7 April 2014
The Shared Search for Missing Flight MH370
Neptune, Global Maritime Search and Rescue Areas map, at www.neptune-scuba.info/sarmap-en.html
With Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 being officially declared lost at sea, and as the international search efforts hone in on the location of the aircraft, it is time to asses not only what this teaches us about aviation safety, but also the consequences of shared responsibility for international search and rescue operations.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing on the 8th March, losing communication around an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on route to Beijing. The fact that the airplane was missing for a number of hours, and that its communication devices were mostly switched off, meant that from the outset it was unclear where it might have come down, if indeed it had come down at all. The initial suggestions were that the plane was off the coast of Vietnam, or further out in the China Sea. This was followed by information that it had made a sharp turn towards the Straight of Malacca, and thereafter might have followed either a broad northern or southern corridor. (more…)