Kin want data released for third party scrutiny
Published: May 8, 2014 1:25 PM | Updated: May 9, 2014 8:37 AM
Latest developments:
Follow us as we bring the latest updates and coverage for the search of Flight MH370:
Kin demand data be released for 3rd party scrutiny
10.55pm: The MH370 Victim Families and Crew Association or Voice370 has demanded that the Malaysian government release critical data such as the raw Inmarsat data for third party scrutiny and for a reassessment of all data available, in light of the fact that no leads have surfaced to date.
"Due to the lack of physical evidence that MH370 ended in the Southern Indian Ocean, the families are in urgent need for the conclusion, based on Inmarsat data analysis, that the aircraft’s flight ended in that ocean to be reconsidered to confirm its accuracy.
"Further, if Inmarsat’s analysis is unable to rule out other flight paths as a possibility, that fact must be acknowledged," said the group in an open letter to the heads of the Malaysian, Australian and Chinese governments this evening.
They said with the "lack of tangible evidence of what happened to MH370" they believe there is "insufficient basis" to conclude that no other flight paths are possible apart from the one being considered up to today.
"We implore the Malaysian government to share and release the raw Inmarsat satellite engine ping data for 9MMRO (every ping from Friday, March 7 12:00 until the final signal was received globally) so that it can be subject to broader analysis by relevant experts," said the group.
Calling for "independent third party review", they said a "neutral broad minded review" and fresh approach might help move the search forward.
Among other demands, the group also wanted the Joint Agency Coordination Centre to share and release the pings recorded by the towed pinger locator to assess if indeed they were consistent with a black box emission.
Voice370 claims to represent the nearly 300 on board the missing flight, and the open letter was jointly issued by individuals from China, Malaysia, USA, India and New Zealand.
ICAO to meet on Monday on plane tracking debate
5.20pm: Alarmed by the fact that two aeroplanes - Air France 447 and Malaysian Airlines MH370 - were recently lost over the sea, the UN agency the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will meet on Monday in Montreal to grapple with new ways to better track planes.
Experts tell New York Times that ICAO will most likely consider two alternatives - one from Iridium Communications, a Canadian company which would launch low-earth orbit satellites next year to cover the globe, so that it can be reached with much lower-powered radios.
Another proposal is from Inmarsat, the British company whose satellite calculations nailed down MH370's final location. Inmarsat is proposing to offer free tracking to airlines that subscribe to an upgraded version of its service.
And then, ICAO has to consider whether pilots get control of these systems or not.
“It’s complicated work to get 191 states to agree on anything,” says Anthony Philbin, a spokesperson for ICAO.
Lengthy search MAS' 'biggest financial risk'
3.06pm: Local broker research firm TA Securities warns hidden financial burden that may spring upon MAS in the next one to two years owing to the damage claims by MH370 passenger and others.
According to KiniBiz, the airlines management tells equity research analysts in a recent meet that this would be a " year of damage control" for MAS.
Although, TA Securities, in its report, didn't change its rating on MAS' shares as insurance will usually cover most of the claims, it says an expensive search operation which could possibly stretch on for years, may be the Bursa-listed company's biggest financial risk.
For more, read here.
'We never sought to deprive next-of-kin legal rights'
2.30pm: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) today refutes claims by Taiwanese opposition lawmaker that the family of Chuang Hsiu-Ling have been treated as "second-rate citizens" as claimed.
In a email reply to Malaysiakini queries, MAS spokesperson says it has never sought to deprive their legal rights.
Democractic Progressive Party's Chao Tien-lin had told Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) that the family received letters calling on them to give up their rights to sue those accountable including governments of Malaysia and Taiwan and also that the family were neglected.
Chuang Hsiu-ling, who was onboard MH370, is the sister of Chao's aide, Chuang Ching-Chiang.
"For this case in particular, the airline had accommodated Chuang Ching-Chiang’s requests on numerous occasions, for return travels between Kuala Lumpur to Taipei, Kaohsiung and Hong Kong," MAS says, adding that it has also sometimes provided care beyond International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommendations.
