MH370: Malaysia says final report due in 'months ahead'

Malaysian authorities expect to issue a final report on the disappearance of MH370 in the coming months and say they have found several key issues within the civil aviation system which could be improved to enhance safety.

The Malaysian team investigating the 2014  loss of the Boeing 777 with 239 passengers and crew on board said last week it was working towards finalising its findings. conclusions and safety recommendations on eight areas associated with the disappearance.

With the wreckage and black box flight recorders still missing, it said this would be “based on the available evidence”.

The move to finalise the report comes after Ministers from the three governments involved in a three-year  Southern Indian Ocean search for the plane ignored expert advice and shut down the operation before it had covered a 25,000 sq. km zone now thought to be the likeliest crash site.

The ministers from Malaysia, China and Australia suspended the search after aircraft was not found in an initial 120,000 sq, km search area,  saying it would not be resumed unless there was credible new information which could be used to identify the aircraft’s position.

 However, they failed to define what they meant by credible new information and the statement was criticised by experts and family members as meaning the governments would not look for the plane unless it had already been found.

Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester failed to answer questions from Airlineratings.com about the criteria or about claims by a University of Western Australia scientist that he had reverse drift modelling that better pinpointed the crash site.  

Meanwhile, investigators are still working on drift analysis and satellite imagery in an attempt to provide information that could bolster the case for resuming the search. Family members are also trying to raise cash for a private sweep.

In its four-page March 8 statement, the Malaysian investigation team said the relevant areas included the aircraft’s diversion from the filed flight plan route; air traffic services operations; the flight crew profile; airworthiness and maintenance and aircraft systems; satellite communications;  wreckage and impact information; and cargo consignment.

Also in the spotlight are “organisation and management information” from Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation and Malaysia Airlines.

The statement conceded that its recommendations may change if new information becomes available and that the failure to find the wreckage and flight recorders meant there was “significant lack of vital evidence’’ to determine why the aircraft went off course.

“However, despite the limitations in available evidence, the investigation has identified several key issues within the civil aviation system that can be improved to enhance safety into the future,’’ it said.

“Following the 17 January 2017 MH370 Ministerial Tripartite Communiqué’s decision to suspend the underwater search for the aircraft, a final report on the disappearance of MH370 will be made publicly available in the months ahead.’’

The report reiterated findings by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau that the damage found to a right flaperon recovered from the French island of Reunion led to the conclusion that that flaps were most likely in the retracted position.

“Recovery of the cabin interior debris suggests that the aircraft was likely to have broken up,’’ it said. “However, there is insufficient information to determine if the aircraft broke up in the air or during impact with the ocean.

“At the time of writing of this Statement, additional parts are still being found along the coasts of south-east Africa. Examination of these items is continuing.”

More than 20 possible pieces of debris from the plane have been recovered with the flaperon, a part of the right outboard flap and a section of the left outboard flap confirmed as being from MH370.

A number of other pieces have been deemed to be almost certainly from the missing the plane, including items from the cabin interior.