Why Are The Family Members Rejecting The MH370 Interim Report?
The report — released one year after the disappearance of MH370 — provides a detailed picture of delays and protocol violations before the launch of the SAR mission. But it has angered family members of 239 people onboard the missing plane, who are now rejecting the report.
By Sadho Ram — 10 Mar 2015, 06:42 PM
One year after the disappearance of the MH370 and its 239 passengers and crew onboard, Ministry of Transport released an interim report on Sunday, 8 March 2015. It is available here.
Catherine Gang holds a banner as she walks outside Yonghegong Lama Temple after a gathering of family members of the missing passengers in Beijing 8 March 2015.
Image via The Malaymail OnlineThe interim report, while revealing that an underwater locator beacon battery had expired a year earlier, however, gives no new clues as to what happened to the missing MAS airliner
An interim report released on the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370 shows that the battery for the locator beacon on the Boeing 777's so-called black box was more than a year out of date at the time the plane lost contact with ground controllers over the Gulf of Thailand.
"According to maintenance records, the SSFDR ULB battery expired in December 2012," the 584-page report said (see below). "There is no evidence to suggest that the SSFDR ULB battery had been replaced before the expiry date."
If the battery was weaker than it should have been, it could have affected how long the "pinger" kept working and theoretically could have complicated the search, reported NPR. According to the BBC, however, it is unclear whether this affected the search.
However, the highly-anticipated interim report has proved a disappointment to the family members of those onboard the missing MH370. With one relative describing the report as useless.
"There was nothing in the report. Nothing new at all," Kelly Wen, wife of a Chinese passenger, told Malay Mail Online.
She read the report minutes after it was published at noon on a website exclusive for the next-of-kin. She voiced her frustration that the report contained repeated information that she had gathered elsewhere.
“I hope the people would not forget MH370. I wish for more answers from Malaysia, I also wish for my husband to come home,” said Wen.
A friend of a family that lost their son also voiced similar frustration at the lengthy 578-page report which says the search was delayed by chaos and confusion as air traffic controllers struggled to comprehend the situation and radar operators failed to take notice
The man who gave his name only as Sonny was incensed that the incident was still labelled an “accident” despite the lack of evidence.
“How can you call it an accident when you can't find the plane or passengers yet?” he told Malay Mail Online. He declined further comment, saying he had yet to finish reading the lengthy 578-page report.
themalaymailonline.com
While Malaysia and Australia say they remain committed to finding the missing MH370, family members, who held remembrance ceremonies on Sunday, expressed their frustration with the report
It contains masses of technical information about the missing aircraft, its maintenance record, the background of the crew, and the various air traffic control and military radar tracking records of the plane, says the BBC's Jonathan Head.
It notes the battery on the beacon of the flight data recorder had expired, which may suggest searchers had less chance of locating the aircraft, although the battery on the locator beacon of the cockpit voice recorder was working.
But the report offers no significant new information which might explain where the plane went, or what happened to it, adds our correspondent.
Family members protested the lack of answers given in the report
Jie Yie, four years old, holds a picture of her grandmother Lee Sew Chu and her aunt Ng May Li who were aboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, on the one year anniversary of its disappearance at a remembrance event, in Kuala Lumpur, 8 March 2015.
Image via The Malaymail Online"My daughter asks me every day, 'Where is Daddy? Why isn't he answering his phone?" Kelly Wen from China, whose husband was on the plane, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying.
npr.orgSarah Bajc, whose partner Philip Wood was on board, ridiculed the fact that investigators had interviewed just 120 people.
"That's less than our tiny underfunded private investigation has done," she said, referring to a private inquiry launched by a group of next-of-kin.
Raymund Gagarin, whose cousin Anne Daisy was one of the passengers, said he believed the government was hiding information from families.
"It's just taking a lot of people's emotion on a big merry-go-round. It's a bit cruel," he added.
Tan Tuan Kee (R) and his family are worried the search for their son and brother will end
Image via BBC"We don't accept the announcement from Malaysia on January 19 that said the event was an accident," said the woman in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, who did not give her name.
Tan Tuan Kee, the father of missing passenger Tan Chong Ling, told the BBC he believed his son was still alive. "I'm concerned that our government will stop searching for the aircraft," he added.
Giving voice to many family members of those onboard the missing MH370, Dr. Mahathir described the report as "ridiculous", saying it was strange that the latest technology still failed to locate the plane
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the International Conference on the New World Order “Recipe for War or Peace” at PICC in Putrajaya, 9 March 2015.
Image via The Malaymail OnlineThe former prime minister said it was impossible that the Boeing 777, which was on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8 last year, could simply vanish without a trace.
"It is very strange that a 230-tonne aircraft could vanish and not be found. I still cannot accept any report because I am not sure, in this age of communication, we don't know where the plane is," he told reporters in Putrajaya today. "I suspect there is technological interference in this matter".
themalaysianinsider.com
The report, which contained factual data about the MH370 rather than analysis, offered family members no apparent answers about why it dropped off radar. It said captain Zaharie didn't have any personal or financial problems that would cast suspicion on him.
"The captain's ability to handle stress at work and home was good. There was no known history of apathy, anxiety, or irritability," the report said. "There were no significant changes in his lifestyle, interpersonal conflict or family stresses."
Investigators looked into the backgrounds of the different crew members. They also examined closed-circuit TV footage of the flight crew at airports on at least three previous flights and saw no signs of change in behavior.
Grace Subathirai Nathan, whose mother Anne Catherine Daisy was onboard, questioned Putrajaya's timing of releasing the report
“We are in so much pain at this time that we still have no news of our loved ones,” the 26-year-old lawyer told Malay Mail Online in a text message through WhatsApp.
“What is the value of releasing this report on the 8th, minutes before the official start time of our NOK event?” she asked, using the acronym meaning next-of-kin. “Can’t they release it on the 9th?” she added.
In a poignant tribute to her mother, Grace said: "Ma, I would give everything in my life to have you back."
"The interim report didn't provide any effective information," Bai Jie, whose mother was on the flight, said after joining a protest outside the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing. "That's why we are very angry."
An event held Sunday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the missing MH370 plane.
Image via The Malaysian Insider