Missing MH370 report coming
ANSWERS FOR MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE Privately funded underwater search for plane ends.
Malaysia’s new government has promised to release a long-awaited report into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, as a privately funded underwater search ended yesterday.
Flight MH370, carrying 239 people, vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, becoming one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.
The government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said last week US seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity, which had scoured the southern Indian Ocean for the aircraft since January, would end its hunt yesterday.
The previous administration of Najib Razak, who was defeated in a stunning election upset on May 9, had promised up to $70 million (R880 million) to the Texas-based firm if it found the plane within 90 days.
Malaysia’s Transport Minister, Anthony Loke, said a full report into MH370’s disappearance would be published in the near future, but he did not give a date.
“I can assure you the final report will be published with full disclosure. There will not be any edits, or anything hidden,” he said.
Asked whether the report would refer to controversial elements of the case, he said: “Whatever elements, we will publish it”.
Last year, Australian authorities said the captain had flown a route on his home simulator six weeks before the disappearance that was “initially similar” to the course taken by the aircraft.
Peter Foley, who led the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s search efforts, told an Australian Senate hearing “control inputs” had been made to fly the airliner off course, but he could not say if one of the pilots had done so.
Malaysian investigators said in 2015 they had found nothing suspicious in the financial, medical or personal histories of the pilots or crew.
Ocean Infinity was engaged after Australia, China and Malaysia ended a fruitless $159 million search, Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Plunkett said yesterday the team searched 112 000km2 in three months. –