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PRELIMINARY REPORT

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is a specialized agency of the United Nations, created in 1944 upon the signing of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. ICAO works with 191 Member States to develop international Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) for safe, effcient and secure flight operation worldwide. These Standards and Recommended Practices are reflected in Annexes. In Annex 13 - Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation - to the Convention of International Civil Aviation, Standards and Recommended practices are described for the conducting of civil aviation accident investigation. In accordance with paragraph 3.1 of ICAO Annex 13, the sole objective of this investigation is the prevention of similar accidents and incidents. It is not the purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability in respect of any party. The State of Occurrence shall institute an investigation into the circumstances of the accident and be responsible for the conduct of the investigation, but it may delegate the whole or any part of the conducting of such investigation to another State by mutual arrangement and consent (paragraph 5.1). In the case of this occurrence, Ukraine requested the Netherlands to conduct the delegated investigation. This was formally agreed upon, in writing, on 23 July 2014. The investigation is conducted by the Dutch Safety Board. According to paragraph 7.1 of the Annex, a preliminary report shall be submitted to appropriate States and to ICAO within 30 days after the occurrence. For the purpose of drafting the preliminary report of what is a complex investigation, the date of publication of the preliminary report was extended by approximately three weeks. When the aircraft involved in an accident is of a maximum mass of over 2250 kg, the State conducting the investigation shall send the Preliminary Report to:
• the State of Registry or the State of Occurrence, as appropriate;
• the State of the Operator;
• the State of Design;
• the State of Manufacture;
• any State that provided relevant information, signifcant facilities or experts;
• the International Civil Aviation Organization.
This preliminary report contains the initial information of the investigation into the occurrence involving a B777-200 registered as 9M-MRD performing flight MH17 from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 17 July 2014. This information is published to inform the aviation industry and the public of the general

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CONTENT

Preliminary report...............................................................................3
1. Introduction ...................................................................................7
1.1 General information ......................................................................7
1.2 The investigation ..........................................................................7
2. Findings........................................................................................11
2.1 History of the flight.......................................................................11
2.2 Injuries to persons .......................................................................12
2.3 Damage to the aircraft ..................................................................13
2.4 Air Traffc Management.................................................................. 13
2.4.1 General information ...................................................................13
2.4.2 Standard flight levels................................................................. 13
2.4.3 Airspace restrictions ..................................................................13
2.5 Air Traffc Control ......................................................................... 14
2.5.1 ATC surveillance data .................................................................14
2.5.2 ATC communication ...................................................................14
2.5.3 Other traffc .............................................................................. 14
2.5.4 ATC transcript ...........................................................................14
2.6 Personnel information ...................................................................16
2.7 Aircraft information ......................................................................16
2.8 Meteorological information.............................................................17
2.9 Flight recorders .......................................................................... 18
2.9.1 Recovery ..................................................................................18
2.9.2 Cockpit voice recorder ................................................................19
2.9.3 Flight data recorder.................................................................... 20
2.10 Wreckage and impact information................................................. 21
2.10.1 Wreckage distribution .............................................................. 21
2.10.2 Cockpit and forward area damage ............................................. 22
2.10.3 The main wreckage site (main site).............................................25
2.10.4 Aft part of the fuselage ............................................................ 26
3. Summary of Findings ......................................................................29
4. Safety actions ................................................................................31
5. Further investigations.......................................................................32
Appendix A. Preliminary FDR data..........................................................33

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 General information

Figure 1: Archive photo of aircraft involved. (source: Mir Zafriz, Planespotters.net)

