A report released by the Dutch Safety Board said there was “no evidence of technical or human error” on MH17. Dutch experts say  the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 broke up in mid-air after being hit by “numerous objects” that “pierced the plane at high velocity”.

However this evidence is consistent with the plane being struck by shrapnel from a missile.

All 298 people on board in the MH17, died when the plane came down, amid reports it was shot down by pro-Russian rebels.

Dutch aviation investigators relied on information from the black box flight data recorders, air traffic control, satellite images and photos from the scene to compile the preliminary report.

They said the plane “broke up in the air probably as the result of structural damage caused by a large number of high-velocity objects that penetrated the aircraft from outside.” The cockpit voice recorder revealed no signs of any technical faults or an emergency situation, the experts said. The investigators have not visited the crash site because of fighting in the area but they said photographic evidence of the wreckage suggests the plane split into pieces during “an in-flight break up”.

Maintenance history showed the aircraft was airworthy and had no known technical problems when it took off from Amsterdam, the report added. Experts also added that it was manned by “a qualified and experienced crew”. Radio communications between the pilot and Ukrainian air traffic control confirm that no emergency call was made.