Analysis: what these signs on the wreckage tell us about the missile strike that downed MH17

Jul 24 2014 - 69 Comments

Evidence of shrapnel damage to the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has emerged from images taken at the crash site.

Photos taken at the MH17 crash site clearly show shrapnel signs on various parts of the wreckage of the Boeing 777 shot down over eastern Ukraine while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 298 people on board.

Among all the images published on media outlets from all around the world, the one first published by Financial Times over the past weekend, struck our attention.

The piece of wreckage, reportedly measuring 1 mt sq, has a couple of distinctive features that may help the identification: the colored stripes of the Malaysia Airlines livery and the bolts of the cockpit side windshield.

Based on these details, with the help of our contributor Giuliano Ranieri, we identified (and obviously we were not the only ones) the piece as a chunk of front fuselage located next to the cockpit (slightly below it), on the left hand side of the plane.

The piece has several burn marks, a large central hole and several smaller punture marks surrouding it. The edges of the small holes seem to be bent outwards, evidence of something that got out of the skin from the inside of the plane.

This is a sign the missile, most probably fired by an SA-11 system according to almost all reports to date, equipped with a proximity fuse, detonated on the right side of the aircraft not too far from the nose, scattering several fragments of shrapnel so fast that they traversed the plane from side to side: they entered through the right side of the airframe and got out from the left one.

Furthermore, considering the amount of puncture marks concentrated at the base of the cockpit window’s we can assume both pilots were hit by high speed, hot shrapnels that most probably did not give them time to realize what was going on.

MH17 part with holes identified

Image credit: FT.com/graphic by Giuliano Ranieri

Update:

New, higher resolution images of the same part of wreckage have emerged. These images seem to point in a different direction.

Indeed, the holes have edges that appear to be inward. This could be coherent with a missile which did not blast on the aircraft’s right hand side, but on the left one, between the nose and the leading edge of the left wing. Still, the type of puncture marks and the concentration are suitable with a SARH.

new debris

Image credit: Jeroen Akkermans Flikr account

  • Cody3/75

    HAhahahahaha ok douchenozzle. I don’t need to “lie” about anything. The entire international community knows what happened. The only people that have an issue with the story is Russia (go figure). I doubt if anyone would pay me to tell the same story the ENTIRE world is telling. Haha wow guy…..you’re um…special. Besides, Russia is the country here that has recently been proven to be using English speaking contacts to try and sway public opinion

    http://truth-out.org/news/item/23663-when-propaganda-meets-social-media

    . Good luck murderers….

    Lets see here:

    1.) Weeks before the incident Rebels brag about acquiring Buk SAM systems.

    2.) The day of the shoot down, rebels claim responsibility on social media, then quickly delete it when they discovered what happened.

    3.)Rebels phone conversations are published by other Rebels. “Is it an airliner?

    “Yes its an airliner.”

    “Are there bodies?”

    “Yes, there are many bodies.”

    4.) Russia first trys to claim it was an attempt to shoot down an airliner carrying Putin. They then change their story to say it was a false-flag operation by the Ukrainian’s to make them look bad. (They’re doing a great job on their own).

    5.) Then they try to say a SU-25 shot it down. When anybody that’s not an idiot explained how stupid that is because of the aircraft’s service ceiling. Russia try’s to change the Wikipedia info regarding the plane!

    http://pressimus.com/Interpreter_Mag/press/3486

    and:

    http://gawker.com/did-russian-officials-edit-wikipedia-to-back-up-a-bogus-1609071757

    The Gawker story is particularly funny. Before this incident that website had been very pro-Russian. If EVEN THEY know better its a pretty sad story.

    6.) Next Russia tries to say the SU-25 only damaged MH17, then the Ukrainian’s finished it off with a Buk. Weird since there is absolutely ZERO radio traffic after the aircraft was initially hit. You’d think if it was limping around the sky the pilot’s would have said something….anything really.

    7.) Rebels won’t release bodies to international investigators till HOURS after they’re on scene. Why would they do that? Wouldn’t they want the truth to get out as fast as possible if they didn’t do anything wrong?

