Dutch Investigation Says MH17 Downed By 'External Forces'

A Dutch investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 over Ukraine has determined that the aircraft crashed due to external forces that included "high-energy objects from outside the aircraft."

The Dutch Safety Board's report indicated that the Boeing 777 was struck by several external physical objects, forcing the aircraft to split apart mid-air over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014.

"The damage observed in the forward section of the aircraft appears to indicate that the aircraft was penetrated by a large number of high-energy objects from outside the aircraft," the investigative report states. "It is likely that this damage resulted in a loss of structural integrity of the aircraft, leading to an in-flight break up."

Although the report did not directly say so, many have argued that the MH 17 flight was downed by shrapnel from a missile that had been fired into the air in the battle-torn region. Ukrainian officials and Russian officials have blamed each other for the missile's launch.

The MH 17 flight, traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, went down on July 17 in eastern Ukraine near its border with Russia. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed in the crash.

The Dutch Safety Board's chairman, Tjibbe Joustra, said in a statement that more research is necessary before determining what type of external force actually downed the MH 17 plane. "The initial results of the investigation point toward 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."