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A new BBC documentary has examined claims doomed jet MH17 was blown out of the sky by a Ukrainian fighter jet.

A total of 298 passengers and crew were killed when the plane was shot down en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur as it flew over a conflict zone in Ukraine.

A report published in October last year said the jet was shot down by a Russian-built surface-to-air missile launched from eastern Ukraine.

But 'The Conspiracy Files: Who Shot Down MH17?', which is being aired on BBC 2 on May 3 at 9pm, interviews people who claim to have seen the aircraft being shot down by a fighter jet.

The documentary also explores the possibility that the downing of the jet was a CIA plot to pin the blame on Russia.

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According to the Daily Express, Natasha Beronina, told the programme she saw a fighter jet U-turn away from the scene as MH17 came crashing to the ground.

She said: “It was summer, harvest time. We heard a bang. At first we saw black smoke and two planes, little ones like silver toys.

"One flew straight on and the other one turned round when the bang happened and flew back from where it had come.”

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However programme makers say their research concluded it was unlikely the doomed passenger plane was shot down by a fighter jet.

Other eye-witnesses also described seeing a surface-to-air missile being fired towards the plane.

(Image: Reuters)

A BBC spokeswoman said: "Experts tell the programme it was unlikely a Ukrainian fighter jet could have shot down MH17, as they cannot fly at such high altitudes.

"This impartial documentary takes a balanced viewpoint in reporting the competing theories surrounding the fate of MH17, including the evidence for and against those involving Russia, Ukraine and the CIA.

"It also examines in detail the findings of the official Dutch inquiry into the incident, which provide compelling evidence that the plane was brought down by a powerful ground to air missile."

Earlier this month police arrested a man on suspicion of trying to assassinate the chief forensics officer in the probe into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Ukraine's most senior forensic scientists Oleksandr Ruvin was shot late last year and authorities believe the shooting was related to his role in the investigation.

(Image: Dutch Safety Board)

In statement, the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said it would hold a briefing later today “regarding the arrest of the killer who attempted to murder the chief expert on the case of the downed Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777”.

Mr Ruvin was shot in the leg but recovered in hospital.

The October report raised questions about a Russian cover-up in which fragments of shrapnel were deliberately removed from the body of the pilot.

By the time Dutch investigators - who were handling the investigation as 189 of the victims were Dutch - were granted access to the body of the pilot, the body had already "undergone an external and internal examination to remove foreign objects".

(Image: Dutch Safety Board)

In the month leading up to the tragedy, 16 military helicopters and aeroplanes were shot down as the conflict between separatists and Ukrainian authorities itensified.

At the time, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed the Dutch Safety Board’s report is biased.

It is believed further evidence about the location the missile was fired from is being prepared for publication later this year.