Almaz-Antei said in a press release on October 8 that it had carried out the detonation of a Buk missile under a decommissioned Boeing passenger jet in a “life-scale, real-time” experiment as part of its investigation into the disaster.
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The investigation into who is responsible for the downing of Malaysian Airways flight MH17 last July will continue well into next year, a spokesman for the Dutch public prosecution service has told the NRC.
The Deputy Chief of Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Oleg Storchevoy, sent a letter to Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, the head of the worldwide Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), after becoming acquainted with a draft of the final report by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB), which is heading the probe.
The manufacturer said it has conducted an “experiment” that entailed detonating a missile next to a plane.
The test “will help understand the real causes of the catastrophe”, it said.
Moscow has repeatedly denied those allegations, providing a range of conflicting theories, including the possibility of an air-to-air missile launched by a Ukrainian jet.
The countries comprising the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) leading a criminal probe of the MH17 crash past year over Ukraine halted their efforts to establish an global tribunal and are now discussing alternatives, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Moscow Ron Van Dartel said.
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Dutch investigators studied shrapnel from the July 17, 2014, crash, plus statements from separatists, images of a Buk missile launcher in the area and intelligence phone records. The report findings next week are expected to provide details but will not assign blame.
