MH370 mystery: Malaysia’s civil aviation chief quits after probe blames KL ATC for shortcomings
31 Jul 2018
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Malaysia’s civil aviation chief quit on Tuesday after an independent probe nailed shortcomings in the air traffic control centre in Kuala Lumpur when the flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, with 239 passengers on board.
Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director-general of Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation, quit after numerous lapses were found by investigators into the disaster.
Rahman said the 400-page report did not blame his department for the loss of the aircraft, but referred to the Kuala Lumpur air traffic control centre’s failure to comply with operating procedures.
“It is with regret and after much thought of contemplation that I have decided to resign as chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia,” he said in a statement.
The aircraft was on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, but disappeared with all passengers and crew on board. It was presumed to have crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean region, though parts of the wreckage washed ashore on African beaches. International search teams, however, have failed to identify the crash site.
The international probe team which came out with the report said the reasons behind the disappearance cannot be determined until the black boxes were recovered.
The team also blamed the air traffic control at Kuala Lumpur for its failure to initiate emergency response and for relying on the airline for information.
The investigators also did not rule out the possibility of ‘unlawful interface by a third party’ – even hijackers – that led to the disaster (Experts finally agree: MH370 crash was deliberate act by suicidal pilot).
Anthony Loke, Malaysia’s transport minister, said the government had set up a committee to further probe the incident.
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