AROUND THE CATASTROPHE IN EIGHT DAYS: INITIAL FINDINGS IN THE INVESTIGATION OF THE MALAYSIAN BOEING CRASH Article published in July 2014<
Article published in July 2014Caught under artillery fire, negotiated with DPR representatives, identified two bodies, and obtained data from the "black boxes" — this is a brief summary of last week's work by international experts and observers investigating the crash of the Malaysian Boeing 777 in Donetsk Region.The further away the date of the Malaysian Boeing crash fades into the past, the less frequently news about the investigation emerges. The media space is increasingly filled with higher-profile and equally tragic events, which, unfortunately, have been occurring with alarming frequency in recent times. Nevertheless, over the past week, international experts and observers have made some progress in their investigations.
From the very start, international experts encountered difficulties. The first groups of Dutch and Australian police officers arrived in Donetsk a week and a half ago. For five long days, they, along with the OSCE mission accompanying the experts, waited in frustration for the fighting at the crash site to cease."The greatest obstacle is the unsafe situation. We witnessed serious firefights and clashes that prevented us from approaching the crash site," said Alexander Hug, deputy head of the OSCE mission in Donetsk. For example, on Monday, July 28, the mission managed to reach Shakhtyorsk, but upon hearing explosions, they turned back. "And today, we didn’t even try," reported the head of the Donetsk mission, Michael Bociurkiw, two days later. "I want to emphasize that this was our fully conscious decision. We understand that it’s unsafe, which is why we didn’t go," explained Alexander Hug.
However, four days later, international experts finally managed to reach the village of Grabovo. They immediately received their "baptism by fire" — coming under artillery fire. The experts had been working in the field for an hour and a half when shells began exploding just a hundred meters away. After some deliberation, the investigators decided not to tempt fate any further and withdrew from the site.After that incident, the experts were able to work in the fields without any further obstacles. The expeditions grew larger, and two days later, on August 1, the full international expert commission — 101 people, including teams from Australia and the Netherlands — was reportedly working at the crash site. At least, that’s what Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman announced. However, his statement contradicted the information provided the same day by Wim van der Weegen, a representative of the Dutch Safety Board, which officially led the crash investigation. "As of now, there are no experts at the crash site, no specialists investigating the plane crash. Those working in Donetsk and Kharkov are not part of our team," the Dutch official was quoted as saying by the media. Who provided the distorted information remains unclear.Shortly afterward, Van der Weegen stated that he saw no need for a large-scale study of the crash site. "At this point, we have already collected such a large amount of information that there is no need for an extensive examination of the crash site," noted the Dutch Safety Board member. However, judging by OSCE reports and media updates, experts continued their work in the fields near the villages of Grabovo, Rassypnoye, and Petropavlovka. They had even begun to ignore the sound of explosions occurring just half a kilometer away.
On that same Friday, August 1, the Netherlands announced that they had managed to identify another victim of the disaster. Since July 26, experts had identified two victims, both of whom were Dutch nationals.New facts about the Boeing crash appeared two days later. On Sunday, the first data from the "black boxes" leaked to the media. A complete transcript of the cockpit conversations has not yet been presented to the public, but initial conclusions are available. "Preliminary data from the flight recorders of the crashed Malaysian Boeing 777 indicate the 'absence of any emergency situation' during the flight," reported the British publication New Sunday Times, citing its source. "Nothing suggests that the pilots noticed or felt anything," the source vaguely hinted but did not provide further details. There is also information that the last recorded words on the "black box" came from the ground controllers monitoring the aircraft. Another important event that day was that OSCE experts and the special monitoring mission gained access to the luggage of the passengers from the crashed airliner. The organization's statement noted that access was provided by DPR militia members. The mission was allowed into a sealed train car in Torez, where the militia had previously placed personal belongings of the passengers found at the crash site. "The experts retrieved around 40 pieces of luggage and numerous personal items belonging to the passengers," the OSCE press center reported.
The week was a difficult one for international experts and observers. However, the latest updates from the field seemed to allow the UN Security Council to conclude that the situation at the crash site had stabilized. Therefore, no further action from the UN was deemed necessary. "Despite interruptions, access has generally improved. Therefore, the situation has somewhat stabilized," stated Mark Lyall Grant, who chaired the UN Security Council in August, on August 4. According to him, Australian investigators "were able to fully examine a third of the crash site." "Most likely, no further resolutions will be needed," Grant noted.Meanwhile, Dutch police are planning to reconstruct the crash of the Boeing, whose flight tragically ended over the Donetsk steppes. The reconstruction will be based on photographs and videos taken by eyewitnesses at the scene. Last week, the Dutch police issued an appeal to everyone who had videos or photos taken during or after the plane crash, asking them to upload the materials to a specially created portal. The appeal was published in English, Russian, and Ukrainian. As a result, investigators selected 200 photographs, which will be used to recreate the disaster. For a more accurate reconstruction, experts will also analyze images of the area taken before the crash.