1 | The wreckage of flight MH17 in a hangar at Gilze-Rijen airbase, Netherlands. |
2 | Metal fragments recovered from a field in eastern Ukraine may be the 'smoking gun' that proves a Buk surface-to-air missile shot down flight MH17 last year. |
3 | Expert investigators announced on Tuesday that they were examining several parts, possibly originating from a Buk missile system, which were recovered from eastern Ukraine in the area where MH17 came down. |
4 | Debris from the crash in 2014. |
5 | "The parts are of particular interest to the criminal investigation as they can possibly provide more information about who was involved in the crash of MH17," said a joint statement by the Dutch Safety Board, which is co-ordinating the air safety investigation, and the Joint Investigation Team which runs the criminal investigation into the tragedy. |
6 | The JIT will further investigate the origin of the parts, enlisting international experts including forensic specialists and weapon experts. |
7 | However the DSB and JIT said it was too early to be certain of the nature and source of the parts. |
8 | Australian Federal Police officers and their Dutch counterparts at the MH17 crash site. |
9 | "At present the conclusion cannot be drawn that there is a causal connection between the discovered parts and the crash of flight MH17," the statement said. |
10 | The parts will be covered in the DSB's report, which is due in October. |
11 | The international team producing the report - including flight safety experts form Australia - are this week examining a reconstruction of the cockpit and part of the business class cabin from MH17, rebuilt from parts recovered from Ukraine. |
12 | The plane crashed in Ukraine's east on July 17, 2014, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members aboard - including 39 people who called Australia home. |
13 | The meeting of experts which began on Monday is intended to hash out their final conclusions after a two-month review of a draft report. |
14 | As well as discussing the progress of the investigation they will visit air force base Gilze-Rijen to view the reconstruction. |
15 | However the meeting may also feature heated argument, as Russia has flagged it is unhappy with the draft report's reasoning and its conclusion which blames Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine's east. |
16 | The experts from Australia, Malaysia, Ukraine, Russia, the US and UK will discuss two draft reports on the crash: one on its cause, and another that assesses whether the plane should have been assigned its given flight path. |
17 | The Dutch Safety Board sent the draft reports to those countries' flight safety boards in June, with 60 days assigned for them to respond. |
18 | The final report is due in October, however some details have leaked. |
19 | In July CNN said the draft report pointed to pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine having shot down the plane using a Buk missile launched from a village under their control. |