Should We Worry About The Mangosteens And Highly Inflammable Batteries In The MH370 Cargo?

On Friday, 21 March 2014, more details came to light regarding the cargo of the plane, with Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya finally confirming there was a load of lithium ion batteries in the hold. After two weeks of speculation and unconfirmed reports, Yahya said that the lithium-ion batteries were indeed on board.

timesofisrael.com

He added, however, that they “are not regarded as dangerous goods… and were packed as recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.” Malaysian officials said in a press conference Friday (21 March 2014) that they did not regard such cargo as dangerous, if packed according to regulations.

straitstimes.com

Little attention has been given to what was in the cargo hold of MH370, yet this would automatically be of interest to accident investigators. In this case the continued emphasis by the Malaysians on actions by the pilots and suspicions of a hijacking seem to have skewed the priorities.

Lithium-ion batteries - which are used in mobile phones and laptops - have been responsible for a number of fires on planes and have even brought aircraft down in recent years.

According to US-based Federal Aviation Administration, lithium-ion batteries carried in the cargo or baggage have been responsible for more than 140 incidents between March 1991 and February 17 this year.

— The hands of a passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight burned when spare lithium-ion batteries for a cell phone melted the zip-top bag in which they were carried, breached the passenger’s carry-on bag and produced smoke and flames.

— A package of 18 lithium-ion batteries melted through their plastic wrap and set fire to their outer package at the UPS flight center in Louisville, Kentucky.

— A FedEx pilot was taking the jump seat in the cockpit of a flight from Memphis when a lithium-ion battery in a flashlight carried in his backpack caught fire while the airplane was still at the gate.

The FAA cautions that their published list of scores of incidents does not represent all the information collected nor “all investigative or enforcement actions taken.”

themalaysianinsider.com

The transport of lithium-ion batteries in the cargo of passenger aircraft is a common practice, says the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Director-General and Chief Executive Officer Tony Tyler said it has to however, be undertaken in accordance with the Dangerous Goods Regulations.

freemalaysiatoday.com

“I am unaware of the type of lithium batteries on board the missing flight MH370.But all lithium battery types have to pass strict testing requirements to be allowed onto an aircraft,” he told a press conference here today. He was responding to a question on whether passenger aircraft are allowed to carry the lithium-ion batteries as part of cargo. “Clearly, strict regulations and requirements covering packaging and labelling, have to be followed,” he added.

nst.com.my

Tyler also said Malaysia Airlines (MAS) had a good track record in terms of safety performance. “It has been on the IATA registry since 2006 and the current registration will be reviewed in 2016,” he added.

freemalaysiatoday.com

"Airlines do that all the time, it is not just Malaysia Airlines. These goods are being flown by many airlines as cargo anyway, (which) is based on ICAO’s ruling," the Mail Online quoted him as saying.

themalaysianinsider.com

The International Air Transport Association, IATA has pointed out that millions of lithium-ion batteries are safely carried by air every year. (The International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, sets recommended safety standards while IATA represents airlines)

Smaller batteries have a variety of everyday uses, from digital cameras to laptops to cellphones. Some analysts suspect that if transported in the cargo hold of an airplane in bulk, the batteries could have overheated or burst into flames, causing a fire in the cargo hold that would have then spread to other parts of the plane — including the cockpit.

timesofisrael.com

A fire that incapacitated the flight crew has been raised as one explanation for MH370′s disappearance from the radar, changed course and altitude fluctuations.

timesofisrael.com

Police are investigating whether the food served on board the missing Malaysian airliner was poisoned. They are also retracing every piece of cargo that was loaded on to the Boeing 777, including tonnes of mangosteens, a tropical Asian fruit with a leathery shell surrounding fragrant white flesh.

oneindia.in

Malaysia’s top police officer Khalid Abu Bakar said the plane’s food caterers were being scrutinised in an investigation that has so far failed to uncover any significant leads into the disappearance of the plane with 239 people on board on March 8. Inspector-General Khalid said every possible angle had to be investigated to rule out sabotage.

illawarramercury.com.au

“For example when we knew there was a load of mangosteens on board we had to find out where the mangosteens came from,” he said. “We tracked down who plucked the fruits, who packed them and shipped them out, who put them on the plane.”

Inspector-General Khalid said investigators in China tracked down who was buying the fruit and for how much. “Imagine how many people we must interview and that was just the mangosteens,” he said.

phuketwan.com

Khalid also said that the police have "cleared" all passengers on board the missing plane of hijacking, sabotage and psychological and personal problems, but are still investigating the cabin crew, including the pilot and co-pilot.

themalaysianinsider.com

He also said that so far, police had recorded statements from more than 170 individuals over the disappearance of the Boeing 777-200ER (9M-MRO) aircraft, and added that they would record many more statements. The IGP also pleaded for more time for investigators to carry out a thorough probe. "Give us more time. We may not even know the real cause of this incident.”