Malaysia Airlines was embroiled in a viral crisis situation when one of their airlines, Flight 370, vanished in the early morning hours of March 8, 2014. During this crisis there were two leading spokespersons. Transport Minister of Malaysia, Hishammuddin Hussein, initially led the announcements of any information deemed necessary to the public. The Australian government quickly participated in investigation as well, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott at the forefront of its communications. There was plenty confusion and frustration among many countries since this crisis involved multiple nations. The countries that ultimately became involved throughout the search and investigation were Malaysia, China, Australia, and the United States.

 

 

 

The Boeing 777-200ER of Malaysia Air Flight 370 departed the capital of Kuala Lumpur early Saturday morning just after midnight and was scheduled to arrive around 6:30AM in China in the city of Beijing. The flight had an estimated total of six hours airtime at an altitude of 2,700 miles in the air. Mysteriously, just about an hour en route the jet no longer was on radar for air traffic controllers in Subang, just on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. The jet was last spotted on the grid over the water between Malaysia and Vietnam. Malaysia Flight 370 was now missing.

 

 

What happened next remains unknown. Did the plane turn around or take an alternate route? Was there a malfunction with the aircraft? Or even worse, could there be an act of terrorism? These questions still remain today. What makes the situation even more complex is that there were no stress signals. There were no messages from the pilot or co-pilot. The transponder to retrieve data from the aircraft to the air traffic controllers wasn’t even operating. Something was wrong.

 

 

The flight consisted of 227 passengers and 12 crewmembers, totaling 239 citizens on board from different countries. The demographics consisted of passengers from the Asia-Pacific region as well as Europe and North America. Over 150 were from China or Taiwan, 38 from Malaysia and three from the United States. Four passengers never showed up for the flight and five passengers were under the age of 5 years old. All of the crewmembers happen to be Malaysian. The pilot, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, had been flying since 1981 with over 18,300 flying hours. Shah’s co-pilot, Fariq Ab Hamid, began flying in 2007 and had accumulated over 2,700 flying hours. Whether or not any of the passengers or crewmembers had any involvement with the disappearance of the airline is yet to be confirmed.

 

 

It was eventually discovered that two of the passengers aboard Malaysia Air Flight 370 had used stolen passports as identification. These individuals had been determined to be Pouri Nourmohammadi, 18 years old, and Delavar Seyed Mohammad Reza, 29 years old. It has been speculated that the two were attempting to immigrate to Germany, but this still is uncertain. However, the stolen passports only raised concern for the jet’s disappearance and whether or not foul play or terrorism played a role. The perception of security screening in certain airports also generated great concern and worry within the public during this situation. Many believe there should have been “red flags” of stolen passports in the agency’s database, which led people to believe some that governments and authorities are less secure than others.

 

 

Until searchers have found conclusive evidence of the planes last whereabouts or the actual wreckage, if any, it is problematic to conclude the cause of the disappearance of Malaysia Air Flight 370. The voice and data recorders are essential in the figuring out what exactly happened during the early hours on March 8, 2014. Three possible scenarios have been taken into deep consideration: mechanical failure, pilot error and terrorism.

 

 

 

 

It is situations like these where the confusion, complexity and frustration lasts for very long periods of time. It is a tedious process through all phases of an ongoing investigation of a missing aircraft. This is when the communications and leadership are at the forefront of a crisis situation and must be handled in a serious, prompt and empathetic manner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is indeed a strenuous task. However, there was raised criticism for the way it has been handled. When an aircraft goes missing, time is of the essence. Aligned authorities clearly didn’t get that message.

 

Initially, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, issued a statement that the last detection of flight was in the vast southern Indian Ocean. This was on March 24, 2014. The search area would shift multiple times racing against time to find the black box of the aircraft and possibly save lives. Unfortunately, this goal would eventually be fading in the back of people’s minds. The search area would soon cover 4.5 million square kilometers of ocean surface, making it the largest search mission in history.

 

Multiple forces and countries searched for missing Malaysia Air Flight 370. After being unable to locate debris near the South China Sea, the search area expanded. According to data collection and research, Flight 370 could have flown a possible 2,500 miles after exchanging its last words with Malaysian air traffic controllers. This eventually led to the conclusion that the aircraft may have traveled towards the Indian Ocean.

 

June 26, 2014: Australian authorities took the lead in the search for the missing aircraft. They announced the refined search area would shift southward in the deep waters of the Indian Ocean, compared to the previous search area. The new search area was over 1,600 kilometers from the coast of Perth, Australia. They believed the flight was on autopilot for some time until it ran out of fuel.

 

April 5, 2014: Chinese discovery ship, Haixun 01, claims to have detected a signal 600 kilometers south of the original location.

 

April 6, 2014: Australian’s search ship, Ocean Shield, picks up signals from potential underwater pings. The pings soon went away and the vast ocean was quiet again.

 

April 8, 2014: Four more signals were detected within 17 miles apart.

 

April 10, 2014: The Royal Australian Air Force picks up yet another signal using their underwater search equipment, Sonobuoy.

 

 

 

 

·      Unnoticed Radar Data

 

Malaysia Air Flight 370 was last contacted over the Straight of Malacca. However, there have been reports that radar has picked up a plane similar to Flight 370 at different yet brief points in real time.

With the war on terrorism occurring in society, how could an aircraft with 259 people aboard go missing in the air for an extended amount of time? What Malaysia Air Force Officials should have done was notify appropriate authorities, national and international, after the first attempt at contact and failed. This could have been the onset of a very difficult search and investigation ahead since the plane was in the air undetected for a substantial amount of valuable time.

 

 

·      No Survivors to Potential Survivors?

 

March 24, 2014 was a devastating day for the country of Malaysia. Malaysia Prime Minister, Najib Razak, declared Flight 370 had “ended”, as in no survivors, fatal tragedy. But how was there any proof? Did the Malaysian government and officials know more than the public? Not only were vulnerable citizens notified that their loved ones were not returning, they were informed via text message. “Beyond any reasonable doubt… none of those on board survived”, was the message relayed to family members. Communication through text message in a crisis situation, especially concerning life or death, is unacceptable. What should have been done? How would you feel if your own country notified you in the form of a text message that a family member of yours passed away just based of assumption?

Malaysian Minister of Transport, Hishammuddin Hussein, then later released a statement that displayed an entirely different picture. “Even hoping against hope, no matter how remote, of course, we are praying and we will continue our search for the possible survivors,” he said. Going from no survivors to hope? Confusion and frustration was probably how the families felt. This was most definitely a very poorly planned strategy by Malaysia.

 

·      Switching Search Zones

 

Right place? Wrong place? After three days of searching in what officials deemed the wrong location, the search then shifted over 600 miles northeast in the Indian Ocean. According to satellite and radar data, Air Force officials determined it was highly improbable that Flight 370 could have flown as far south as originally thought. Due to lapses in poor communication and coordination between different countries, the search areas consisted of delays in implementation. Three days to be exact. Three days of searching in a vast deserted area for potential survivors or an expiring black box that could have explained what went wrong. Could the “correct” search zone of been determined in time before three days had lapsed? Would debris be found? That answer is debatable. But that still leaves three long and painful days for those families on board Flight 370. If only they have gotten to that search area a couple days earlier.

 

 

 

 

Pilot and Captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, built and operated an aircraft simulator in his private residence. Although this is common among experienced pilots and aviators, the “smoking gun” is that some data had been deleted prior to Flight 370. What was in that data?

 

 

 

Speculation concludes that Flight 370 flew for hours after losing contact with air traffic controllers. According to Malaysia aviation officials as well as U.S. and British government authorities, last communication and data led to two possible locations. Flight 370’s last potential path could have stretched from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, all the way to northern Thailand or from Indonesia to the deep southern Indian Ocean. If it had flown north, it would have a high probability of being picked up on radar. Keep in mind these pinned locations are almost certain. So, could there have been foul play or misjudgments by those in charge of keeping track of radar for flights within those vicinities?

 

 

 

One theory being considered by U.S. authorities is that Flight 370 could have been purposely flown to a desolate location. Was this scenario possible with an aircraft as large as a Boeing 777? If so, where could it have landed without being detected?

 

 

 

The FBI and CIA aren’t ruling terrorism out, as for nothing is being ruled out until there is actual physical evidence available. The two passengers using stolen passports definitely add fuel to the fire in this scenario, even though Malaysian officials insist neither of them have any connection to terrorist groups. Did somebody or more take hostage of Flight 370?

 

 

 

Suggestions of a possible mechanical failure could be a power failure, extreme cabin pressure or temperature change, all of which could have caused an emergency landing. But with no distress signal or debris, the possibilities are endless. Could Flight 370 still be intact somewhere out in the vast Indian Ocean?

 

 

 

The ongoing investigation of missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 has by far been one of the most watched headlines for all media outlets of 2014. From all the countries involved, all of the theories put out, all of the data collected, from one search area to another, the widespread search and investigation for Malaysian Air Flight 370 has been unprecedented. All we can do is wait until more details or evidence emerges to ever actually know what happened that early morning on March 8, 2014.

 

 

 

 

“6 Missteps in Malaysia Flight 370 Investigation.” CNN, April 2, 2014. Retrieved from

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/01/world/asia/malaysia-plane-missteps/

 

 

“Malaysia Flight 370: 10 of the Most Compelling Questions.” CNN World, March 17, 2014. Retrieved from

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/16/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-questions/

 

 

“Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: What We Know and Don’t Know.” CNN World, March 13, 2014. Retrieved from

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/10/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-knowns-unknowns/

 

 

“The Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.” CNN World, June 26, 2014. Retrieved from

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/03/world/malaysia-flight-map/

 

 

“Timeline of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.” CNN World, March 12, 2014. Retrieved from

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/11/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-flight-370-timeline/