Occurrence number: LV2014080
Aircraft type and registration: Boeing 777-2H6ER, 9M-MRD
No & Type of Engines: 2 x Rolls-Royce Trent 892B
Location: Near Hrabove, Ukraine
Date and time (UTC): 17 July 2014 at 13.20 hrs
Type of flight: Scheduled passenger flight
Persons on board: Crew - 15 (4 flight crew, 11 cabin crew); Passengers - 283
Injuries: Crew - 15 (fatal); Passengers - 283 (fatal)
Nature of damage: Aircraft destroyed
1.2 The investigation
On 18 July 2014 around 06.00 hrs the National Bureau of Air Accident Investigation of
Ukraine (NBAAI) sent a notifcation that on 17 July 2014, at 13.20 hrs, a Boeing 777-200
with registration 9M-MRD of Malaysia Airlines disappeared to the west of TAMAK
waypoint. The NBAAI was notifed by the Ukrainian State Air Traffc Service Enterprise
(UkSATSE) that communication with the flight crew had been lost. A signal from the
aircraft’s Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) had been received and its approximate
position had been determined.
According to paragraph 4.1 of ICAO Annex 13 - Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation,
the notifcation was sent to Malaysia (State of Registry and State of the Operator), the

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The investigation is making use of a wide range of information, including:
• aircraft maintenance data obtained from the operator;
• flight operational data obtained from the operator and various international service
providers:
– NOTAMs;*4
– Flight plan;
– Weather;
– Crew status;
• images available publicly and obtained from the NBAAI, Australian Federal Police
(AFP) and DCA;
• satellite imagery taken in the days after the occurrence;
• Air Traffc Control (ATC) surveillance data obtained from UkSATSE;
• ATC surveillance data obtained from the Russian Federation;
• Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) data from the aircraft.

-------------------------------

*4 A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) is a notice issued by an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards
along a flight route or at a location that could affect the safety of the flight. NOTAMs are unclassifed notices or
advisories distributed by means of telecommunication that contain information concerning the establishment,
conditions or change in any aeronautical facility, service, procedure or hazard, the timely knowledge of which is
essential to personnel and systems concerned with flight operations.

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2 FINDINGS

2.1 History of the flight
On 17 July 2014, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-2H6ER operating as flight MH17, departed
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands at 10.31 hrs on a scheduled passenger
flight to Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines had determined
and fled the flight plan for flight MH17, which was approved by all involved air traffc
control centres for their concerned regions. According to the flight plan, flight MH17
would initially fly at Flight Level 330 (FL330)*5 above Ukraine until the waypoint PEKIT,
which is on the Flight Information Region (FIR) boundary between Kiev FIR (UKBV) and
Dnipropetrovs’k FIR (UKDV). From waypoint PEKIT the flight plan indicates FL350 for the
remaining part over Ukraine.
According to ATC data, at 12.53 hrs the aircraft was flying within the Dnipropetrovs’k FIR,
Control Sector 2, at FL330, controlled by Dnipro Control. At that time, Dnipro Control
asked whether MH17 was able to climb to FL350 in accordance with the flight plan of
MH17 and also to clear a potential separation conflict with other traffc in the area,
another Boeing 777 flying at FL330 and approaching from behind.
The crew replied they were unable to comply and requested to maintain at FL330. This
was agreed by Dnipro Control. As an alternative to solve the separation conflict, the
other traffc climbed to FL350. According to ATC data, at 13.00 hrs the crew of flight
MH17 requested to divert the track 20 NM to the left, due to weather. This also was
agreed by Dnipro Control, after which the crew requested whether FL340 was available.
Dnipro control informed MH17 that FL340 was not available at that moment and
instructed the flight to maintain FL330 for a while. At 13.07 hrs the flight was transferred
to Dnipropetrovs’k CTA 4, also with call sign Dnipro Control.
At 13.19:53 hrs, radar data showed that the aircraft was 3.6 NM north of centreline of
airway L980 having deviated left of track, when Dnipro Control directed the crew to alter
their route directly to waypoint RND due to other traffc. The crew acknowledged at
13.19:56 hrs. At 13.20:00 hrs, Dnipro Control transmitted an onward ATC clearance to
proceed direct to TIKNA after RND, no acknowledgement was received.
Data from the Flight Data Recorder and the Digital Cockpit Voice Recorder both stopped
at 13.20:03 hrs. No distress messages were received from the aircraft.

