(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed last yearkilling 298 people after being brought down by a Buk missile firedfrom the eastern part of Ukraine when it entered airspace thatshould have been closed, a Dutch-led probe concluded.

The warhead detonated about 1 meter (3 feet) from the cockpit,ejecting hundreds of metal fragments that caused the break up ofthe Boeing Co. 777, which had been en route from Amsterdam toKuala Lumpur, Dutch Safety Board Chairman Tjibbe Joustra saidTuesday.

The missile was fired from within an area of 320 squarekilometers, Joustra said, adding in comments later that the zoneappeared to have been under the control of pro-Russia rebels at warwith government forces, though the frontier was changingregularly.

Attention now turns to a criminal probe into the tragedy, whichwill carry on into next year after identifying “persons ofinterest” to the inquiry, according to a separate statement. TheNetherlands is leading both investigations because the majority ofvictims were Dutch.

The reconstruction of the Boeing jet with pieces recovered fromthe crash was “complicated" by the fact that the wreckage laywithin an area of active fighting, Joustra said. Fragments werestill being gathered until as recently as two weeks ago, and moreitems may be found, though that won’t change the safety board’sconclusions, he said.

‘Terrorist act’

Joustra said that apportioning blame for the incident wasn’tpart of the investigation’s official mandate and that the subjectis one for the criminal probe. The U.S. and other Western powershave previously said that all evidence points to separatists havingdowned MH17, while Ukraine said today that the loss of MH17 stemmedfrom a “planned terrorist act.”

The Dutch report will be closely scrutinized, Kremlin spokesmanDmitry Peskov said Monday, while criticizing the investigators fora “lack of due level of cooperation” and failing to engageadequately with specialists in Russia. Buk rocket maker Almaz-AnteyOAO said Tuesday that its own study, which included a strike on aplane on the ground to simulate the explosion, indicated themissile involved was an old model no longer in use in Russia.

The official report identifies a lozenge-shaped region to theeast of the MH17 debris field as the likely origin of the missile-- an area that Ukraine also maintains was rebel-held at thetime.

Airspace confusion

Using the same data, Almaz-Antey suggests the warhead came froma smaller zone within the range specified by the Dutch which itsays was partly controlled by Ukrainian government forces andpartly by separatists, while Ukraine’s simulation narrows thelikely launch location to just a few fields.

Ukraine should in any case have shut the skies over thewar-zone, Joustra said, adding that 160 planes crossed the areaon July 17, the day of the tragedy. Hennadiy Zubko,Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, said the government did all itcould to oversee its airspace and that international criteria onclosures that need to be improved.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement that nocarrier had been advised against taking the route following byMH17, and that the loss of the aircraft had resulted from a“murderous act.”

Russia this year blocked moves for a United Nations tribunal totry suspects over the downing of MH17. Dutch Prime Minister MarkRutte said today that the Netherlands will continue to seek tobring those responsible to justice, while a statement from theWhite House said the U.S.’s assessment that the plane was targetedfrom rebel territory is unchanged.

The Boeing jet had been carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew onits final flight. More than 190 of them were Dutch, with Malaysiansmaking up the next biggest category. The dead also included peoplefrom Australia, Indonesia, the U.K., Germany, Belgium, thePhilippines, Canada and New Zealand.

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