SEPANG, March 25 ― Faced with families angry over the conclusion that none aboard flight MH370 are alive, Malaysia Airlines said today that the “painful reality” was the result of credible evidence and “rational” deduction.
The airline yesterday contacted family members of the 239 crew and passengers from the missing plane to inform them that the plane was now considered lost, but the absence of physical evidence from the plane led some to question the move.
“By the evidence given to us and by rational deduction, we can only arrive at that conclusion. MAS has lost its plane and by extension the people on the plane,” MAS chairman Tan Sri Md Nor Nd Yusof told reporters at a press conference at Anjung Tinjau at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport today.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak revealed last night that analysis by UK commercial satellite firm Inmarsat and the Air Accidents Investigation Board (AAIB) concluded that MH370 was flown toward the Indian Ocean after it deviated from its flight to Beijing.
Shortly before that, MAS informed the families of passengers and crew that it must “assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board survived.”
Today, Md Nor stressed that based on the contents of PM Najib's announcement, the “painful reality” that must be accepted by all is that no one on board the missing aircraft is alive.
The MAS chief declined to comment on details that led to PM Najib's announcement, saying that a proper explanation will be provided by the Ministry of Transport at a another press conference this afternoon.
Despite sightings of debris by satellites and planes searching the area, no conclusive evidence has yet to be recovered to indicate that the plane went down in the Indian Ocean.
MH370 and the 239 people on board disappeared less than an hour after the Beijing-bound flight left Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12.41am on March 8. The plane and its passengers remain missing despite over two weeks of intensive searching by a multinational effort.
MAS group executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the airline was currently undergoing a “painful period”, and that they too mourned the loss of the passengers and crew on board flight MH370.
“It has affected the airline but we are doing our best to ensure those who board an MAS flight being served, safely, comfortably,” he added, saying that MAS has now beefed up security measures for a its flights.
The MAS executive said that the airline had a “moral responsibility” to assist those affected by the flight MH370 crisis in whatever way possible.
