On 17 July 2014 a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200, registered 9M-MRD, en route from Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, disappeared from air traffic services radar overhead the Ukraine. Aircraft wreckage was subsequently identified over a large area to the south and west of the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine. There were no survivors.
As the occurrence took place in the Ukraine, the National Bureau of Air Accident Investigation of Ukraine (NBAAI) commenced an accident investigation under Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation (Annex 13) on 17 July 2014. As part of its investigation, the NBAAI requested assistance from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and under clause 5.23 of Annex 13, the ATSB appointed an accredited representative and an adviser to the NBAAI investigation on 20 July 2014. In addition, an external investigation was initiated under the provisions of the Australian Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003.
The ATSB investigators departed for Kiev, Ukraine on 21 July 2014 to participate in the NBAAI accident investigation. Subsequently, on 23 July 2014, the Ukrainian Government delegated the conduct of the investigation to the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) under clause 5.1 of Annex 13. The ATSB investigators remained in Kiev to assist the Dutch investigation before relocating with the investigation team to the DSB headquarters in the Netherlands on 1 August 2014. The ATSB investigators returned to Australia on 8 August 2014.
During the investigation the ATSB and other accredited representatives contributed to the development of the DSB’s preliminary investigation report, which was released to the public on 9 September 2014. In addition, the ATSB representative attended two investigation progress meetings in The Netherlands. The second of these meetings included an examination of the reconstruction of the aircraft from recovered wreckage, items and components.
Subsequently, and consistent with Annex 13 standards and recommended practices, the ATSB and other accredited representatives received a copy of the draft investigation report for comment. The DSB considered these and comments from other relevant parties to the investigation before finalising their report.
The DSB has completed its investigation and report and, in accordance with the provisions of Annex 13, a final investigation report was published 13 October 2015. This report, together with information on the investigation, is available from the DSB’s website at www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en.
Any enquiries with respect to the DSB investigation should, in the first instance, be directed to:
Dutch Safety Board
PO Box 95404
2509 CK The Hague
The Netherlands
Telephone: +31 70 333 70 00