MH370 search: Families vent anger over inquiry

[webfact]

Differing messages on 777 part frustrate Flight 370 families
By EILEEN NG

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Malaysian government was certain: The airplane part found on an Indian Ocean island came from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Investigators in France weren't so sure quite yet.

And those differing approaches created confusion and anguish Thursday for the families of those aboard the ill-fated flight.

"From our first observation, the color tone and all maintenance records that we have, we know," Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said. "Our records show that it's the same as MH370."

He added that there are "many other technical details that I do not have to reveal" that confirm the part is from Flight 370.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced early Thursday that the piece of debris, known as a flaperon, came from the doomed aircraft, but authorities in France, the U.S. and Australia have stopped short of full confirmation.

The dissonant comments infuriated many relatives of the 239 people on board the plane, who have waited more than 500 days for concrete clues into the fate of their loved ones. Dai Shuqin, the sister of a passenger, was among about a dozen Chinese relatives who held a demonstration outside Malaysia Airlines' offices in Beijing.

"France is being cautious about it, but Malaysia is desperate to put an end to this case and run away from all responsibilities," she said.

Liow said differences with other countries amounted to "a choice of words."

He also said more debris has been found on Reunion Island and was sent to local authorities for French investigators to examine. However, the Paris prosecutor's office, which is spearheading a French legal inquiry into the crash, denied that investigators had any new debris, and multiple French officials involved in the investigation in Reunion and in Paris said they also were unaware of a new discovery.

The officials requested anonymity, because they did not want to appear critical of the Malaysian investigation, but those contradictory statements about new debris threw more confusion over an investigation that has often seemed inconsistent, to the dismay of families of those lost.

Liow said a Malaysian team found the objects, including a window and some aluminum foil, but an aide to the minister later said it was "window material" rather than a window that was recovered.

"I can only ascertain that it's plane debris," Liow said. "I cannot confirm that it's from MH370."

France said it is deploying a search plane, helicopters and boats around Reunion in hopes of spotting more debris that might be from Flight 370.

In an announcement late Thursday, the government said it understands the pain of families who lost loved ones, "for whom this discovery has awakened the hope of shedding light on the circumstances of the disappearance of flight MH370."

French officials have said no other airplane debris has been found.

The disappearance of the Boeing 777 jetliner while on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, has been one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history. Officials believe it crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, killing all aboard, but the wreckage and the cause remain elusive.

"It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts has conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed MH370," Najib told reporters.

But at a news conference in Paris, Deputy Prosecutor Serge Mackowiak said only that "the very strong conjectures are to be confirmed by complementary analysis that will begin tomorrow morning."

The Australian government, which leads the seabed search for wreckage west of Australia, was also less certain than Malaysia, saying only that "based on high probability, it is MH370."

However, Australian Transport Minister Warren Truss said Australia respected Malaysia's right to make that call, given that it is in charge of the investigation.

"Of course, there is still some I's not dotted and T's not crossed. There is still a very small element of doubt," Truss said.

Many Flight 370 families said they were fed up with the mixed messages.

"Why the hell do you have one confirm and one not?" said Sara Weeks, the sister of New Zealander Paul Weeks, who was on board. "Why not wait and get everybody on the same page so the families don't need to go through this turmoil?"

A U.S. official familiar with the investigation said the flaperon clearly is from a Boeing 777. However, a team of experts in France examining the part hadn't yet found anything linking it specifically to the missing plane, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because there was no authorization to talk publicly about the case.

No other 777s or flaperons are known to be missing, but the U.S. and Boeing team members are trying "to be precise," the official said.

Australia, which sent an official to France to help examine the flaperon, has said the find will not affect its sonar search of a 120,000-square-kilometer (46,000-square- mile) expanse of seabed more than 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) east of Reunion Island.

That search, which began in October, has covered almost half that area without finding any clues.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Melbourne Radio 3AW that the apparent discovery of Flight 370 wreckage "does seem very consistent with the search pattern that we've been using for the last few months."

"Let's hope we can turn something up," he said.

It is not known why Flight 370 — less than an hour into its journey — turned back from its original flight path and headed in an opposite direction before turning again and flying south over the Indian Ocean for hours.

A six-week air and sea search covering 4.6 million square kilometers (1.8 million square miles) of the southern Indian Ocean surface last year failed to find any trace of the jetliner. The Reunion Island debris would support the working theory that the jet went down in the Indian Ocean and the debris was carried west by the current.

Malaysian officials have said the plane's movements were consistent with deliberate actions by someone on the plane, suggesting someone in the cockpit intentionally flew the aircraft off course.
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Associated Press writers Kristen Gelineau in Sydney, Paul Joshua in Kuala Lumpur, Lori Hinnant in Paris, Joan Lowy in Washington, Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, Nick Perry in Wellington, New Zealand, and Isolda Morillo and Aritz Parra in Beijing contributed to this report.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-08-07

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

The whole MH370 story is a joke, respectively I feel that it's a coverup for something more sinister. I ask myself, why the flaperone was being sent to France and not to KL since it was a Malaysian airliner, along with countless other questions...