King: CNN reports on MH370 amounts to nothing
1.30pm: Hitting out his ex-employer, veteran TV anchor Larry King, 80, slams CNN's busy coverage on MH370, calling it "absurd."
“The funny thing about it is that in all this time the only thing we know is that it made a left turn. We don’t know anything else, so I have learned nothing, and all that coverage has led to nothing," says King, who fronted CNN’s Larry King Live (left) for 25 years.
He further tells the UK Mirror that CNN wasted time pandering to the audience on MH370, and missed much more newsworthy events which occurred such as the landslides in Washington, ferry sinking in South Korea, a Ukraine war and a General Motors car recall with 13 people killed.
Minister confident it'll be business as usual with China
1pm: International Trade and Industry minister Mustapa Mohamed tells CNBC that Malaysia's trade ties with China won't be strained by MH370 even as tourist arrivals and March trade figures showed slight decline.
In March, Malaysia's exports to China fell 1.8 percent from the previous month, but over the first quarter, exports to China actually rose eight percent from a year earlier, even as economic growth on the mainland decelerated, he said.
Noting that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will visit China at the end of this month, Mustapa says he expects trade with China to stabililise going forward.
China is Malaysia's biggest trade partner, but accounts for 13 percent of the former’s total international trade.
Aliens did it? Well, 9 pct say yes
12pm: Over half of Americans polled by CNN believe terrorists were likely involved in the disappearance of MH370, even as no group has claimed responsibility for its loss after more than two months.
According to the CNN poll, 57 percent agree that this may have been the case, with a very high percentage of those surveyed saying pilots and crew misdeeds cannot be ruled out.
When asked whether mechanical failure or an accident was behind the disappearance, 52 percent say that was likely versus 46 percent who answered no. But only 9 percent of those polled believe "space aliens or beings from another dimension" were involved.
However, only about one in four Americans say the Malaysian government did a good job managing the search and providing information to the general public.
The survey is based on interviews with 1,008 adult Americans conducted by telephone from May 2 through May 4.
Gov't says MAS on its own, rejects more funding
11am: Tourism and Culture minister Nazri Abdul Aziz (left) tells Gulf News in Dubai that the government has ruled out pumping more cash to save the struggling Malaysia Airlines (MAS).
This is likely to make MAS chief executive officer (CEO) Ahmad Jauhari Yahya's work more difficult even as he vowed last month that the airline would need just less than six months to recover its reputation after the MH370 incident.
The airline, which reported a RM1.2 billion-loss last year had also seen its passenger load factor fall in the month following MH370's disappearance.
JACC silent on progress of search
10am: The search for MH370 appears to have entered into a lull period. The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) which spearheads the south Indian Ocean search team have not issued any media statements on its website since May 5.
It last said that the Australian Defense Vehicle (ADV) Ocean Shield was in turnaround, before heading out again with the underwater robot Bluefin-21 for another look again at the bottom of the ocean for MH370 wreckage in the same vicinity where a month-long search in April turned up nothing.
This is possibly because the team together with ministers from Malaysia, China and Australia are busy hammering out the plan for the next stage of the search which will focus on a bigger and potential deeper area.
Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had ruled out offering a finder's reward and respective governments have picked up the tab but going forward, Malaysia may now have to share some of the expenses as the next phase would call on privately-sourced assets.
Background:
-
Broker firm: Hidden surprises, lengthy search could hurt MAS
-
MAS refutes Taiwanese 'treated like second-rate citizen' claim
-
China-Malaysia trade not strained by MH370, says Minister
-
Poll: Only 1 in 4 Americans impressed M'sia handling of MH370
- Gov't will cease MAS funding, say Nazri
Follow us as we bring the latest updates and coverage for the search of Flight MH370:
Kin demand data be released for 3rd party scrutiny
10.55pm: The MH370 Victim Families and Crew Association or Voice370 has demanded that the Malaysian government release critical data such as the raw Inmarsat data for third party scrutiny and for a reassessment of all data available, in light of the fact that no leads have surfaced to date.