    8.) Why aren’t separatists helping investigators around the crash site if they’re innocent, instead of actively hindering them? Again, if they’re innocent you’d think they would want to be as helpful as possible.

    9.) Lets not forget that strangely, the next day, a Buk on a flatbed under a tarp was quietly rushed across the border into Russia.

    http://hotair.com/archives/2014/07/23/ukraine-rebels-yeah-we-had-a-buk-system-and-sent-it-back-to-russia/

    and

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2702002/US-Russia-created-conditions-shoot-down.html

    Putin himself doesn’t deny that Russian backed separatists are to blame. But blames the Ukraine for creating the situation that allowed it to happen. (Yeah cause Ukraine would surely still be in this situations if it wasn’t for Russia…..hahahahah [that was sarcasm]).

    Haha and I’m the one being paid? The ONLY people that don’t think Russia is responsible are the idiots that listen to RT (RT makes Fox news seem honest in comparison). There isn’t a media source on the planet that is more full of propaganda than RT. Surprise surprise, its owned and controlled by the Russian state!

    Id suggest you idiot’s quit trying to blame everyone BUT the people that are OBVIOUSLY responsible, the Russian-backed separatists The denials are at this point, quite frankly pathetic. I’m happy to wait for what Dutch authorities final conclusions and reports on the “black boxes” though. When that day comes what’s your excuse going to be then?

    Russian’s and their supporters are SOOO blinded by a hate for the West (again all propaganda, most Russians can’t tell you why they hate the West. At least not with anything factual they can support with anything but RT [seeing a trend with RT yet]) that they can’t see the truth when the ENTIRE world is trying to explain it to them. Putin will ruin your country…again. The United States will bail you out with food when your people are starving…again, and we’ll all point to this MH17 disaster as a perfect example as to unbelievably blinded by propaganda you were. Then maybe, just maybe, you’ll finally get it. Until then good luck trying to convince the world that Russia isn’t responsible for murdering 300 people, then trying to blame EVERYONE (Ukraine, the US, NATO, Israel) else. Its pathetic.

    • Greg

      1. Why did the MH17 plane leave the international corridor?

      “Please note that the plane stayed within the corridor until it reached Donetsk but then it deviated from the route to the north,” said Kartopolov.

      2. Was MH17 leaving the route a navigation mistake or was the crew following instructions by Ukrainian air traffic controllers in Dnepropetrovsk?

      “The maximum deviation from the left border of the corridor was 14 km. Following that, we can see the plane maneuvering to return to the corridor, yet the Malaysian crew did not get a chance to complete the maneuver. At 17.20, the plane began to lose speed, and at 17.23 it disappeared from Russian radars.”

      3. Why was a large group of air defense systems deployed to the militia-held area if the self-defense forces have no planes?

      “As far as we know, the Ukrainian military had three or four air defense battalions equipped with Buk-M1 SAM systems deployed in the vicinity of Donetsk on the day of the crash. This system is capable of hitting targets within the range of 35 km at the altitude of up to 22 km.”

      4. Why did Kiev deploy BUK missile systems on the edge of militia-controlled zones directly before the tragedy?

      “We have satellite photos of the places where Ukraine had its air defense units deployed in the southeastern parts of the country. The first three photos were made on July 14. The first photo shows Buk launchers 8 km northwest of Lugansk. You can clearly see a TELAR and two TELs. The second photo shows radars 5 km north of Donetsk. You can see two TARs along with other equipment and technical structures. The third photo shows air defense systems north of Donetsk. You can clearly see a TELAR launcher and about 60 military and auxiliary vehicles, tents for vehicles and other structures.

      “Here’s a photo of the same area made on July 17. Please note that the launcher has disappeared. The fifth photo shows a battery of Buk missiles at the village of Zaroshchenskoye 50 km east of Donetsk and 8 km south of Shakhtyorsk on the morning of the same day. The sixth photo shows the same area on July 18. As you can see, the battery has left.”

