What Is Known (and Not Known) About Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17

Rumors, conjecture, and conspiracy theories swirl around the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.

Here is what is known for sure:

• Flight 17 was a regularly scheduled 11.5 hour flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• The aircraft was a Boeing wide-body 777-200.
• The plane took off from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol at 10:31 UTC.
• There were 15 crew and 283 passengers aboard.
• Of the passengers, 193 were Dutch.
• The plane flew at an altitude of 33,000 feet (10,000 meters).
• In Ukraine, over which the plane exploded, Russian-backed separatists and government forces were engaged in combat.
• As the flight approached the Russian border, there was routine communication between the cabin crew and air traffic controllers on the ground in Ukraine and in Russia.
• The final verbal communication was received at 13:20.
• Shortly before 13:26 the aircraft disappeared from radar screens.
• No distress call was received.
• Witnesses reported a midair explosion.
• Rescue workers arrived promptly; there were no survivors.
• The Dutch Ministry of Defence organized a mission to investigate the incident; it was hindered by the armed conflict in the region.
• The Ukrainian government produced intercepted audio transmissions in which alleged pro-Russian separatists talked of having shot down a plane.
• Video evidence surfaced that purported to show rebels combing through the still-smoking wreckage, seemingly dismayed at finding a civilian aircraft.
• A Dutch-led prosecutorial team presented evidence that a missile was launched toward MH17 from separatist-held territory in Ukraine using weaponry brought in from Russia and returned to that country the next day. 
• The separatists and their Russian backers have denied culpability.

Here is what is thought to have happened:

• Researchers concluded that the crash was caused by the detonation of a warhead from a radar-guided missile fired from a Buk (SA-11) surface-to-air system.
• Bad weather, pilot error, mechanical failure, and onboard fire or explosion were all ruled out during the course of the investigation.
• The warhead exploded a few feet from the cockpit, propelling hundreds of shrapnel fragments through the fuselage of the aircraft.
• The cabin crew was killed instantly, and the forward section of the aircraft broke off.
• The wings, passenger compartment, and tail remained in the air at least a minute longer before separating and dropping to the ground.

Here is the question that remains:

• What was the motive of those who shot down the plane?