International team inspects MH17 wreckage at Dutch air base

Trucks carrying wreckage from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 arrive at a Dutch airforce base in the southern town of Gilze-Rijen December 9, 2014. REUTERS/Michael Kooren

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - International investigators looking into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine last July met for their first joint consultation this week, examining cracks and impact patterns on the jet's fuselage, Dutch officials said on Friday.

The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 298 passengers and crew aboard when it crashed with no prior warning over the front lines of Ukraine's conflict between Moscow-backed separatist and Kiev government forces.