      5. On the day of the crash Kiev intensified Kupol-M1 9S18 radar activity, key BUK system components. Why?

      “Also, July 17 saw increased activity on the part of Ukraine’s Kupol-M1 9S18 radars, which are part of the Buk system. Here on this chart you see that there were seven radars operating on July 15, eight radars operating on July 16, and nine radars operating on July 17 in the area. Then, starting with July 18, the intensity of radar activities radically decreased, and now there are no more than two or three radars operating a day. The reason behind this is yet to be found.”

      6. What was a military plane doing on the route intended for civilian flights?

      “There were three civilian planes in the area performing their regular flights at this time. There was a flight from Copenhagen to Singapore at 17:17, there was a flight from Paris to Taipei at 17:24, and then there was the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.”

      “Also, Russian monitoring systems registered that there was a Ukrainian Air Force jet, probably Su-25, climbing and approaching the Malaysian Boeing.”

      “The Su-25 was 3-5 km away from the Malaysian plane. Su-25 is capable of climbing to the altitude of 10,000 meters for a short period of time. Its standard armament includes R60 air-to-air missiles, which are capable of locking and hitting targets from 12 km and which are guaranteed to hit the target from the distance of 5 km.”

      7. Why was the military jet flying at so close to a passenger plane?

      “At 17:21’35, with [the Boeing’s] velocity having dropped to 200 kilometers per hour, a new mark detecting an airborne object appears at the spot of the Boeing’s destruction. This new airborne object was continuously detected for the duration of four minutes by the radar stations Ust-Donetsk and Buturinskaya. An air traffic controller requested the characteristics of the new airborne object, but was unable to get any readings on its parameters – most likely due to the fact that the new aircraft was not equipped with a secondary surveillance radar transponder, which is a distinctive feature of military aircraft,” said Makushev.

      “Detecting the new aircraft became possible as it started to ascend. Further changes in the airborne object’s coordinates suggest that it was hovering above the Boeing 777’s crash site, monitoring of the situation.

      “Ukrainian officials earlier claimed that there were no Ukrainian military aircraft in the area of the crash that day. As you can see, that is not true.”

      8. Where did the launcher – from the video circulated by Western media and showing a Buk system being moved allegedly from Ukraine to Russia – come from? As the video was made on the territory controlled by Kiev, where was the launcher being transported?

      “I’d like to say that the information we have presented here is based on objective and reliable data from various technical systems – unlike the groundless accusations made against Russia,” said Kartopolov.

      “For example, media circulated a video supposedly showing a Buk system being moved from Ukraine to Russia. This is clearly a fabrication. This video was made in the town of Krasnoarmeisk, as evidenced by the billboard you see in the background, advertising a car dealership at 34 Dnepropetrovsk Street. Krasnoarmeysk has been controlled by the Ukrainian military since May 11.”

      9. Where is it right now? Why are some of the missiles missing on the launcher? When was the last time a missile was launched from it?

      10. Why haven’t US officials revealed the evidence supporting claims that the MH17 was shot down by a missile launched by the militia?

      “US officials claim they have satellite photographs proving the Malaysian airliner was shot down by a missile launched by the militia. But no one has seen these photographs so far. As far as we know, there was indeed a US satellite flying over southeastern Ukraine on July 17 from 17:06 to 17:21 Moscow time.

      “This satellite is part of an experimental system designed to track and monitor the launches of missiles of various ranges. If our US colleagues have imagery from this satellite, they should release it for the international community to examine it in detail. This may be a coincidence, but the US satellite flew over Ukraine at exactly the same time when the Malaysian airliner crashed.”

      http://rt.com/news/174496-malaysia-crash-russia-questions/

      • Cody3/75

        Who organizes you guys? I mean its obvious that 99% of you have NEVER posted here before this. Its obvious that all these accounts, that are obviously not American or Western, are specifically routed towards sites like this, and then given handle’s like “Greg” to specifically try to influence Western opinion.

        I don’t know how the internet works in Russia (id assume the same) but nobody here is dumb enough to not see through that. Multiple people here have already noticed then and commented on it. Nobody actually thinks your an American or from a western country “Greg”….Still, I’ll let that one slide.

