Authorities Rule On Cause Of MH17 Crash, Complicating Insurance Coverage

Last year’s tragic loss of civilian airliner Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was the result of a missile warhead launched by pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine, Dutch authorities said yesterday. The warhead exploded outside the cockpit, bringing down the aircraft and killing all 298 passengers and crew members aboard. Dutch Safety Board chairman Tjibbe Joustra, who headed the investigation, said none of the aviation parties involved in the attack — including Ukranian authorities who left the dangerous airspace open — "recognized the risks posed to civil aviation by the armed conflict on the ground."