Malaysian plane crashes on Ukraine-Russia border - live

[David Guyatt]

Sherlock releases his report. He declines to use the word "bullets" or even "canon shells" as that is far too controversial. Instead he limits himself to 13 innocuous words that mean the same thing, but presented in a way that is open to interpretation by all parties.

The plane was destroyed by " a large number of high energy objects that penetrated the aircraft from outside".

As is to be expected, the Guardian doesn't attempt to bring clarity to the story, or to effect a change in the west's propaganda, or mention eye-witness reports that a Ukrainian fighter, probably a SU25, was flying - been buzzing - in the same vicinity as the airliner, nor that eye-witnesses stated that the fighter shot down the airliner, which whether true or not does have a direct and immediate bearing of "high energy objects penetrating the aircraft". Best to leave common sense and deductive reasoning at the well alone - as otherwise they face the danger of becoming informative.

MH17 crash caused by 'objects penetrating aircraft from outside'

Preliminary report into 17 July crash that killed 298 people says it was not caused by a technical fault or crew's actions

• Gwyn Topham and agencies
  

• theguardian.com, Tuesday 9 September 2014 10.24 BST
  

Floral tributes for victims of Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash at Schiphol airport, from where the flight departed. Photograph: Valerie Kuypers/AFP/Getty Images

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 broke up in mid-air as a result of structural damage caused by "a large number of high-energy objects that penetrated the aircraft from outside", according to the Dutch investigators' preliminary report.
The investigators' report into the downing of the plane over easternUkraine does not apportion blame or say a missile was fired. But the Dutch Safety Board says: "There are no indications that the MH17 crash was caused by a technical fault or by actions of the crew."
The Boeing 777 was blown up in mid-air on 17 July over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board.
The black boxes were retrieved intact, with the flight recorders showing a completely normal flight before impact.
Radio communications with Ukrainian air traffic control confirm that no emergency call was made by the cockpit crew.
The pattern of wreckage on the ground suggests that the aircraft split into pieces during flight.
The report shows how easily a different airliner could have met the fate of Malaysia Airlines' doomed plane instead, had the crew of MH17 been able to comply with a controller's request to fly higher in the minutes before it was shot down.
Air traffic controllers were attempting to clear traffic as three other commercial flights, unidentified in the report, were in the close vicinity two other Boeing 777s and one Airbus A330.
At 12.53pm, Ukrainian air traffic controllers at Dnipropetrov asked MH17 to climb 2,000 feet to flight level 350 over eastern Ukraine, in accordance with the original flight plan, to clear a "potential separation conflict" with another Boeing 777.
The crew said they were unable to comply, possibly due to weather. Instead, at least one other plane climbed higher.
Just after 1pm the crew, running into bad weather, requested to climb to 34,000 feet - although air traffic control said the plane should keep at the same altitude. At 1.20pm, MH17 exploded in mid-air.
The other plane was not identified by investigators but it is known that a large Singapore Airlines flight, many of which are 777s, was in the vicinity.
Kiev and the west have accused pro-Russia separatists of shooting down the plane with a surface-to-air missile supplied by Moscow. Russia, which denies mounting western claims of direct involvement in the five-month conflict in Ukraine, has blamed government forces for the attack.
Russia, Ukraine, the US, the UK, Malaysia and Australia were all given the politically sensitive report for review, and investigators say they have since amended it before publication.
The report is being issued just days after a ceasefire backed by Kiev and Moscow came into force on Friday to try to end a war that has killed more than 2,700 people and led to at least half a million fleeing their homes.
Tjibbe Joustra, chairman of the Dutch Safety Board, said: "The MH17 crash has shocked the world and raised many questions. The Dutch Safety Board wishes to determine the cause of the crash, for the sake of the loved ones of the victims and for society at large."
"The initial results of the investigation point towards an external cause of the MH17 crash. More research will be necessary to determine the cause with greater precision. The safety board believes that additional evidence will become available for investigation in the period ahead."
The disaster killed 298 people on board, when the plane travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpar was destroyed on 17 July. Dutch passengers formed the majority of the victims aboard the Boeing 777 plane, with 193 of the 283 passengers and 15 crew who died.
Last week the Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, said he wanted to dispatch more investigators to eastern Ukraine before winter to gather more evidence. The search has been suspended for a month because of the continuing conflict in the area.
The investigators said they are aiming to publish the final report by July 2015.