It’s
a somber anniversary, to be sure. And frustrating.
Ten
years after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370, families are
still seeking answers. It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade, but it is one
of the aviation industries’ most enduring mysteries.
How
could a jumbo jetliner just disappear like that?
Ten
years ago, the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared barely 40
minutes after taking off. It is believed to have crashed in the ocean, but
other than some debris there has been no tangible evidence. Theories have
abounded, of course, ranging from mechanical failure to a deliberate act by the
pilot to bizarre comparisons to the plot of the television show ‘Lost’.
Eight
countries involving nearly 20 ships and airplanes became involved in a massive
search to no avail. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and
months turned into years. And now here we are a decade later, with no answers.
Families,
which were offered $50,000 apiece 10 years ago, have filed a lawsuit seeking $11
million each.
There
were 239 people aboard the Boeing 777.
Dr. Ghouse Mohd Noor, a friend
of the flight’s captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, says: “Captain Zaharie’s family is
still strongly hoping for answers. There is still no closure on it. There must
be an explanation of what happened.” The doctor gave an interview to the London
newspaper, the Guardian.
Ahmad Shah’s family and friends
are looking to discredit the popular conspiracy theory of a pilot gone bad. This
theory gained traction when it was learned that the plane veered wildly off
course, and that two communications systems did not respond.
Three investigations have been
launched surrounding the disappearance of the plane, but none have produced any
evidence.
“In truth, a lot can now be
known with certainty about the fate of MH370,” William Langewiesche, a pilot
turned investigative journalist, wrote in the Atlantic in 2019. “First,
the disappearance was an intentional act. It is inconceivable that the known
flight path, accompanied by radio and electronic silence, was caused by any
combination of system failure and human error.”
Still, the fate of MH-370 might
never be known.
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