------------------------
*5 FL330 equals approximately 33,000 feet (10,058 kilometer)

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2.3 Damage to the aircraft

The aircraft was destroyed. Wreckage was dispersed over a large area.

2.4 Air Traffc Management

   2.4.1 General information
The functional entities involved in Air Traffc Management (ATM) in Ukraine are: the
Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Defence, the State Aviation Authority of Ukraine
(SAAU) and the Ukrainian State Air Traffc Service Enterprise (UkSATSE) which is the State
en-route Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP). Ukraine is a member of Eurocontrol and
organises its ATM in accordance with the concept of the Flexible Use of Airspace. The
concept of flexible use includes civil-military coordination and this is facilitated in Ukraine
by having joint civil-military departments within UkSATSE.
2.4.2 Standard flight levels
For IFR air traffc the general principle of standard flight levels apply: odd thousands of
feet (flight levels 310, 330, 350) when on an magnetic track of 0º through 179º degrees
and even thousands of feet (flight levels 300, 320, 340) when on a magnetic track of 180º
through 359º. Other flight levels may be available by ATC clearance.
For flight MH17, following route L980 on an eastbound track, it was kept to the odd
standard flight levels as depicted in its flight plan for this part of its routing: FL330 and
FL350.
2.4.3 Airspace restrictions
At the time of the occurrence, flight MH17 was flying through the Dnipropetrovs’k (UKDV)
FIR in the eastern part of the Ukraine. UkSATSE had issued NOTAMs that restricted
access to the airspace below FL320 in the southern part of the FIR due to hostilities
between armed groups and Ukrainian armed forces.
NOTAM A1383/14 established a Temporary Reserved Area from the surface to FL260
within its defned area in the east of Ukraine. The NOTAM was valid from 00.00 hrs on
1 July 2014 until 23.59 hrs on 28 July 2014. The text of the NOTAM states that state
aircraft of Ukraine were authorized and that Civil Aircraft need to have permission of the
headquarters of the Ukraine armed forces to fly in the area mentioned in the NOTAM
below FL260.
NOTAM A1492/14 established a Temporary Restricted Area from FL260 to FL320 within
an area covering the eastern part of the Temporary Reserved Area established by NOTAM
A1383/14. NOTAM A1492/14 was valid from 18.00 hrs on 14 July 2014 until 23.59 hrs on
14 August 2014. The restriction did not apply for flights of Ukraine state aircraft.

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Time          From  To  Means                 Text

13:08:00       MH17 DNP RAD   Dnipro Radar, MALASIAN one seven, flight level 330
                     DNP MH17 RAD   MALASIAN one seven, Dnipro Radar, good day, radar contact
                    MH17 DNP RAD    MALASIAN one seven
13:19:21         DNP RST TEL     Yes
                      RST DNP TEL      So. Dniepr, Rostov one. Can you give a course (direction) for
                                               Malaysian to Rostov to the RND point, we have three of those
                                               there
                       DNP RST TEL     To the Malaysian that is seventeen?
                       RST DNP TEL     Yes, we will return it back then to TIKNA
                       DNP RST TEL     Great (ok)
                       RST DNP TEL    Yes, thanks
13:19:49         DNP MH17 RAD  MALASIAN one seven, due traffc proceed direct to point
                                               ROMEO NOVEMBER DELTA
13:19:56         MH17 DNP RAD  ROMEO NOVEMBER DELTA, MALASIAN one seven
13:20:00         DNP MH17 RAD   MALASIAN one seven, and after point ROMEO NOVEMBER
                                                DELTA expect direct to TIKNA
13:21:10         DNP MH17 RAD MALASIAN one seven, how do you read me? MALASIAN one
                                               seven, Dnipro Radar
13:21:36         DNP MH17 RAD  MALASIAN one seven, Dnipro Radar
13:22:02         DNP MH17 RAD  MALASIAN one seven, Dnipro Radar
13:22:05           RST DNP TEL    Listening (to) you, its Rostov
                         DNP RST TEL    Rostov, do you observe the Malaysian by… by the response?
                         RST DNP TEL    No, it seems that its target started falling apart.
                         DNP RST TEL    Well, its not responding for our calls too
                         RST DNP TEL    And not responding for the calls, yes?
                         DNP RST TEL    Yes. And we don’t see it yet. So you gave them a turn, they
                                                confrmed and…
                          RST DNP TEL   And that’s all, yes?
                          DNP RST TEL   Yes its disappeared
                          RST DNP TEL    Wait, I’ll ask
                          DNP RST TEL    Don’t you observe anything on primary?
                          RST DNP TEL   Yes, yes, yes, nothing. We see nothing
                          DNP RST TEL  Ok then, we are calling them here now

