Category: MH 370

Tom Burns
Aljazeera
30 May 2014

Why are countries spending millions of dollars in search of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane?

Two months and too many conspiracy theories ago, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing lost contact with air traffic control and prompted the largest air-sea search in history.

Satellite data provided investigators with two possible corridors along which the missing plane may have sent out its final communications. The northern corridor extended from northern Thailand across the Asian continent to the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan while the southern corridor stretched from the western islands of Indonesia to the remote southern Indian Ocean.

Developments in the search lead to a specific focus on the southern corridor, particularly areas of the southern Indian Ocean, about 2,000 kilometres west of the Australian coastal city of Perth.

Throughout the search, families of the 239 people aboard have endured a rollercoaster of emotions as lead after lead has failed to confirm the exact location of the aircraft and the nature of its likely demise.

It was to these families that officials from Malaysia, China, and Australia, pledged in early May that they would not give up the search. Continue reading “The cost of MH370 search efforts”

Adam Withnall,The Independent | May 30, 2014

Officials on Thursday confirmed what we have feared for some time — that a relatively tiny search zone in the southern Indian Ocean is not the final resting place of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

From an underwater mission covering 850 sq km (320 sq mile) where acoustic “pings” were heard, the area being searched has now been extended to around a 60,000 sq km (23,100 sq mile) zone based on satellite data which remains disputed in some quarters.

The Australia-led search control team estimate it could be August — next year — before this region has been covered, and hopes of finding the Boeing 777’s flight recorders are becoming increasingly dim.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the circumstances of MH370’s bizarre disappearance, it has become rich territory for aviation experts, bloggers and conspiracy theorists alike.

Here we round up 13 of the most prominent theories as to where the plane ended up, and what went wrong in the first place. Continue reading “13 theories of what happened to Flight MH370”

by Muzliza Mustafa
The Malaysian Insider
May 30, 2014

Family members of crew on board flight MH370 have hit out at the Malaysia Airlines union for calling for another body to deal with efforts and issues regarding the missing jetliner.

Jacquita Gonzales, wife of inflight supervisor Patrick Francis Gomes who was one of the 12 crew on flight MH370, said she was disheartened by the statement made by the Malaysian Airlines System Employees Union (Maseu), a union representing 8,000 of MAS’s 13,500 employees.

“I was upset and I broke down when I read the article. The phrase where he said to put us aside and allow other entity to look after our interest just brought us back to March 8.”

Mohd Jabbarullah Abd Kadir, executive secretary of Maseu, yesterday in a statement said MAS had handled the flight MH370 tragedy in the “best” possible way, adding that the loss-making airlines needs to move forward to ensure it stays afloat.

He also reiterated call for several top management figures in MAS to resign “with dignity”, saying that the union feels that the company has to focus on restoring its image and fortunes.

But, Gonzales said that MAS’s rebuilding should not be at the expense of caring for its employees. Continue reading “Families of MH370 crew rap MAS union for ‘disowning’ them”

Clive Irving
The Daily Beast
05.29.14

Australia called off the search Thursday, implying the stunning news the sounds heard in the Indian Ocean were not from the black boxes.

Expectations that the remains of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 would be found soon have been dashed. The Australian leaders of the operation have announced the end of the search of an area extending over 329 square miles of the Indian Ocean about 1,000 miles northwest of Perth, Australia. “The area can now be discounted as the final resting place of MH370,” the Australian Joint Agency Coordination Centre said Thursday.

Early in April this area was said to be the most-promising target for the search. The Australian vessel Ocean Shield, tracking along a 205-mile arc, reported detecting four separate sets of ping signals believed to be coming from the missing Boeing 777’s flight recorders. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said “We are confident that we know the position of the black box flight recorder to within some kilometers.”

