Few of us can imagine the sadness and despair felt by the families and friends of the 239 passengers and crew of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, which was last seen almost three years ago. The news that the search for the airliner has been suspended must have compounded their grief by underscoring the fact that they may never have closure on what has become one of aviation's greatest mysteries.
In a joint statement yesterday, the foreign ministers of Malaysia, China and Australia announced that the search that has so far covered 120,000 square kilometres of the Indian Ocean has been suspended. The statement, which acknowledged the pain and suffering of the relatives and friends, reflected what was a pragmatic decision. Many millions of dollars have been spent on a search that has so far yielded only seven objects that are from, or probably from, the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 that disappeared from radar screens on March 8, 2014. The vital black boxes are still missing and their ability to send a signal, even at close range, has almost certainly been exhausted.
The efforts of those involved in the search must be acknowledged. They did their best, with international expertise and cutting-edge technology, but the ocean is a big place. And so, too many questions remain unanswered – and they are the cause of heartbreak to the relatives and of concern to the aviation industry and everyone who has ever flown in an aircraft. First and foremost, in an age where anybody with a smartphone and a simple app can follow commercial flights on radar in real time, how can a plane simply vanish? If, as suspected, the pilot or somebody else on board turned off the plane’s transponder, why is this even possible?
Clearly the investigation is at an impasse, but the search teams, and those who have tried to create computer models of the plane’s movements, must have learnt something of use. We need to know what they know, even if they can’t make those pieces of information add up to a definitive conclusion. The safety and reputation of commercial aviation relies on this kind of transparency. We know that air travel is, in general, getting safer all the time, but that relies on the forensic investigation of those accidents that do occur. What has been learnt from this investigation must be shared so it can inform protocols and procedures in the future. Lives depend on it.
