HRABOVE, Ukraine (AP) — Seven weeks after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, the wreckage is still scattered across fields there.
Evidence from the disaster that killed all 298 people on board is still exposed to the elements. Chunks of the fuselage are lined up alongside a roadblock set up by pro-Russian rebels. Books, magazines, a child’s shoe and a burned page from a manual are nearby.
Hundreds of miles away in the Netherlands, investigators who haven’t been to the crash site released a preliminary report today saying the plane broke apart, likely after being hit by multiple “high-energy objects.” But the report left unanswered some key questions about what exactly happened.
The slow pace of the investigation, and the fact that wreckage and human remains are still lying in Ukraine, are frustrating to families and friends of those who died. A Dutch mother who lost two sons in the crash says she wants the people responsible for bringing down the plane to be brought to justice “as soon as possible.”
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160-a-09-(Tjibbe Joustra (CHIH’-buh YOW’-struh), chairman, Dutch Safety Board, in AP interview)-“our main conclusion”-Dutch Safety Board chairman Tjibbe Joustra says the plane was brought down by an external force. (9 Sep 2014)
< 161-a-12-(Tjibbe Joustra (CHIH’-buh YOW’-struh), chairman, Dutch Safety Board, in AP interview)-“isn’t gettng better”-Dutch Safety Board chairman Tjibbe Joustra says the board wants to get investigators to the site to recover wreckage in order to perform forensic investigations, but has been held back by heavy fighting in the area. (9 Sep 2014) < APPHOTO XSG111: Pieces of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 plane are seen near village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014. The Dutch team investigating the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Eastern Ukraine says the crash was likely caused by the plane being hit by multiple “high-energy objects from outside the aircraft.” The preliminary report published Tuesday by the Dutch Safety Board stopped short of saying the Boeing 777 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, but its findings appear to point to that conclusion. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) (9 Sep 2014) < Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.