        I’ll let it slide and gladly have a civil, mature discussion with you on one condition. You use a reputable source for your information. Literally ANY source but RT (or Pravada and other Russian “news” sources that are owned by the Russian government and directly controlled by them). I refuse to discuss anything with anyone, that actually thinks even 1% of the idiocy that is aired by RT is factual. It’s a waste of time. RT is the most propaganda laden joke in the entire world (literally…the entire world).

        Even Russian journalists are disgusted by it. Anybody that cares about the truth above all else is sickened by RT’s version of the “news”. Your own people are sickened by both RT and what the Russian government has them put out. Do you not understand how sad and pathetic that is?

        http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/mar/06/rt-journalist-resigns-on-air

        So please. Substantiate all of those lies you just typed with ANY source. I say again, ANY SOURCE except RT and other state-owned media outlets. If what you say is the truth then there will be literally a million people reporting it. If its not all horrible propaganda you’ll have an EXTREMELY easy time finding sources that aren’t owned by the Russian state.

        Your example of the SU-25 is (again) a perfect example of this. The aircraft has a MAX service ceiling of 23k feet. And that’s clean, meaning absolutely no weapons or pylons and minimal fuel. With fuel and weapons its actually 16,000 feet. Quit trying to convince people that the SU-25 COULD have taken a shot at that airliner…especially on this site. Everyone knows its an utter fabrication. That info about the R-60 is complete bullshit too. In real life trials the R-60 has almost NEVER (in fact I’m pretty sure its not “almost”…its “never”) been successful beyond 2km. or 3km, much less 12km.

        So, find ANY other sources that will substantiate what you say and I’ll gladly discuss things with you. But, while you actually think RT is a reliable source for news I refuse to have any more interaction with you. One can’t reason with anyone that’s ignorant enough to buy into RT. You don’t see me use Sarah Palin and Fox News as a source (even though RT makes those two look like honesty and integrity incarnate).

        • Greg

          Cody, it’s not surprising that you dismiss the source when you can’t debate the substance of what it says.

  • Grach25

    I can agree with this. They need to turn the TV off and go for a walk. Are these the “American Fanboys” you are referring to? I wasn’t sure if it was a pop band…..

  • griffinalabama

    Why do the wings show no shrapnel damage? The blast would explode in a 360 degree arc and hit the wings with the plane moving forward at 500 mph. The missile would explode in proximity to the aircraft at approximately 100 feet away. There is no shrapnel blast pattern on the wings. Which means that the missile theory is incorrect.

    Also the fact that the damage is largest right at the pilots seat is improbable due to the fact the missile explodes evenly in all directions…..a hundred feet away from the plane. Therefore, it makes no sense there is a hole directly….and only….at the pilots window seat. For that to happen it would require the exploding missile to miraculously send an improbably large chunk of shrapnel into that space while being a hundred feet away. It would never happen. The damage does not fit the narrative put forth by the media. The wings are the first give away…..no shrapnel blast pattern.

  • iaagg

    1) I would like to sum up information from reliable sources. “reliable sources” – none given.
    2) Russian Data: the most unreliable data that there is.

  • iaagg

    In short, long rambling, no sources given, those that are are undeniably unreliable. All the signs that you are paid for your efforts.

  • iaagg

    Or every conspiracy theory they cook up means more dollars in their pockets. Russia pays with cash and not Rubles I am sure.

  • iaagg

    His purpose is to muddy the facts. A psyop tactic. Make confusion where there was none before.

  • iaagg

    So true to use the SU-25 was stupidity on a madness scale.

  • iaagg

    I love that so many people are catching on to the lies from the Russian paid commentators.

  • iaagg

    Good job. I tried to find the exact phrase that these stinger shot downs were military but could not.