Tabel 1: Transcript of radio- and telephone communication

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2.8 Meteorological information

Weather information was obtained from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
(KNMI) and the UK Met Offce.
At the time of the occurrence, an active trough with cumulonimbus cloud and thunderstorm
activity was affecting Ukraine, with the most intense activity along a line extending northwestwards from Crimea towards Western Ukraine. More isolated thunderstorms were
apparent closer to the location of the occurrence, with some lightning strikes recorded to
the southwest of Donetsk.
Analyses of ground observations show that in the vicinity of the occurrence multiple
thundershowers were reported. Just to the west-south-west of the last known position of
the aircraft, cumulonimbus (CB) clouds reaching up to FL350 were present at the time.
According to meteorological actual reports, the conditions were generally cloudy across
the area, with the observations recording a broken cloud layer at around 10,000 feet.
Visibilities across the region were good, at 10 km or more, and the lowest reported cloud
bases were some scattered layers at 3300 feet at UKDD (Dnipropetrovs’k, Ukraine) and
UKDE (Zaporizhzhia / Mokraya, Ukraine).
The winds at the surface were north or north-easterly, and tended to gradually veer with
height, eventually settling on a south-westerly direction from around 23,000 feet, after
which they increased in speed with height towards the tropopause, which was indicated
around 40,000 feet. The reported wind at FL320 was from 166 degrees at 13 kts.
In the area three different types of weather could be distinguished, which is depicted in
fgure 3.
The green area (includes the area of occurrence) contains mainly Cumulus and Towering
Cumulus clouds. The cloud coverage is between 3/8 and 6/8, the cloud base is around
3,000 to 5,000 feet. The tops of the clouds reach around FL100 (10,000 feet).
The orange area contains mainly Cumulonimbus clouds (rainclouds). The cloud coverage
is mostly 8/8. The cloud base is around 3,000 to 5,000 feet, with the tops of the clouds
reaching FL350 (35,000 feet).
The red area contains mainly Altostratus and Cirrus clouds, with cloud coverage being
mostly 8/8, and the cloud base around 10,000 to 20,000 feet. The red area contains
mostly thin layered clouds reaching 20,000 to 30,000 feet at places.

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2.9.2 Cockpit voice recorder
Damage
The housing of the CVR (fgure 4) had been damaged and, although the model and serial
numbers were unreadable on the data plate, the serial number 1366 - matching the one
provided by Malaysia Airlines - was found stamped on the underside of the chassis. The
external damage found on the CVR is consistent with impact damage, the internal
memory module was intact. The recording capacity of this recorder is 30 minutes.
The full 30 minutes were successfully downloaded and contained valid data from the
flight.

Figure 4: Cockpit voice recorder. (Source: AAIB)
Information
The replay of the CVR matched ATC communications with the aircraft (see ATC transcript).
The recording also included crew communication which gave no indication that there
was anything abnormal with the flight. The CVR audio recording ended abruptly. A replay
of the CVR did not identify any aircraft aural warnings or alerts of system malfunctions.
Detailed analysis is ongoing.