The Australians did not confirm Thursday, in so many words, what CNN first reported, that a U.S. Navy official has said that the pings were not, in fact, from Flight 370’s recorders—although that is implicit in Australia’s statement announcing the end of the search in that area. CNN quoted Michael Dean, the Navy’s deputy director of ocean engineering, saying of the pings that “our best theory at this point is that they were likely some sound produced by the ship…or within the electronics of the Towed Pinger Locator.” Continue reading “Awful but True: Pings Were Not From Malaysia Airlines Flight 370”

MAY 29, 2014 | TMI

Almost three months after flight MH370 went missing, there is still no sign of what happened to the plane which was carrying 239 people on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

When ping signals were detected in the Indian Ocean in April, hopes rose that they were emanating from the aircraft’s black box flight recorders, and the search intensified in their vicinity.

Yet a sophisticated mini-sub searching the ocean floor near the sounds has found no sign of the plane and some experts now believe they did not come from the jet.

Here are answers to some key questions:

Q: Are the ‘pings’ from MH370?

A: It cannot be ruled out, but international consensus is now that the series of acoustic transmissions at the heart of the Indian Ocean search did not come from MH370’s black box, according to a senior US Navy official. Continue reading “Answers to key questions on the MH370 mystery”

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, 29th May 2014)

Three reports today on the missing MH 370 Boeing 777, entering into its 82nd today, have completely shot into smithereens the authority and credibility of the Malaysian government, which have never fallen to such a low depth internationally in our nation’s 57-year history.

The three reports today are:

1. CNN report entitled “Four pings no longer believed from MH370’s black box, says US official”;

2. Wall Street Journal (WSJ) write-up that the raw satellite data and other documents released by Malaysian and Australian authorities in a 45-page official report on MH 370 lacks details on explaining where the plane could have gone down.

3. The statement today by the Australian authorities whose retired Australian air marshal Angus Houston heads the Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre (JACC) responsible for the largest and longest multi-national air, sea and sub-sea search for MH 370, declaring they are ending the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean as they have come to the conclusion after deepsea hunts using a drone submersible have not been able to detect any trace of aircraft debris in more than 850 square kilometres of the ocean floor in the area. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has accordingly advised that the search in the vicinity of the acoustic detections can now be considered complete and in its professional judgment, the area can now be discounted as the final resting place of MH 370.

These three reports are at odds with the announcement by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, at a sudden 10 pm media conference on March 24 that MH 370 “ended its journey” in the southern Indian Ocean, an announcement which I had described in Parliament the next day as an attempt to bring about “a closure without closure” to the families and relatives of the 239 passengers and crew members – as not a single piece of wreckage or debris had been found, which continued to be the case for the next 66 days. Continue reading “Credibility of Malaysian government at stake if Najib does not present White Paper on MH370 disaster followed by full-scale parliamentary debate on June 9”

The Malay Mail Online
MAY 29, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 — Raw satellite data and other documents released by Malaysian and Australian authorities failed to explain key assumptions investigators used to establish search zones in the Indian Ocean for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

The report comes as a US Navy official said on CNN that the four acoustic pings at the centre of the search for the missing plane which disappeared on March 8, are no longer believed to be from the aircraft’s black boxes.

“We do not understand the report. We need an expert to explain it to us,” said Sahril Shaari, a cousin of Muhammad Razahan Zamani, who was on the flight, told the Wall Street Journal.

Released earlier this week, the 45 pages of satellite data were provided to the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) by satellite firm Inmarsat.

The WSJ report pointed out that there were some glaring omissions. Continue reading “WSJ: MH370 report lacks details in explaining where plane could have gone down”

The Malaysian Insider
May 29, 2014

Four acoustic transmissions that have been the focus of the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 are no longer believed to have come from the plane’s black box, a US official said today.

The US Navy’s deputy director of ocean engineering Michael Dean told CNN there was now broad agreement that they came from some other man-made source unrelated to the jet that disappeared on March 8 carrying 239 people.

Speaking to CNN, Dean said that if the pings had come from the recorders, searchers would have found them. Continue reading “Four pings no longer believed to be from MH370’s black box, says US official”

by Muzliza Mustafa
The Malaysian Insider
May 28, 2014

The families of MH370 passengers have reacted with scepticism to raw tracking data released by the global satellite company Inmarsat yesterday on the missing jetliner, saying the fact that the data was not in its original format has raised suspicions that it may have been edited and manipulated.

