Search for missing MH370 called off
Families condemn decision to suspend operations and say hunt should be extended to western Indian Ocean
SYDNEY // The huge underwater search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was abandoned yesterday, leaving one of the biggest mysteries of the aviation age unsolved.
Nearly three years after the airliner vanished, distraught relatives refused to accept the idea that the 239 passengers and crew might now never be found after the failure of one of the most expensive operations.
“Despite every effort using the best science available, cutting-edge technology, as well as modelling from highly skilled professionals who are the best in their field, unfortunately, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft,” said a statement from Australia, China and Malaysia.
“Accordingly, the underwater search for MH370 has been suspended.”
The Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
An initial search focused on an area east of Malaysia, but attention soon shifted to the west when it emerged the plane had changed course and headed into the Indian Ocean just as its communications equipment had been switched off. The information spawned speculation that the plane had been hijacked or rerouted, but little supporting evidence could be produced and conspiracy theories abounded.
Investigators later focused their search on a 120,000 square kilometre area to the west of Australia.
Malaysia Airlines described the search as thorough and comprehensive, adding that it was hopeful “new and significant information will come to light and the aircraft would eventually be located”.
But relatives lashed out at the announcement, with campaign group Voice370 calling on authorities to prolong the hunt, which has cost in excess of US$135 million (Dh496m).
“In our view, extending the search to the new area defined by the experts is an inescapable duty owed to the flying public in the interest of aviation safety,” the group said. “Commercial planes cannot just be allowed to disappear without a trace.”
Relatives have repeatedly complained about the lack of a coordinated search in the western Indian Ocean and along the African coast, where three pieces of debris confirmed to have come from the stricken plane have been found.
Search coordinators countered that oceanic drift patterns were consistent with debris making its way from the presumed crash site to the western fringes of the Indian Ocean. A Amirtham, 62, whose only son S Puspanathan was on board MH370, spoke of the pain she and her husband G Subramaniam have endured over the years. “Deep down in my heart, I believe he is alive,” she said.
“How can they stop the search when they have not found the plane? I am sad and confused because I just do not know if my son is dead or alive.”
Few of us can imagine the sadness and despair felt by the families and friends of the 239 passengers and crew of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, which was last seen almost three years ago. The news that the search for the airliner has been suspended must have compounded their grief by underscoring the fact that they may never have closure on what has become one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.
In a joint statement yesterday, the foreign ministers of Malaysia, China and Australia announced that the search that has so far covered 120,000 square kilometres of the Indian Ocean has been suspended. The statement, which acknowledged the pain and suffering of the relatives and friends, reflected what was a pragmatic decision. Many millions of dollars have been spent on a search that has so far yielded only seven objects that are from, or probably from, the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 that disappeared from radar screens on March 8, 2014. The vital black boxes are still missing and their ability to send a signal, even at close range, has almost certainly been exhausted.
The efforts of those involved in the search must be acknowledged. They did their best, with international expertise and cutting-edge technology, but the ocean is a big place. And so, too many questions remain unanswered – and they are the cause of heartbreak to the relatives and of concern to the aviation industry and everyone who has ever flown in an aircraft. First and foremost, in an age where anybody with a smartphone and a simple app can follow commercial flights on radar in real time, how can a plane simply vanish? If, as suspected, the pilot or somebody else on board turned off the plane’s transponder, why is this even possible?
Clearly the investigation is at an impasse, but the search teams, and those who have tried to create computer models of the plane’s movements, must have learnt something of use. We need to know what they know, even if they can’t make those pieces of information add up to a definitive conclusion. The safety and reputation of commercial aviation relies on this kind of transparency. We know that air travel is, in general, getting safer all the time, but that relies on the forensic investigation of those accidents that do occur. What has been learnt from this investigation must be shared so it can inform protocols and procedures in the future. Lives depend on it.