What’s Being Done To Make Sure Other Planes Do Not Meet The Same Fate As #MH370

Without a single scrap of debris, while the search for the missing MH370 will likely end soon.

By | 07 Mar 2015, 09:17 AM

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It's been a year since MH370 vanished in the sky on 8 March 2014. But nothing has been found of it or the 239 people onboard the flight despite an intensive search that has cost millions of ringgit.

In this 31 March 2014 file photo, a shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion aircraft is seen on low cloud cover while it searches for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight.

In this 31 March 2014 file photo, a shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion aircraft is seen on low cloud cover while it searches for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight.

Image via Mashabe

Now governments are starting to weigh the costs of continuing to search for the missing MH370 as hopes fade and expenses mount

wsj.com

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The countries at the center of the search—Australia, Malaysia and China—face a dilemma: No physical trace of the plane has been found, but families of the 239 passengers and crew are demanding answers. Ending, or even scaling back, the mission would signal that officials are effectively giving up—even as the public continues to search for clues and debate amateur theories about the plane's fate.

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Relatives of passengers on Flight 370 traveled to Malaysia from China to protest the Malaysian government's declaration that all on board were presumed dead.

Relatives of passengers on Flight 370 traveled to Malaysia from China to protest the Malaysian government's declaration that all on board were presumed dead.

Image via The Wall Street Journal

While Malaysia's Transport Minister has said his government remains committed to solving the mystery of MH370, he added it remained unclear what the next steps would be if the deep-sea search now under way comes up empty

Transport minister Liow Tiong Lai

Transport minister Liow Tiong Lai

Image via The MalayMail Online

themalaymailonline.com

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Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai's comments, made on the eve of the tragedy's anniversary, echoed comments made recently by Australian officials who have raised doubts about an open-ended search for the aircraft, believed by experts to have gone down in the southern Indian Ocean.

"The people of Malaysia remember this date. The world community will remember this date — the March 8 disappearance of MH370 — and we are together with the next of kin," Liow told AFP in an interview. "I would like to say to the next of kin that we will continue to be committed to the search."

But he said if nothing is found in a zone now being scoured, "then we have to go back to the drawing board" and re-examine all available data used to determine a suspected crash zone.

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So while the Transport Minister remains "cautiously optimistic" that the continuing search of a 60,000sq km area in the southern Indian Ocean will find the missing flight, here's what steps are being taken to improve plane tracking should they vanish like MH370

Cambodians pray for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in Phnom Penh.

Cambodians pray for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in Phnom Penh.

Image via The Wall Street Journal

1. MAS has installed a 15-minute data downloading system to keep track on its flights as part of enhancing aircraft security

thestar.com.my

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Malaysia Airlines aircraft are now being tracked by at least 10-minute intervals, confirmed the Department of Civil Aviation. Its director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said Boeing 777 aircraft would automatically report to MAS every 15 minutes while other planes would report every 10 minutes.

"MAS, on its own initiative, has lessened the time of reporting of the aircraft communications and reporting system (ACARS)," he told reporters here yesterday. "Boeing 777 is now being reported every 15 minutes (while) the A330, A380 and 737-400 are being reported every 10 minutes."

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2. Malaysia has emerged a key proponent for a real-time tracking system following the disappearance of flight MH370 a year ago

thestar.com.my

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"(Data downloading) every 15 minutes, very close to real time. For aircraft and aviation industry, 15 minutes signal downloading and data processing is of great importance," Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told a media briefing in conjunction with MH370's first anniversary. Liow said Malaysia was currently working with Australia on an aircraft tracking system and welcomed Australia's efforts to improve the system.

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mashable.com

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Airservices Australia, a government-owned agency that manages the country's airspace, will work with its Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts to test the new method, which would enable planes to be tracked every 15 minutes, rather than the previous rate of 30 to 40 minutes, Australian Transport Minister Warren Truss said. The tracking would increase to 5 minutes or less if there is a deviation in the plane's movements.

The trial is expected to use satellite-based positioning technology already on board 90 percent of long-haul aircraft that transmits the plane's current position and its next two planned positions, said Airservices Australia chairman Angus Houston, who helped lead the search for Flight 370.

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Liow briefing reporters on the MH370 first anniversary.

Liow briefing reporters on the MH370 first anniversary.

Image via The Star Online

3. Malaysia to spend 700 million Ringgit to improve civilian radars

wsj.com

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Malaysia plans to invite tenders for a planned 700 million ringgit (US$190 million) upgrade of its civilian radar systems and is improving the coordination between civilian and military agencies, Mr. Liow said.

While the minister was cautious, and said that the radar upgrades were a continuing exercise as air traffic grows, the disappearance of Flight 370 did expose weaknesses in radar systems and systems to track airliners in flight.

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Meanwhile, the family members are rejecting the MH370 interim report

says.com

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The report — released one year after the disappearance of MH370 — provides a detailed picture of delays and protocol violations before the launch of the SAR mission. But it has angered family members of 239 people onboard the missing plane, who are not rejecting the report.

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