New York ( CNN ) -- The report into Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 says everything . And yet it says nothing about the cause of the plane 's crash and the criminals . It tells us that MH17 was brought down by `` high energy objects '' which were of `` external causes '' and never once uses the word missile . How can this be ? The purpose of the preliminary report is not to apportion blame ; that is left to prosecutors and courts who deal with those who caused this atrocity . This investigation is all about finding out what happened and making sure it never happens again . Once you understand that , reading the report makes sense . There is a great deal about how the plane got to be flying where it was , how engine oil was added in Amsterdam airport before MH17 flew into Ukraine and some thundershowers . The report details how the plane was flying legally , over eastern Ukraine and in unrestricted air space . That point is made again and again , lest anyone wants to suggest otherwise . The reports goes into the routine progression of the flight . How the pilots asked for a slight change of course to the left to avoid bad weather , then air traffic control re-directed them to avoid other planes in the area . Indeed , the report makes clear that there were three other large commercial planes in the area , two 777s and an A330 . MH17 was the victim of the awfulness of being in the wrong place at the wrong time . Hauntingly , when you read the transcript of the air traffic control communications , there were no warnings , no maydays , nothing . The plane just disintegrated after being hit by those `` high energy objects . '' It is left to the air traffic controller in Russia , who comments minutes after the incident , that it seemed as if the radar signature `` started falling apart . '' Other air traffic controllers say `` it 's disappeared . '' I have read many air traffic accident reports . In this report they have to make clear that the so-called black box 's unique digital signature was correct for this aircraft . In other words , this was the right flight data recorder for that aircraft . The report made clear it had been neither switched nor tampered with . This report is stark because it shows just how normal everything was until the second when the `` external causes '' hit . There is no long discussion about performance of engines , as they start to go wrong , no analysis of pilots actions as complex avionics start to flash warnings . Just the sad , awful fact that at 13:20 the plane was blasted out of the sky . And it never says the word missile . READ MORE : What I saw at the MH17 crash site . READ MORE : Bitter lessons of MH17 . WATCH MORE : Victim 's remains return to Malaysia .
Report into MH17 's crash says everything -- but nothing about the criminals behind its downing . CNN 's Richard Quest asks how it can explain the incident without using the word missile . The report goes into great detail about the plane 's flight over Ukraine , the bad weather , and the black box . It also mentions that a Russian fighter jet was shot down by Ukrainian forces in 2014.