Aviation experts laud MH370 ’no cure, no fee’ approach

KUALA LUMPUR: The “no cure, no fee” deal is an appropriate approach for resuming the search for Malaysia Airlines jetliner MH370 which went missing in March 2014, say aviation experts.

Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) test pilot Professor Dr Mohd Harridon Mohamed Suffian said the agreement inked between Malaysia and United Statesbased seabed exploration company, Ocean Infinity Limited, to begin a fresh search in the southern Indian ocean would ensure the government a fair deal in terms of monetary payment.

“No point in paying for services that produce zero results. Paying after getting results is an optimum approach to reduce or avoid capital losses,” he said.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai announced on Wednesday that under the agreement, the search for MH370 would resume in mid-January in which the Seabed Constructor vessel would cover an area of 25,000sq km in 90 days.

The primary mission of the ship is to identify the location of the wreckage and/or both of the flight recorders; the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR).

Harridon believes that this is a great initiative by the government and private sector to continue the search to solve one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

A researcher at a local airline, Ahmad Maulan Bardai, had similar views.

“Additionally, the government must not commit any further funding chasing the uncertain. Furthermore, this search and recovery funding has been the practice in the shipping industry.”