MH370 preliminary report raises questions on reaction time by authorities

Map released by Transport Ministry shows the flight paths and likely locations where MH370 may have ended, based on different projections of the aircraft’s speed, shown on the map in knots, distance by nautical miles (nm) and altitude (ft). – The Malaysian Insider graphic by Kamarul Arif Husain, May 1, 2014.
Putrajaya today released the preliminary report on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which showed that the search for the aircraft was activated close to four hours after all contact with the plane was lost.

Included in the preliminary report was a document detailing the actions taken by the Malaysian authorities between 1.38am and 6.14am on March 8, the day the Boeing 777-200 vanished. (See full table below)

The document showed that the search and rescue operation was activated only after the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control (KL-ATC) had contacted all other ATCs in the region.

The four-hour reaction time for Malaysian authorities to activate the search and rescue operation was one of two gaps that stood out from the report pertaining to the timeline and actions taken.

The other gap was the 17 minutes from when the plane disappeared from radar, that is 1.21am, and when Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh ATC informed KL-ATC that no contact was made by the crew of MH370. This could indicate that the KL-ATC had not noticed the disappearance of the plane, or took no action on it for those 17 critical minutes.

The report, which was sent to the International Civil Aviation Organization last week, indicated that the Kuala Lumpur Rescue Coordination Centre was activated at 5.30am after all efforts to communicate and locate MH370 failed.

The preliminary report, released by the Transport Ministry this evening, included the cargo manifest, recordings of all communication that took place between the cockpit and air traffic control, maps detailing MH370's flight path and the likely area it ended its journey in the southern Indian Ocean.

Search and rescue operations were immediately carried out in the South China Sea where flight MH370's position was last seen on radar by the KL-ATC.

A review of data from the military radar revealed a signal from an aircraft, which could possibly be that of MH370, had made an air turn back crossing peninsular Malaysia.

"The aircraft was categorised as friendly by the radar operator and therefore, no further action was taken."

At 8.30am on March 8, the radar data was reviewed in a playback and the information was sent to the Royal Malaysian Air Force operations room at 9am.

"After further discussion up the chain of command, the military informed me, as the Defence Minister, at 10.30am of MH370's possible air turn back," Hishammuddin said.

"I then informed Najib, who immediately ordered that search and rescue operations be initiated in the Strait of Malacca, along with the South China Sea operations which had started earlier."

Two Malaysian vessels, KD Mahamiru and KD Laksamana Muhamad Amin, were in the Strait of Malacca on patrol duty and reassigned to conduct search and rescue operations.

The last message received by the satellite ground system from the ACARS system on MH370 was at 8.19am.

With the primary analysis of the satellite data and aircraft performance data, the investigation established that flight MH370 flew along either a northern or southern corridor.

The last transmission occurred when the aircraft was on an arc of 40 degrees from the satellite.

Based on this new development the search area was moved from the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca to the northern and southern corridors.

The preliminary report indicated that MH370 flew the southern corridor and ended its flight in the southern part of the Indian Ocean, based on Inmarsat satellite data.

Hishammuddin said the preliminary report had been drafted with the cooperation of the United States National Transport Safety Board, the UK Air Accident Investigations Branch and other international aviation agencies.

"Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak appointed an internal team of experts to review all the information Putrajaya possessed on MH370."

"The review was conducted with a view to releasing as much of information as possible to the public," Hishammuddin said.

"The principle set by Najib was as long as the release of a particular piece of information did not hamper the probe or search operation, it should be made public."

Hishammuddin said Putrajaya wanted to be as open and transparent as possible, hence the information was released once the internal team concluded its review. – May 1, 2014