KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — A two-year statute of limitations on aviation cases could mean that families of those aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 may lose their ability to sue over the incident as authorities are no closer to solving the mystery of its disappearance.
A group calling itself Voice370 and professing to represent the next-of-kin to those on the missing plane noted that the ICAO’s Montreal Convention 1999 adopted by airlines globally imposes a two-year limit for aggrieved parties to initiate legal action.
MH370 disappeared on March 8 last year, meaning that there is as little as six months before time runs out for the families to file their legal claims.
But with authorities unable to locate the plan, the families have no evidence of negligence or wrongdoing with which to sue those who may be responsible.
“In the case of Missing Flight MH370, the two years may lapse before any conclusions are made. This adds to our burdens.
“Will the guilty party, should there be one, get away scot-free due to this time bar?” Voice370 said in a statement.
Pointing to authorities’ repeated use of the adjective “unprecedented” to describe the case of MH370, the group then asked if MAS and its insurers will be willing to extend the deadline in the interest of justice.
The discovery of a flaperon on the French island of La Reunion last month has given searchers a fresh lead in the hunt for MH370.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has declared the washed-up wing part as having come from the Boeing 777 used in the missing flight.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said last week that more possible MH370 objects ― aircraft seat cushions and windows ― have been found on the island, but must first be verified by investigators.
Although the discovery provides fresh impetus in the investigation, oceanographers have cautioned against optimism in the search for MH370 and the black boxes vital to solve the biggest mystery in aviation history, saying that it was unlikely that the debris will help determine the location of the main wreckage of the plane.
MH370 disappeared while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.
