 25 December 2014, Russia's state-operated domestic news agency RIA Novosti quoted the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, saying he saw MH17 shot out of the sky by two Ukrainian jets. [3]:160 Investigators believed that the disintegration of the forward section of the fuselage started between the left-side cockpit windows and the forward, left-exit door. [1], In December 2014, in a letter to the Security Council, the Netherlands' United Nations representative wrote that "the Dutch government is deliberately refraining from any speculation or accusations regarding legal responsibility for the downing of MH17". On 9 September 2014, the preliminary report was released by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB). [278], On 14 March 2022, Australia and the Netherlands announced that they had launched a joint legal action against Russia under Article 84 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. [82][83][84] Other media complained that credit and debit cards were being looted,[85] and there were accusations that evidence at the crash site had been destroyed. ", "Nederlandse leidersrol krijgt juridische basis Vliegtuigcrash in Oekrane", "Dutch Safety Board heads investigation: investigation effort in full swing, black boxes currently being read out", "Press statement by the Trilateral Contact Group", "MH17: pro-Russia rebels will allow access to crash site if ceasefire agreed", "Malaysia Airlines MH17 black boxes reportedly recovered, Russia denies it will take them from rebels", "Ukraine rebels hand over MH17 black boxes and let train carrying bodies leave", " Boeing 777", "Questions and answers concerning the investigation into Flight MH17", "MH17 misbruikt voor opvoeren spanning met Rusland", "MH370 search coordinator to lead Australia's MH17 probe Panel", "Tony Abbott's office floated sending Australian troops into Ukraine conflict, defence expert claims", "MH17 investigators reach crash site two weeks after plane brought down", "Summary Report of a Briefing at Civil Service Level", "Still No Safe Passage to Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Crash Site in Eastern Ukraine", "21 More MH17 Crash Victims Identified, Experts Leave Site", "Netherlands deploys more experts to probe MH17 crash", "Additional MH17 crash investigators return to Netherlands", "Dutch Experts Help Recover MH17 Crash Items Despite Nearby Clashes", "MH17 crash: Dutch salvage team 'unable to start', "MH17: Dutch complete recovery of Malaysia Airlines wreckage in eastern Ukraine", "MH17 crash: Investigators find possible parts of Buk missile used to shoot plane down", "Investigation into possible Buk-missile-parts", "Washington: U.S. officials still don't know who shot down Malaysian airliner", "Militants admit to shooting down MH17 reports", "Watch: Ukraine's pro-Russian rebels discuss MH17's black box in secret recording", "MH17: what we know two days after Malaysia Airlines crash over Ukraine", "De bewijsstukken: Wie schoot MH17 neer? [320] The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2166 on 21 July, regarding an official crime investigation into the incident. Moscow releases audio blaming Ukraine downing MH17 flight that killed almost 300", Criminal investigation of MH17 plane crash by Netherlands Public Prosecution Service, "MH17 Witness Appeal November 2019 with the release of further recorded conversations", "Investigation crash MH17, 17 July 2014 Donetsk", "MH17 crash the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) updates", "Media Statement & Information on Flight MH17", "Full flight history for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17", "Malaysia Airlines plane MH17 'shot down' in Ukraine as it happened", "Map of a Tragedy: How MH17 Came Apart Over Ukraine", "Google map, that tells the story of every Dutch victim", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_17&oldid=1157241449, This page was last edited on 27 May 2023, at 09:01. When MH17 did not respond to several calls, Dnipro Control contacted RND Control again to check if they could see the aircraft on their radar. [311] The Danish Institute for International Studies has pointed out to the similarities of Russian reaction to the downing of Korean Airlines flight KAL-007 in 1983 where the USSR initially denied any involvement. [270], The trial reconvened on 7 March 2022, with the defence presenting oral arguments. [3]:41, A Ukraine Foreign Ministry representative said that the bodies found at the crash site would be taken to Kharkiv for identification, 270 kilometres (170mi) to the north. [60] The battle around Savur-Mohyla has been suggested as the possible context within which the missile that brought down MH17 was fired, as separatists deployed increasingly sophisticated anti-aircraft weaponry in this battle, and had brought down several Ukrainian jets in July. [282][283] In April 2020 the same three teams identified another high-ranking figure in the chain of command referred to by many DPR and LPR operatives as "Vladimir Ivanovich" to be FSB Colonel General Andrey Ivanovich Burlaka, first deputy chief of the Russian border service. [95] In late July, the UK Metropolitan Police sent specialist officers to Ukraine to assist with the recovery, identification and repatriation of bodies. [303] An increase in negative emotions and somatic complaints was observed in the Dutch population during the first four days after the MH17 crash. [237] The German government called on Russia to "fully explain the tragedy. [261] On 14 November 2019 the JIT published a new witnesses appeal and simultaneously released a number of recorded conversations of rebel leaders. On 14 June 2014, a Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 military transport was shot down on approach to Luhansk International Airport, with loss of nine crew members and forty troops. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 - Wikipedia JIT was particularly interested in "the command structure and the role that Russian government officials may have played. Most of the passengers were Israelis visiting relatives in Russia. [280][281], In December 2017, the Russian investigative portal The Insider, the news agency McClatchyDC, and Bellingcat following a joint investigation, confirmed the identity of a high-ranking military officer using a call-sign "Dolphin" to be Colonel General Nikolai Fedorovich Tkachev. It also published a statement from a witness who was said to be a separatist fighter (referred to by first name only) who confirmed that the launcher was placed in that area on the day of the Boeing crash to prevent Ukrainian airstrikes. [5], The Dutch Safety Board reported that both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR) stopped recording at 16:20:03 local time (13:20:03UTC). [227], On 28 September 2016, the JIT gave a press conference in which it concluded that the aircraft was shot down with a 9M38 Buk missile fired from a rebel-controlled field near Pervomaisky (), a town 6km (3.7mi) south of Snizhne. [73], According to the original flight plan, MH17 was to fly over Ukraine at flight level 330 (33,000feet or 10,060metres) and then change to FL 350 around the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk. [339], Conversely, the liberal Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta shortly after the crash published a headline in Dutch that read "Vergeef ons, Nederland" ("Forgive Us, Netherlands"). A possible next step is to present the case to an international court or organization for their judgment. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. [286] In May 2016 families of 33 victims of the crash filed a claim against Russia and president Vladimir Putin in the European Court of Human Rights, arguing Russian actions violated the passengers' right to life. [211], In addition to the technical investigation, the selection of the flight route was also investigated by the DSB. [109] In February and April 2015 new remains were found on the site,[110][111] after which only two victims, both Dutch citizens, had not been identified.[111]. [60] The witness reports backed up photographs and videos which had been posted online, of the Buk launcher in rebel-held territory. [54][55] According to the details reported by Ukraine's RNBO spokesperson Andriy Lysenko, the Ukrainian Su-25 was shot down by an R-27T medium range air-to-air missile fired by a MiG-29 jet from Russian territory while the Su-25 was at an altitude of 8,250 m.[3]:185[56] The Russian Defence Ministry said that the accusations were false. CNN's Arlette Saenz reports on the latest in Ukraine as video shows a Russian fighter jet the Ukrainian government says they shot down . Long-distance flights typically travel at altitudes of 33,000 to 44,000 feet,[65] so the second restriction would effectively close that airspace to civilian overflights, but the second restriction was not noted by the automated systems of Malaysian Airlines and the route was not changed. A Syrian airliner with 172 people on board nearly became the latest commercial jetliner shot . [3]:160 Shortly before crashing into the ground, the rear section of the fuselage, just behind where the two wings were attached to the fuselage, was separated from the middle portion of the fuselage. Only 3% of respondents blamed the disaster on the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. The passenger jet left Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport at 10:15 GMT on 17 July 2014 and was due to arrive at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia the following day. According to Ostanin, the markings on the specific launcher suspected of being used to shoot MH17, together with the number plates of the large goods vehicle that carried the launcher, suggested that it belonged to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Air Defence Forces of the Russian Ground Forces. Officials also claimed that video evidence presented by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), in which the missile that allegedly shot down the airliner was shown being moved from Russia into Ukraine, was fabricated. [105][188][189], On 28 July 2014, Ukrainian security official Andriy Lysenko announced, at a press conference, that black box recorder analysis had revealed that the aircraft had been brought down by shrapnel that caused "massive explosive decompression." [122], In a statement made on 5 July 2017 by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders, it was announced that the JIT countries would prosecute any suspects identified in the downing of flight MH17 in the Netherlands and under Dutch law. He had taken photographs which he had passed to the SBU. By this time, 272 bodies had been recovered, according to Ukrainian officials. 5:33 a.m. [60] The SBU released another recording, which they said was of pro-Russian-separatist leader Igor Bezler being told of an approaching aircraft two minutes before MH17 was shot down. [155] If so, then the missile was fired from a mobile Soviet-designed Buk missile system (NATO reporting name: SA-11 "Gadfly"). The court found that a Russian-made missile supplied from. Personal information and official interviews had been redacted. [117], In July 2015, Malaysia proposed that the United Nations Security Council set up an international tribunal to prosecute those deemed responsible for the downing of the aircraft. This warning did not include the MH17 crash region. [363][364][365][366], Public prosecutors concluded that the claim was false. [92], It was reported on 21 July that with 282 bodies and 87 body fragments found, there were still 16 bodies missing. A Dutch court has found three men guilty of murder for shooting down a passenger jet over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 people. Based on their analysis of debris and damage patterns on the hull of the aircraft, they concluded that the airliner was shot down by a Buk-M1 launcher with a 9M38M1 missile. [144][145] On 13 October 2014, a Dutch-Ukrainian team resumed recovery of victims' personal belongings. [249][250], On 19 June 2019, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service charged four people with murder in connection with the shooting down of the aircraft: three Russians, Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky, and Oleg Pulatov, and one Ukrainian, Leonid Kharchenko. The report concluded that the crash was caused by a Buk 9M38-series surface-to-air missile with a 9N314M warhead. The memorial includes 298 trees, one tree for each victim. [392], According to the Russian military, in what New York magazine called "Russia's Conspiracy Theory", MH17 was shot down by the Ukrainians, using either a surface-to-air missile or a fighter aircraft. Bellingcat analysed his possible role and said that a video showed Tsemakh making "what appears to be a damning admission to his personal involvement in hiding the Buk missile launcher in the aftermath of its use on 17 July 2014". The reason given for the notice was "armed conflict in Ukraine". It said, information from the Russian Ministry of Defence would be carefully studied as soon as the documents were made available, as requested in May 2018 and required by UNSC in 2016. [96], The first remains were flown to Eindhoven in the Netherlands on 23 July,[97] moved there with Dutch air force C-130 and Australian C-17 transport aircraft,[98][99] which landed at Eindhoven Airport just before 16:00 local time. [295] The Malaysian government flew the national flag at half-mast from 18 July until 21 July. [220] Also in December, the assistant secretary of the United States Department of State's European and Eurasian Affairs stated that the United States had given all of the information they held, including classified information, to the Dutch investigators and to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).