8 RELEVANT AREAS BEING LOOKED INTO

3rd Interim Statement released; final report out in coming months

INVESTIGATORS are working on finalising analysis, findings/conclusions and safety recommendations on eight relevant areas associated with the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

The eight areas being reviewed by the team are:

DIVERSION from Filed Flight Plan Route;

AIR Traffic Services Operations; FLIGHT Crew Profile; AIRWORTHINESS and Maintenance and Aircraft Systems; SATELLITE Communications;

WRECKAGE and Impact Information;

ORGANISATION and Management Information of the Department of Civil Aviation, Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines; and,

AIRCRAFT Cargo Consignment. The eight recommendations were proposed in the 3rd Interim Statement on the Safety Investigation for MH370, which was released yesterday.

“It should be recognised that, with the aircraft wreckage and flight recorders not found, there is a significant lack of vital evidence available to the team to determine with any certainty the reasons that the aircraft diverted from its filed flight plan route,” said the statement.

It said despite the limitations in available evidence, the investigation had identified several key issues within the civil aviation system that could be improved to boost safety in the future.

It also said investigations into the cabin interior debris recovered from Flight MH370 suggested that the aircraft likely broke up.

However, there was insufficient information to determine if the aircraft broke up in the air or during impact with the ocean, the statement said.

The statement, which was made available on the MH370.gov.my website also said the damage examination on the recovered part of the right outboard flap, together with the damage found on the right flaperon, had led to the conclusion that the flaps were most likely in the retracted position.

“At the time of writing this statement, additional parts are being found along the coasts of south-east Africa. Examination of these items is continuing,” said the statement, which was issued on the third anniversary of the incident yesterday.

“Following the Jan 17 MH370 Ministerial Tripartite Communiqué’s decision to suspend the underwater search for the aircraft, a final report on the disappearance of Flight MH370 will be made publicly available in the months ahead,” it said.

The 3rd Interim Statement was issued to provide information on the progress of the investigation on the disappearance of Flight MH370 pending the completion of the final report.

The Beijing-bound international scheduled passenger flight, carrying 239 persons — comprising 227 passengers and 12 crew on board — departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12.42am on March 8, 2014.

Less than 40 minutes after takeoff, communications with the aircraft was lost after passing waypoint 3 IGARI, in the South China Sea.

On April 25, 2014, Malaysia established an independent international Air Accident Investigation Team, known as “The Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370” to investigate the disappearance of Flight MH370.

The team, headed by the investigator-in-charge, comprises 19 Malaysians and seven accredited representatives of seven safety investigation authorities from seven countries.

Previously two other interim statements were made by the team.

The first interim statement and the Factual Information on the Safety Investigation for MH370 were released to the public on the first anniversary of the disappearance of Flight MH370 in 2015, followed by the second interim statement on March 8 last year.