So where is flight MH370?

International agencies, governments, particularly Malaysian authorities, must expedite search to bring closure.

Much to everyone’s surprise, considering the technological advancement in this day and age, Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 remains missing and the fate of its passengers unknown. Despite the involvement of several international agencies and at least 12 governments, the remains of the plane are yet to be found and its location, yet to be ascertained. We know as much right now that the plane diverted from its course more than once and as is being reported, took a U-turn from its scheduled flight path. This raises many questions as to what sort of intervention occurred inflight for the plane to change course. There have been several speculations that either this might have been a terror-related incident or possibly that the aircraft developed some sort of mechanical fault. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak finally admitted at a press conference on March 14 that Flight 370 was diverted and its mysterious digression from flying norms occurred as a result of deliberate action by someone onboard. This establishes, at the very least, that there is a possibility of the involvement of malicious actor(s) or ill-intentioned crew member(s).

It is equally disturbing that the transponder on the plane was switched off and all communications were lost, though the flight, it is now being said, could have been flying for nearly an additional seven hours. New information has emerged that the flight was headed West and investigators are looking at two possible zones: the southern Indian Ocean or as far north as Kazakhstan. The new parameters for the search are extremely large, particularly considering the size and depth of the Indian Ocean. The task, no doubt, will be a daunting and time consuming one. All of this has added to the misery of the relatives of the passengers awaiting news about their loved ones. International agencies, governments, and particularly the Malaysian authorities, must expedite their search to bring closure to this aviation disaster.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2014.

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