"Due to the lack of physical evidence that MH370 ended in the Southern Indian Ocean, the families are in urgent need for the conclusion, based on Inmarsat data analysis, that the aircraft’s flight ended in that ocean to be reconsidered to confirm its accuracy.
"Further, if Inmarsat’s analysis is unable to rule out other flight paths as a possibility, that fact must be acknowledged," said the group in an open letter to the heads of the Malaysian, Australian and Chinese governments this evening.
They said with the "lack of tangible evidence of what happened to MH370" they believe there is "insufficient basis" to conclude that no other flight paths are possible apart from the one being considered up to today.
"We implore the Malaysian government to share and release the raw Inmarsat satellite engine ping data for 9MMRO (every ping from Friday, March 7 12:00 until the final signal was received globally) so that it can be subject to broader analysis by relevant experts," said the group.
Calling for "independent third party review", they said a "neutral broad minded review" and fresh approach might help move the search forward.
Among other demands, the group also wanted the Joint Agency Coordination Centre to share and release the pings recorded by the towed pinger locator to assess if indeed they were consistent with a black box emission.
Voice370 claims to represent the nearly 300 on board the missing flight, and the open letter was jointly issued by individuals from China, Malaysia, USA, India and New Zealand.
ICAO to meet on Monday on plane tracking debate
5.20pm: Alarmed by the fact that two aeroplanes - Air France 447 and Malaysian Airlines MH370 - were recently lost over the sea, the UN agency the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will meet on Monday in Montreal to grapple with new ways to better track planes.
Experts tell New York Times that ICAO will most likely consider two alternatives - one from Iridium Communications, a Canadian company which would launch low-earth orbit satellites next year to cover the globe, so that it can be reached with much lower-powered radios.
Another proposal is from Inmarsat, the British company whose satellite calculations nailed down MH370's final location. Inmarsat is proposing to offer free tracking to airlines that subscribe to an upgraded version of its service.
And then, ICAO has to consider whether pilots get control of these systems or not.
“It’s complicated work to get 191 states to agree on anything,” says Anthony Philbin, a spokesperson for ICAO.
Lengthy search MAS' 'biggest financial risk'
3.06pm: Local broker research firm TA Securities warns hidden financial burden that may spring upon MAS in the next one to two years owing to the damage claims by MH370 passenger and others.
According to KiniBiz, the airlines management tells equity research analysts in a recent meet that this would be a " year of damage control" for MAS.
Although, TA Securities, in its report, didn't change its rating on MAS' shares as insurance will usually cover most of the claims, it says an expensive search operation which could possibly stretch on for years, may be the Bursa-listed company's biggest financial risk.
For more, read here.
'We never sought to deprive next-of-kin legal rights'
2.30pm: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) today refutes claims by Taiwanese opposition lawmaker that the family of Chuang Hsiu-Ling have been treated as "second-rate citizens" as claimed.
In a email reply to Malaysiakini queries, MAS spokesperson says it has never sought to deprive their legal rights.
Democractic Progressive Party's Chao Tien-lin had told Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) that the family received letters calling on them to give up their rights to sue those accountable including governments of Malaysia and Taiwan and also that the family were neglected.
Chuang Hsiu-ling, who was onboard MH370, is the sister of Chao's aide, Chuang Ching-Chiang.
"For this case in particular, the airline had accommodated Chuang Ching-Chiang’s requests on numerous occasions, for return travels between Kuala Lumpur to Taipei, Kaohsiung and Hong Kong," MAS says, adding that it has also sometimes provided care beyond International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommendations.
King: CNN reports on MH370 amounts to nothing
1.30pm: Hitting out his ex-employer, veteran TV anchor Larry King, 80, slams CNN's busy coverage on MH370, calling it "absurd."
