MH370News:2014/Day 056
Day 056: Friday, 2 May 2014
News Summary
Media Statements
Friday, May 02, 09:30 PM MYT +0800 Media Statement 30 - MH370 Incident
Malaysia Airlines wishes to make further clarification on the following matters:
1) Malaysians On Board
Malaysia Airlines confirms that 38 passengers of the 239 persons on board MH370 on 8 March 2014 were Malaysians. The names of the 38 Malaysians on board had been earlier shared in the Passenger Manifest which has been made public previously. Please see attached document for names of all Malaysian passengers onboard MH370.
2) Exchange of Signals and Aircraft in Cambodia
On the exchange of signals between ground and the aircraft soon after Ho Chi Minh Air Traffic Control advised that radio contact had not been established with MH370, as carried in the recently released MH370 Preliminary Report, Malaysia Airlines clarifies that what was referred to as signals was actually the aircraft displayed on the ‘Flight Following System’ screen. This was based on the aircraft projection at that point of time and not the actual aircraft position.
When KL-ATCC (Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Centre) Watch Supervisor queried Malaysia Airlines OPS (Operations) on the status of MH370, Malaysia Airlines OPS informed KL-ATCC Supervisor that MH370 was still sighted over Cambodian airspace in the Flight-Following System, which is based on a flight-projection.
The word “Cambodia” was displayed by the Flight-Following System on the screen when zoomed-in, leading Malaysia Airlines to deduce that the aircraft was flying in Cambodian airspace. The Flight-Following System did not display the name “Vietnam”, even though the aircraft was over Vietnam airspace.
The responsibility of aircraft tracking monitoring resides with Air Traffic Control Centres. For airlines, it is normal to engage flight following systems to assist its pilots to manage in weather conditions or route diversions. Such airline flight following systems are non-primary and non-positive controlling.
Flight following systems also do not trigger airlines of any abnormality. Such situations have to be pilot initiated. Unless otherwise, airlines’ operations control centres would continue to see the aircraft as flying on its normal route, based on projected or predicted positions and locations.
To make the flight-following systems work successfully and effectively, it is important to have visual depiction of the aircraft’s position, coupled with confirmation by air-to-ground communications, such as through ACARS or Satcomm or VHF or HF.
In the case of tracking MH370, Malaysia Airlines’ flight-following system indicated that the aircraft was flying, however, there was no communication from or with the pilot. Malaysia Airlines OPS attempted to communicate with MH370 after we were flag by KL-ATCC, but was never able to make contact.
3) On the Cargo Carried
About 2 tons, equivalent to 2,453kg, of cargo was declared as consolidated under one (1) Master Airway Bill (AWB). This Master AWB actually comprised 5 house AWB. Out of these 5 AWB, two (2) house AWB contained lithium ion batteries amounting to a total tonnage volume of 221kg. The balance 3 house AWB, amounting to 2,232kg, were declared as radio accessories and chargers.
Ends.
Source: Malaysia Airlines MAS-MS30-056
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the preliminary report regarding the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was released based on the principle of openness and transparency.
Najib said he had also appointed an internal team of experts to review all the information obtained on the missing Boeing 777-200ER plane.
"I set, as a guiding principle, the rule as long as the release of information does not hamper the investigation or the search operation, in the interests of openness and transparency," he said in his latest Facebook posting today.
The MH370 preliminary report, which among others included an audio recording of conversation between the cockpit and the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control, and the cargo manifest, was released yesterday by the Transport Ministry.
The report also included a map of the flight path, passenger seating plan as well as an additional document that gave further information on actions taken between 1.38am and 6.14am on March 8, the day Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing.
The Prime Minister during an exclusive television interview with CNN’s Richard Quest said that Malaysia was prepared to release the preliminary report on MH370 this week.
Flight MH370 with 239 people on board left the KL International Airport at 12.41am on March 8 and disappeared from radar screens about an hour later while flying over the South China Sea. Among the passengers were three Americans.
A multinational search for the Boeing 777-200ER plane in waters off Perth, Australia, involves the use of a US Navy's sonar-equipped autonomous underwater vehicle called Bluefin-21.
-- BERNAMA
Source: New Straits Times, 2 May 2014
Transcripts
Source: Department of Information (Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia) via MH370 Official Site
Source: Department of Information (Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia) via MH370 Official Site