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2.10 Wreckage and impact information

2.10.1 Wreckage distribution
Wreckage from flight MH17 was discovered spread over a large area near the towns of
Rozsypne and Hrabove in eastern Ukraine. The main wreckage site was located 8.5 km
on a bearing of 080° from the last known position of the aircraft in flight.
On the accident site, a large amount of photographs was made, which allowed
identifcation of certain aircraft parts, including preliminary assessments of localization
and the nature of damage on the fuselage skin and the engines.
The aircraft wreckage, identifed from the on-site photographs and satellite images,
consisted of many large and small pieces distributed over an area of approximately 10 km
by 5 km (fgure 6). Fuselage pieces, cargo and baggage were scattered throughout the
wreckage site. There were many additional unidentifed pieces that are not shown in the
fgure. For easy reference the wreckage site has been divided into sections as shown in
fgure 6. These sections match with the aircraft sections shown in fgure 7.

Figure 6: The last location of the aircraft in flight taken from the FDR. Wreckage distribution is grouped per
              section of the aircraft (Source: Google Earth, wreckage information Dutch Safety Board)

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Figure 8: Forward fuselage skin from below the left cockpit window containing numerous small holes
               and indentations (above); enlarged image of the right upper corner of this skin (below) showing
               puncture holes (orange arrow) and pitting (red arrow). (Source: DCA and AFP)

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Puncture holes identifed in images of the cockpit floor suggested that small objects
entered from above the level of the cockpit floor (fgure 10).

Figure 10: Cockpit floor with floor parts showing puncture holes (red circles) coming from above the floor.
              (Source: NBAAI)

Detailed examination of the structural damage is ongoing. Forensic examination will be
performed if the wreckage can be recovered,

2.10.3 The main wreckage site (main site)
The main site was located at the south-western corner of the town of Hrabove, 8.5 km
from the last recorded FDR position of the aircraft. This site contained parts of the wings,
both engines, the main landing gear and a portion of the fuselage (fgure 11). Aircraft
parts distributed over the main site had been subjected to post crash fre.

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Figure 12: Vertical tail. (Source: DCA)

Figure 13: Aft fuselage skin, right side, with partial registration of the aircraft. (Source: NBAAI)

The distribution of pieces of the aircraft over a large area indicates that the aircraft broke
up in the air. The forward parts of the aircraft were found closest to the last recorded
FDR point, indicating that these parts broke off from the aircraft frst. The centre and aft
parts of the aircraft were located signifcantly further to the east. This indicates that these
parts continued in a down and forward trajectory before breaking up.

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3 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Crew
According to the information received from Malaysia Airlines the crew was properly
licensed and had valid medical certifcates to conduct the flight.
Aircraft
According to the documents, the aircraft was in an airworthy condition at departure from
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, there were no known technical malfunctions.
CVR/FDR
No evidence or indications of manipulation of the recorders were found.
No aural alerts or warnings of aircraft system malfunctions were heard on the Cockpit
Voice Recorder. The communication between the flight crew members gave no indication
of any malfunction or emergency prior to the occurrence.
The engine parameters were consistent with normal operation during the flight. No
engine or aircraft system warnings or cautions were detected.
No technical malfunctions or warnings in relation to the event flight were found on Flight
Data Recorder data.
Both recordings ended at 13.20:03.
ATC / Airspace
At the time of the occurrence, flight MH17 was flying at FL330 in unrestricted airspace of
the Dnipropetrovs’k (UKDV) FIR in the eastern part of the Ukraine, the aircraft flew on a
constant heading, speed and altitude when the Flight Data Recording ended. UkSATSE
had issued NOTAMs that restricted access to the airspace below FL320.
The last radio transmission made by the crew began at 13.19:56 hrs and ended at
13.19:59 hrs.
The last radio transmissions made by Dnipropetrovs’k air traffc control centre to flight
MH17 began at 13.20:00 hrs and ended at 13.22:02 hrs. The crew did not respond to
these transmissions.
No distress messages were received by the ATC.
According to radar data three commercial aircraft were in the same Control Area as flight
MH17 at the time of the occurrence. All were under control of Dnipro Radar. At 13.20 hrs
the distance between the closest aircraft and MH17 was approximately 30 km.