MH17 crash: Dutch experts say numerous objects hit plane

[pampango]

29. Could be. The evidence of whether it was cannon fire or an exploding missile warhead may be resting

in a field in eastern Ukraine.

'High-energy objects' brought the flight down

The fuselage was pierced from the outside by large numbers of "high-energy objects". The cockpit seems to have been particularly badly hit, above the level of the cockpit floor. The DSB (Dutch Safety Board) investigators have not been able to recover or study any of the objects that penetrated the plane. The report does not speculate on the origin or nature of the objects, but the findings would be consistent with a fragmentation warhead, like the one carried by the Buk anti-aircraft missile, most widely thought to have been involved in the shooting down of the plane.

...the investigation has so far been a remote one. DSB investigators have not been able to visit the crash site for a forensic examination because their safety could not be guaranteed in a conflict zone largely under rebel control.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/09/mh17-five-things-dutch-safety-board-report

With the current ceasefire in effect, this should be a good time for DSB investigators to visit the crash site and see if they can recover any of "the objects that penetrated the plane". That should go a long way towards answering the question of what it was that 'penetrated the plane'.