Flight MH17 probe: Buk missile brought down plane; passengers ‘felt nothing’
A man walks amongst the debris at the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Hrabove, Ukraine, last year. Pic: AP.
By Asian Correspondent Staff Oct 13, 2015
The father of a young man killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a missile over eastern Ukraine last year said Tuesday he was relieved to hear that those on board the stricken plane likely died almost instantly.
Rob Fredriksz was speaking after a presentation of the key findings of the 15-month investigation into the downing of MH17 that broke up in midair and plunged to the ground, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
Fredriksz’s son Bryce was among those killed in the July 17, 2014 disaster. Flight MH17 was traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam when it was brought down.
Fredriksz said the key findings presented to families were: “That it was a Buk missile, made in Russia. That was clearly indicated. That Ukraine should have closed the air space and that the passengers absolutely felt and knew nothing.”
He said some family members became emotional when they were shown an animation portraying the downing of the plane.
The Dutch Safety Board said in its report released later Tuesday that Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was downed by a Buk surface-to-air missile as it flew over eastern Ukraine.
It added that the plane should never have been flying there as Ukraine should have closed its airspace to civil aviation. It says “nobody gave any thought” to the risk.
Dutch investigators unveiled a ghostly reconstruction of the forward section of MH17, the Malaysian airliner shot down over Ukraine last year.
This was rebuilt by crash investigators from wreckage recovered from Ukraine.
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Some of the nose, cockpit and business class of the Boeing 777 were rebuilt from fragments of the aircraft recovered from the crash scene and flown to Gilze-Rijen air base in southern Netherlands.
A group of journalists fell silent as the reassembled wreckage, much of it twisted and riddled with holes, was presented.
The cousin of a woman killed on Flight MH17 also said that the official investigation into the cause of the disaster last year has concluded that a Buk missile downed the plane.
Projectiles with thecharacteristic “double tee” formation of components of the warhead of a Buk missile are displayed during a news conference, Tuesday. Pic: AP.
Robby Oehlers, whose cousin Daisy was among the 298 people killed when the Boeing 777 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, says the conclusion was shared with family members at a meeting Tuesday,
Oehlers said it was “as quiet as a mouse” as Dutch Safety Board chairman Tjibbe Joustra explained the conclusions of the 15-month investigation to family.
The meeting with families of victims came ahead of the official presentation later Tuesday of the investigation’s final report.
The full video report can be viewed below, or on PDF here:
