In the last few weeks, the entire world has been horrified by the tragic disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with 239 passengers and crew. The way in which Flight MH370 has apparently vanished without a trace is a sobering experience for a world that has become complacent in the face of unrelenting technological progress.
The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 when it lost contact after about an hour. It had not sent any distress calls, nor had it reported difficulties of any kind. The ensuing search-and-rescue effort was initially directed at the area within Flight MH370’s flight path, namely, the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea.
It was later widened to include the Strait of Malacca, the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean. One week later, the focus of the search was radically altered, as evidence began to emerge that the aircraft had in fact not followed the assumed north-easterly route, but had headed west over the Malay Peninsula, then continued either north or south for approximately seven hours.
On March 16, the first of many ostensible sightings of debris from the aircraft were reported, but so far none has been discovered to be the remains of Flight MH370. The Malaysian government eventually announced the loss of the aircraft, with everyone aboard, on March 24.
Perhaps the greatest shock centres upon the fact that an aircraft equipped with the latest in modern location and positioning technology could vanish from the face of the earth and successfully defy concerted attempts to find it. The search-and-rescue effort that was launched is the largest in history; it has involved 22 countries, including Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Brunei, Cambodia, France, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand and India. Cutting-edge technology has been deployed, including satellites, infra-red and thermal imaging, and radar. Dozens of ships and aircraft have been utilised; huge amounts of data analysed; diplomatic pressure applied. The plane has not been found.
This failure shows that a good deal of the world remains unmapped, in spite of the deployment of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other satellite navigation systems. It also shows that all the technology in the world cannot compensate for human malevolence: the aircraft’s sophisticated navigation systems were deliberately switched off by someone who knew what he was doing.
In addition, the tragedy of Flight MH370 demonstrates the vital necessity of international cooperation as the norm, rather than something to be called upon only in emergencies. It was obvious that the search was complicated by pre-existing regional and other rivalries, as vital time was wasted by the reluctance to share information and intelligence. Malaysia’s seeming slowness to act and to release information roused the anger of China, which has the largest number of passengers on the flight. The way in which different countries threw considerable effort into the search is a demonstration of what can be achieved when the artificial barriers of race, ideology and nationality are ignored.
The world is staggered by the truly horrifying nature of a tragedy such as this, but the grief of the relatives and friends of those on the doomed flight can only be imagined. Their anguish is worsened by the absence of any real closure; the lack of certainty as to exactly what happened will haunt their imaginations forever.
Although Flight MH370 has officially been declared lost, it is hoped that investigations into what occurred will continue, albeit at a less-intensive pace. As the days go by, the life-span of the transmitter of the aircraft’s black box will diminish; locating it would provide vital clues regarding the plane’s fate. May the souls of the departed passengers and crew rest in perfect peace.
*An editorial culled from The Nation of Thursday,April3,2014
The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 when it lost contact after about an hour. It had not sent any distress calls, nor had it reported difficulties of any kind. The ensuing search-and-rescue effort was initially directed at the area within Flight MH370’s flight path, namely, the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea.
It was later widened to include the Strait of Malacca, the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean. One week later, the focus of the search was radically altered, as evidence began to emerge that the aircraft had in fact not followed the assumed north-easterly route, but had headed west over the Malay Peninsula, then continued either north or south for approximately seven hours.
On March 16, the first of many ostensible sightings of debris from the aircraft were reported, but so far none has been discovered to be the remains of Flight MH370. The Malaysian government eventually announced the loss of the aircraft, with everyone aboard, on March 24.
Perhaps the greatest shock centres upon the fact that an aircraft equipped with the latest in modern location and positioning technology could vanish from the face of the earth and successfully defy concerted attempts to find it. The search-and-rescue effort that was launched is the largest in history; it has involved 22 countries, including Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Brunei, Cambodia, France, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand and India. Cutting-edge technology has been deployed, including satellites, infra-red and thermal imaging, and radar. Dozens of ships and aircraft have been utilised; huge amounts of data analysed; diplomatic pressure applied. The plane has not been found.
This failure shows that a good deal of the world remains unmapped, in spite of the deployment of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other satellite navigation systems. It also shows that all the technology in the world cannot compensate for human malevolence: the aircraft’s sophisticated navigation systems were deliberately switched off by someone who knew what he was doing.
In addition, the tragedy of Flight MH370 demonstrates the vital necessity of international cooperation as the norm, rather than something to be called upon only in emergencies. It was obvious that the search was complicated by pre-existing regional and other rivalries, as vital time was wasted by the reluctance to share information and intelligence. Malaysia’s seeming slowness to act and to release information roused the anger of China, which has the largest number of passengers on the flight. The way in which different countries threw considerable effort into the search is a demonstration of what can be achieved when the artificial barriers of race, ideology and nationality are ignored.
The world is staggered by the truly horrifying nature of a tragedy such as this, but the grief of the relatives and friends of those on the doomed flight can only be imagined. Their anguish is worsened by the absence of any real closure; the lack of certainty as to exactly what happened will haunt their imaginations forever.
Although Flight MH370 has officially been declared lost, it is hoped that investigations into what occurred will continue, albeit at a less-intensive pace. As the days go by, the life-span of the transmitter of the aircraft’s black box will diminish; locating it would provide vital clues regarding the plane’s fate. May the souls of the departed passengers and crew rest in perfect peace.
*An editorial culled from The Nation of Thursday,April3,2014
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