GILZE-RIJEN AIR BASE, Netherlands — A missile launched from rebel-held Ukraine smashed into Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, ripping off the cockpit, Dutch investigators reported Tuesday, adding that some passengers may have remained conscious for another minute or so as the airflow tore off their clothes and objects spinning through the cabin killed people in neighboring seats.
The investigators said in their final report that the Buk missile that downed the Boeing 777 exploded less than 3 feet from the cockpit, killing the two pilots and the purser inside in an instant and breaking off the front of the plane. While some of the passengers may have been conscious in the up to 90 seconds it took to hit the ground, they probably were not fully aware of what was happening.
The tragedy that killed all 298 people aboard the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur wouldn't have happened if the airspace of eastern Ukraine had been closed to passenger planes as fighting raged below, the Dutch Safety Board added.
"Our investigation showed that all parties regarded the conflict in eastern part of Ukraine from a military perspective. Nobody gave any thought of a possible threat to civil aviation," Safety Board chairman Tjibbe Joustra said.
The report did not consider who launched the missile. However, it identified an area of 320 square kilometers from which the launch must have taken place. All the territory within the area was in rebel separatist hands at the time of the crash, according to daily maps of fighting released by the Ukrainian National Security Council.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.