Lokman Mustafa, whose sister was on board the plane, said although he appreciated Inmarsat’s move to publish the data, he could not help wondering why the British satellite company decided to publish it with an explanation and analysis instead of raw computer pages.

“The satellite company has extracted crucial lines from the logs and published it with an explanation and analysis. In addition, they have not published the raw computer pages and this raises the question ‘why not?’ Continue reading “Families frustrated over delayed MH370 tracking data, question its authenticity”

by TOMMY THOMAS
KiniBiz
May 9, 2014

MH370 AzlanLike billions of people across the globe and millions of Malaysians, I have been following with deep interest the saga of flight MH370 from the morning of Saturday, 8th March when it vanished into thin air. The public relations disaster that ensued, with different authorities contradicting each other and positions shifting daily has embarrassed the nation and MAS beyond repair, at least in the short term. Unfortunately, the release of a Preliminary Report by the Chief Inspector of Air Accidents, Ministry of Transport does not provide any comfort in ascertaining the full truth and restoring credibility. Continue reading “MH370: An avoidable tragedy”

by Eileen Hee
The Rakyat Post

KUALA LUMPUR, May 10:

Geological survey firm GeoResonance Pty Lt, based in Adelaide, said it hadn’t suffered any backlash from issuing its public claim to have found the wreckage of MH370 in the Bay of Bengal.

“We cannot judge about awareness that our business has created. What we know for sure is that our claim has unearthed numerous pseudo scientists in the form of media commentators,” said managing director Pavel Kursa.

He said GeoResonance had consulted its clients before approaching the media with the MH370 wreckage claim and its clients had encouraged the firm to alert the authorities.

GeoResonance’s clients mainly comprise mining companies searching for minerals, oil and gas hidden deep under ocean floors. Continue reading “GeoResonance adamant MH370 is in Bay of Bengal”

Ari N. Schulman
The Atlantic
May 8 2014

Outside satellite experts say investigators could be looking in the wrong ocean.

Investigators searching for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight were ebullient when they detected what sounded like signals from the plane’s black boxes. This was a month ago, and it seemed just a matter of time before the plane was finally discovered.

But now the search of 154 square miles of ocean floor around the signals has concluded with no trace of wreckage found. Pessimism is growing as to whether those signals actually had anything to do with Flight 370. If they didn’t, the search area would return to a size of tens of thousands of square miles. Continue reading “Why the Official Explanation of MH370’s Demise Doesn’t Hold Up”

Economist
May 10th 2014 | KUALA LUMPUR | From the print edition

Having bashed Malaysia over the missing flight, China is now making up

THERE will be no let-up in the efforts to find the missing Malaysian Airlines jet Najib Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister, vowed on May 5th. Despite his promise, however, there is growing acceptance that it will take months even years to find any trace of flight MH370, which disappeared on March 8th. Hopes that any of its passengers might still be alive must also be cast aside. The new search area in the Indian Ocean will alone cover 60,000 square kilometres (23,000 square miles)—and that is on top of the 4,600,000 square kilometres already scoured. Because the focus of the search-and-rescue mission has now moved to the west coast of Australia, Malaysians have some breathing space to reflect on a traumatic two months in the glare of the world’s attention. The country has taken a battering, but the longer-term damage is another matter. The saga has emphasised how much Malaysia matters in the geopolitics of the region: the two Pacific superpowers, America and China, have both come to play big roles in the search for the missing plane, if in very different ways. Continue reading “The geopolitics of MH370”

The Malay Mail Online
May 08, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Almost 350 family members of passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are demanding raw data be released for independent analysis, preferably to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the non-profit research facility responsible for finding the remains of missing Air France Flight 447 in 2009, almost two years after it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

Amid questions about how the investigation has been conducted, the family members made the demand in an open letter sent to the leaders of Malaysia, China and Australia today.

