TRAVEL EDITORIAL The MH370 Mystery
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When Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board less than an hour after takeoff, it sparked one of the most puzzling mysteries of modern aviation history. In the month since its disappearance, search and rescue teams have scoured vast miles of ocean and conspiracy theories have raged across the internet. As blurry satellite images of debris floating in the Indian Ocean began surfacing, the search moved to an area west of Australia, yet, still no confirmation it was wreckage from a plane. Why then, were the families of those on board sent a text message on March 24 saying their loved ones had perished? “... we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board survived...all evidence suggests the plane went down in the southern Indian Ocean,” the message said in English according to CNN.com. The news site detailed hysterical scenes at the subsequent press conference in Beijing, with one relative rushing out of the room, screaming, “Is it really confirmed? What’s your proof?” The next day, hundreds of friends and family members of passengers marched to the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing to express their anger and frustration, claiming they weren’t being told the truth. On March 27, Malaysia Airlines ran a full-page advertisement in a major Malaysian newspaper offering it’s condolences to the loved ones of the 239 passengers and crew. The families—on a rollercoaster ride of grief and desperate hope with every new message and satellite image—are frustrated at the lack of concrete information. Justifiably, they are demanding the one thing missing from Malaysia Airlines’ official version of events: hard evidence.
Angry protests have broken out in Beijing, and Chinese relatives have lashed out at what they believe to be delays and coverups that have wasted time and resources. Reuters reported that Chinese families denounced Malaysia Airlines, the Malaysian government and military as the “real executioners” who “killed” their loved ones. Meanwhile, latimes.com wrote that “all things Malaysian” are being boycotted in China in protest of what many consider a bungled investigation. Certainly the families of passengers have the right to be upset, and perhaps their accusations of a cover-up will be confirmed— at the time of writing it’s just as likely as any other theory, given the lack of any actual evidence. However, the Malaysian transportation minister Hishamuddin Hussein does have a point when he says that it’s not just the Chinese who lost loved ones. There were passengers from 14 other countries, including Australia, France, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Russia, Taiwan and the US—all countries that are part of the 26-nation search dedicated to finding out what happened. Surely between their combined resources and an urgent need to find answers for their own citizens, a cover-up would have been quickly exposed? It does seem odd, however, that Malaysia Airlines is officially stating the plane went down in the Indian Ocean leaving no survivors, without a single shred of evidence that actually happened—at least none it is sharing with the rest of the world. A tactless response in the face of global pressure or something more sinister? What do you think? connect.travel@ajet.net
CONNECT April Issue 2014