“The funny thing about it is that in all this time the only thing we know is that it made a left turn. We don’t know anything else, so I have learned nothing, and all that coverage has led to nothing," says King, who fronted CNN’s Larry King Live (left) for 25 years.He further tells the UK Mirror that CNN wasted time pandering to the audience on MH370, and missed much more newsworthy events which occurred such as the landslides in Washington, ferry sinking in South Korea, a Ukraine war and a General Motors car recall with 13 people killed.
Minister confident it'll be business as usual with China
1pm: International Trade and Industry minister Mustapa Mohamed tells CNBC that Malaysia's trade ties with China won't be strained by MH370 even as tourist arrivals and March trade figures showed slight decline.
In March, Malaysia's exports to China fell 1.8 percent from the previous month, but over the first quarter, exports to China actually rose eight percent from a year earlier, even as economic growth on the mainland decelerated, he said.Noting that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will visit China at the end of this month, Mustapa says he expects trade with China to stabililise going forward.
China is Malaysia's biggest trade partner, but accounts for 13 percent of the former’s total international trade.
Aliens did it? Well, 9 pct say yes
12pm: Over half of Americans polled by CNN believe terrorists were likely involved in the disappearance of MH370, even as no group has claimed responsibility for its loss after more than two months.According to the CNN poll, 57 percent agree that this may have been the case, with a very high percentage of those surveyed saying pilots and crew misdeeds cannot be ruled out.
When asked whether mechanical failure or an accident was behind the disappearance, 52 percent say that was likely versus 46 percent who answered no. But only 9 percent of those polled believe "space aliens or beings from another dimension" were involved.
However, only about one in four Americans say the Malaysian government did a good job managing the search and providing information to the general public.
The survey is based on interviews with 1,008 adult Americans conducted by telephone from May 2 through May 4.
Gov't says MAS on its own, rejects more funding
11am: Tourism and Culture minister Nazri Abdul Aziz (left) tells Gulf News in Dubai that the government has ruled out pumping more cash to save the struggling Malaysia Airlines (MAS).This is likely to make MAS chief executive officer (CEO) Ahmad Jauhari Yahya's work more difficult even as he vowed last month that the airline would need just less than six months to recover its reputation after the MH370 incident.
The airline, which reported a RM1.2 billion-loss last year had also seen its passenger load factor fall in the month following MH370's disappearance.
JACC silent on progress of search
10am: The search for MH370 appears to have entered into a lull period. The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) which spearheads the south Indian Ocean search team have not issued any media statements on its website since May 5.
It last said that the Australian Defense Vehicle (ADV) Ocean Shield was in turnaround, before heading out again with the underwater robot Bluefin-21 for another look again at the bottom of the ocean for MH370 wreckage in the same vicinity where a month-long search in April turned up nothing.This is possibly because the team together with ministers from Malaysia, China and Australia are busy hammering out the plan for the next stage of the search which will focus on a bigger and potential deeper area.
Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had ruled out offering a finder's reward and respective governments have picked up the tab but going forward, Malaysia may now have to share some of the expenses as the next phase would call on privately-sourced assets.
Background:
-
The Beijing-bound Boeing 777-200ER aircraft went missing not long after taking off from KL International Airport in the early hours of March 8, with 12 crew members and 227 passengers.
-
Authorities have determined that the plane intentionally turned back and altered its course shortly after cutting communications with tower controllers for unknown reasons and, based on satellite data, have estimated its last position to be in the south Indian Ocean.
-
Australia leads the search in the south Indian Ocean. As of March 30, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) is tasked with overseeing the operations, led by retired air marshal and former defence chief Angus Houston.
-
The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Bluefin-21 was deployed on April 14 to conduct an undersea search where the Australia Defence Vessel Ocean Shield had picked up two pings similar to black boxes on April 5 and two more on April 8 but failed to reacquire them again with the pinger locator.
- However, by April 28, with no sign of the wreckage, authorities announced that the search will move on the next phase, which will focus on a larger and deeper area of the sea floor, while the aerial search will cease as it is highly unlikely any floating debris will be found at this stage.
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