[technologybytes]

When the part was found we were assured that every component of a 777 had a unique serial number that will conclusivly identify not only the type of plane but the exact flight. So what happened ?

Either the parts do not have serial numbers, the serial numbers have been removed or the serial number do not match. Either way, something fishy is going on.

[steven100]

Well whatever .... but the parts washed up on La Region island are 100% from MH370 .. it's not like there are plane pieces floating around the ocean from other planes ...

The families would have to have some closure based on this find ... IMO.

[user82374298374]

I ask myself, why the flaperone was being sent to France and not to KL since it was a Malaysian airliner, along with countless other questions...

Because the Malaysian government are incompetent and corrupt and can't be trusted.

What I want to know is why it wasn't sent to Boeing in the US, who manufactured the airplane.

Edited August 7, 2015 by disambiguated

[Scott]

I think the Reunion Island is French, thus the French have jurisdiction.

[Carmine6]

The whole MH370 story is a joke, respectively I feel that it's a coverup for something more sinister. I ask myself, why the flaperone was being sent to France and not to KL since it was a Malaysian airliner, along with countless other questions...

The French prosecutor in Paris gave a long explanation of why they have the part and are doing the investigation. Included in that was Reunion island is French and there were 4 French citizens on board the plane. Also per someone posting on airliners.net, there is something to French law apparently where every death has to be investigated. Which is why the prosecutor was the one giving the press conference and not someone else. So it was basically kept as part of the investigation into the deaths of the 4 French citizens. It was probably some technical way to keep control of it since most people will agree the Malaysians aren't competent or trustworthy.

When the part was found we were assured that every component of a 777 had a unique serial number that will conclusivly identify not only the type of plane but the exact flight. So what happened ?

Either the parts do not have serial numbers, the serial numbers have been removed or the serial number do not match. Either way, something fishy is going on.

The serial number plate does not appear to be there. It should have been on the flat middle section on one of the ends, and does not appear to be in the pictures. If it were, they would have easily seen it on day 1. The flaperon of the 777 is composite, not aluminum. They don't stamp the serial number onto the part, but stick a serial number plate on.

Supposedly there are some kinds of marks that identify it as a Malaysian Airlines part. There was also some repair or modification done to it, which was noted in maintenance logs for the MH370 flaperon. But the Boeing people and US NTSB don't think what they see matches the maintenance log. So pretty much everything is consistent, except for that last bit of possible difference.

It would not be shocking if Malaysian Airlines logged something that wasn't quite matching the work that was actually done. Precision of language does not seem to be their strong suit. But unfortunately, if that's the case, the investigators are probably trying to be really sure there's no other explanation. Such as MAH lost one of these in the ocean and just aren't sure or don't have records, or whatever. I sure wouldn't trust if they said, no, there's none that were lost.

[impulse]

I think the Reunion Island is French, thus the French have jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction is one thing. A complete set of drawings, material certs, engineering change orders and specifications is another. Should go to Boeing. With some of it sent to the shop where the MH370 plane was painted, to match up the paint.

Edited August 7, 2015 by impulse

[technologybytes]

Only two nations have a possible claim on the part, and USA/Boeing is NOT one of them.

1/ France as it was washed up on French soil.

2/ The owner of the aircraft, when that's established.

At this time we don't know who the owner is, so the correct custodian at this time is the French.

Edited August 7, 2015 by technologybytes

[impulse]

Only two nations have a possible claim on the part, and USA/Boeing is NOT one of them.

1/ France as it was washed up on French soil.

2/ The owner of the aircraft, when that's established.

At this time we don't know who the owner is, so the correct custodian at this time is the French.

Sure. That's one way to go. If you want to perpetuate the mystery of whether the part came from a specific Boeing aircraft, made in a Boeing factory under a very specific drawing revision, painted with a very specific paint.

Maybe we can even visit the flaperon in a Paris Museum in 50 years and read the sad little plaque telling why the mystery was never solved because the pigheaded people at Boeing wouldn't turn over proprietary drawings and secret manufacturing techniques to the country that owns their main competitor. And the patriotic French stood up for their indisputable right to maintain possession of some debris that washed up on one of their colonial beaches.

If it was an Airbus, the appropriate place to send it to identify it is France. For a Boeing, it's the USA. For an Embraer, it's Brazil.

Or you can prolong the suffering of the families who just want answers.

Edited August 7, 2015 by impulse

[MaxYakov]

I think the Reunion Island is French, thus the French have jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction is one thing. A complete set of drawings, material certs, engineering change orders and specifications is another. Should go to Boeing. With some of it sent to the shop where the MH370 plane was painted, to match up the paint.

I believe Boeing reps were sent to France. Paint match might fly, providing they color is unique. I guess fingerprint evidence, dental records and a DNA match are probably out of the question.

Edited August 7, 2015 by MaxYakov

[lap82]

It is all debated and the familes wait for an answer that looks like will never come.