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MH17 Crash Report: What We Know Now

Dutch investigators have released a 279-page report into the shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine in which 298 people died.

Here is what we learned from the report.

:: The Cause

A 9N314M warhead carried on a 9M38-series missile and launched by the Buk surface-to-air missile system brought down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

The missile detonated outside and above the left-hand side of the cockpit.

The explosion almost instantaneously broke off the front of the plane, causing the aircraft to break up.

The blast could have caused structural damage to up to 12.5 metres of the plane.

A large number of small fragments hit the aircraft at high velocity, all originating from the left-hand side of the plane.

Other possible causes ruled out based on evidence included air-to-air gunfire, an air-to-air missile, a lightning strike and a meteor or space debris re-entering the atmosphere.

:: The Plane's Occupants

Relatives of those on the flight were told by investigators their loved ones died almost instantly.

The three crew members in the cockpit were killed immediately by shrapnel from the missile.

While no other bodies were found to have been hit by rocket fragments, some would probably have suffered fatal injuries in the extreme conditions following the impact, as objects flew around the cabin of the plummeting aircraft.

Others would have been rendered unconscious by the sudden decompression of the aircraft and a lack of oxygen at 33,000 feet, the board's official report found.

The report did state: "It cannot be ruled out that some occupants remained conscious for some time during the one to one-and-a-half minutes for which the crash lasted."

However, it was deemed likely "the occupants were barely able to comprehend the situation in which they found themselves".

It was established the impact on the ground was "non-survivable".

One passenger was found with an oxygen mask around their neck although it is unclear if they had put it on in a reflex or if it was done by someone on the ground after they were killed.

:: Flying Over Conflict Zones

The inquiry found that the risks posed by the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine to overflying civilian aircraft were not adequately recognised.

Prior to the crash, the conflict had extended into the air, increasing the threat to planes.

There had been sufficient reason for the Ukrainian authorities to close the airspace above the eastern part of the country as a precaution, said investigators.

Other parties, including the operator Malaysia Airlines and the International Civil Aviation Organisation, also did not identify the potential threat posed by the conflict to overflying planes.

The report said there was an "urgent need" to tackle the weaknesses in the system governing civilian aviation over conflict zones.

:: Do We Know Any More About Who Was Responsible?

The investigation was not tasked with apportioning blame or liability for the crash - that will be addressed by criminal investigators later.

The Dutch Safety Board highlighted an area of about 123 square miles (320 square km) from which it said the missile was launched.

All the territory within the area it identified was in the hands of Russian-backed rebels at the time of the crash.

Both the Russian and Ukrainian militaries have Buk missile systems in their arsenal.

Ukraine and the West claim Russian-backed separatists or Russian forces launched the missile.

Russia says if the plane was downed by a missile, it must have been launched by Ukrainian government forces.

Moscow has rejected the findings of the Dutch-led inquiry, including the type of missile used.

The Buk missile is made by a state-controlled Russian company called Almaz-Antey

In its own report, Almaz-Antey says if the plane was hit by a Buk, it was fired from the village of Zaroshenske, which Russia claims was under Ukrainian government control at the time of the crash

Almaz-Antey claims its initial investigation found the plane was downed by a model of Buk no longer used by Russian forces, but that it was still part of the Ukrainian military arsenal.