  • iaagg

    The Iran Air 655 shoot down was admitted to and compensation paid.
    Nine former US intelligence officers have signed a letter to president Obama.
    So former Intelligence officers have access to top secrete data….that is news to me.
    In addition, the Dutch investigators appear to be doing a terrible job.
    Says what source [none given]
    a. 5-eyes spy network, What does communication monitoring have to do with the black boxes?
    b.The Netherlands do not appear -does not appear? does or does not?
    c.The Netherlands have requested an interview with the Ukrainian pilot [there was no Ukrainian pilot]
    d.The Netherlands have neither complained about the reluctance of Kiev to
    install a seize fire in the area nor even the shelling around observers. What is your point?
    e. The Netherlands have neither complained about the reluctance of Kiev
    to install a seize fire in the area nor even the shelling around
    observers. Source Globalresearch a known Pro-Russian site.
    f.The last cease fire resulted in 10 dead Ukrainian solders near the crash site during the cease fire.r even the shelling around
    observers. Source Globalresearch a known Pro-Russian shill site.

  • iaagg

    7)continued—->>>The shoot-down of KAL007 was shot down by Soviet Su-15 interceptor, The US uses American made planes unless you want to start another conspiracy theory<<<—
    The Iran Air 655 shoot down was admitted to and compensation paid.
    Nine former US intelligence officers have signed a letter to president Obama.
    So former Intelligence officers have access to top secrete data….that is news to me.
    In addition, the Dutch investigators appear to be doing a terrible job.
    Says what source [none given]
    a. 5-eyes spy network, What does communication monitoring have to do with the black boxes?
    b.The Netherlands do not appear -does not appear? does or does not?
    c.The Netherlands have requested an interview with the Ukrainian pilot [there was no Ukrainian pilot]
    d.The Netherlands have neither complained about the reluctance of Kiev to
    install a seize fire in the area nor even the shelling around observers. What is your point?
    e. The Netherlands have neither complained about the reluctance of Kiev
    to install a seize fire in the area nor even the shelling around
    observers. Source: Globalresearch a known Pro-Russian site.
    f.The last cease fire resulted in 10 dead Ukrainian solders near the crash site during the cease fire even the shelling around
    observers. Source Globalresearch a known Pro-Russian shill site.

  • iaagg

    Your proof in your own words:
    1)Photos of the wreckage: photos consistent with a Buk strike.
    2)reliable sources: [none given]
    3)Russian Data: oh so reliable.
    4)Report
    by the Telegraph [an unreliable rag of a paper and a US INTELLIGENCE
    CARTOON ,Buks range 30 miles up to 72000 feet WELL Within RANGE..
    4)Eyewitnesses say: [No names given]
    5)What I’ve been told by one source [source not given].
    6)But I’m now told that U.S. intelligence analysts [no name given]
    7)”US intelligence officers have leaked to Robert Parry, a US award winning investigative journalist, that”
    “What
    I’ve been told by one source [Source not given], who has provided
    accurate information on similar matters in the past, is that U.S.
    intelligence agencies do have
    detailed satellite images of the likely missile battery that launched
    the fateful missile, but the battery appears to have been under the
    control of Ukrainian government troops dressed in what look like
    Ukrainian uniforms.”
    So,
    Robert Parry says that US satellites can see through steel as all the
    participants in a stand alone Buk strike would be inside the vehicle.

  • Nassim7

    Because the plane was shot by cannon from another aircraft – followed by air-to-air missiles

    http://www.theautomaticearth.com/russian-union-of-engineers-accuses-ukraine-airforce-in-mh17-crash/

    A Buk missile would have flung shrapnel through the fuel tanks and the plane would have caught fire. Furthermore, all videos of the crash show that there were not rocket trails from the ground to the sky – easily visible on a clear day. Lastly, there are videos showing chaff streamers slowly descending from the sky.

    “Chaff Streamers Visible in Malaysia Airlines MH 17 Crash Smoke”

    It is all pretty obvious really, another gift from the people who brought us 9/11

    http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/09/10/911-13-years-paul-craig-roberts/

  • Татьяна Нестерова

    Public statement by The Russian Union of Engineers:
    Analysis of the reasons for the crash of flight MH17
    http://российский-союз-инженеров.рф/en.pdf
    http://российский-союз-инженеров.рф/de.pdf
    and video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7puNlaX0s0