In the letter they questioned how authorities could be certain the Boeing 777 had crashed into the Indian Ocean after vanishing without a trace two months ago.

“Due to the lack of physical evidence that MH370 ended in the Southern Indian Ocean, the families are in urgent need for the conclusion, based on [British satellite communications firm] Inmarsat data analysis, that the aircraft’s flight ended in that ocean to be reconsidered to confirm its accuracy,” they wrote. Continue reading “In open letter, MH370 family members demand raw data be released to independent investigators”

By Holly Yan, CNN
May 7, 2014

(CNN) — After 61 days and no tangible evidence, officials from Malaysia, China and Australia will hunker down Wednesday to plot the next steps in the hunt for MH370.

Their tasks: Review all the information gathered so far and figure out what tools will be needed in the next stage of the search — a deeper, broader probe of the Indian Ocean.

Two things are certain: This new phase will be expensive and even more difficult.

Australia estimates it will cost $60 million, with the breakdown of who’s going to pay for what yet to be determined.

But perhaps the greatest challenge now will be scouring unchartered territory. A key element of the new phase will be a detailed mapping of the ocean floor. Continue reading “With no hard evidence, hunt for MH370 to get deeper, broader and pricier”

The Malaysian Insider
May 07, 2014

Putrajaya must be transparent about the circumstances that led to flight MH70 vanishing two months ago, and should apologise for shortcomings in the search for the missing plane, the husband of one of the passengers wrote in an open letter to the prime minister.

K. S. Narendran, whose wife Chandrika Sharma was on the Malaysia Airlines plane with 238 other people, said the families have lost their loved ones but Malaysia had lost its credibility in the search for the Boeing 777-200ER.

“Perhaps the most serious casualty second only to the loss of the plane is the severely impaired credibility of your Government and the airline’s handling of the crisis.

“The skimpy Preliminary Report released to the public this week, supposedly based on your guidelines does little to enhance your government’s commitment to transparency, and therefore only adds fuel to doubts, suspicion and speculations,” he wrote in an email to Datuk Seri Najib Razak dated May 4, 2014. Continue reading “In open letter, MH370 passenger’s husband asks Malaysia for transparency, apology”

By Gopi Chandra Kharel
International Business Times
May 6, 2014

The projected flight trajectory of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, shown by an arc, could have been a mistake. (Photo: Australian Maritime Safety Authority)

It appears that the authorities are not sure if the data gathered in the nearly two-month hunt for the missing Malaysia jet, which projected the likely flight trajectory of MH370 shown by an arc, was a correct analysis after all.

An international panel of experts is in the process of re-examining all data gathered so far, in order to be sure if the international team has been looking for the missing plane in the right place, officials said on Tuesday.

Senior officials from Malaysia, Australia and China met in the Australian capital to discuss the next move in search for MH370, after two months of intense efforts in the southern Indian Ocean yielded no tangible results. The meeting hashed out details of plans for another search operation that could take up to a year to complete and will cost about A$60million – an amount that has raised quite a few eyebrows.

Now that the authorities are not even sure if the search operation thus far for the missing MH370 plane was taking place in the right place, it is likely to raise further questions from the family members of the passengers aboard, as well as the public. Continue reading “Projected Flight Path of MH370 Mistaken? Authorities Not Sure if Data Analysis was Correct”

BY TIM HEPHER PARIS
Reuters
May 6, 2014

(Reuters) – European safety officials on Tuesday proposed tougher rules for ‘black box’ flight recorders in the strongest regulatory reaction yet to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it would propose increasing the recording time on cockpit voice recorders to 20 hours from two to make it easier to understand plane accidents and prevent vital evidence being overwritten.

Newly published proposals would also bring into force recommendations made by French crash investigators after the loss of an Air France jet in the Atlantic in 2009, but which remain bogged down in talks among regulators.

These include the addition of a new pinger frequency making it easier to locate the recording devices under water, where lower frequencies travel further. Continue reading “Europe draws up tougher black box rules after MH370 mystery”