On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines 370 (MH370) departed from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crewmembers aboard. Contact with the Boeing 777-200ER plane was lost less than an hour after departure as it flew over the Gulf of Thailand, sparking one of the greatest aviation mysteries in history.
The aviation legal team of Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman represents the families of many passengers who were on MH370.
Experts believe the plane may have turned south after contact with the plane was lost, potentially flying for hours before crashing. Investigators are continuing to analyze roughly 1,000 possible flight routes that MH370 could have followed.
Malaysia Airlines flight 370 had people from 15 countries on board, including China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, India, France, United States, Canada, Iran, New Zealand, Ukraine, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Russia, and Taiwan. Months after the plane’s disappearance, families of those aboard MH370 are finding it hard to cope with not knowing the fate of their loved ones. Tragically, all that they can do is wait for answers, as the search for the missing plane continues.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Updates
January 17, 2017
Authorities Call Off Search for Missing Boeing 777
Authorities have called off the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 that crashed almost three years ago with 239 people on board. Although around $150 million has been spent attempting to locate the wreckage, very little other than light debris has ever been found. As a result, many questions remain about what caused the plane to go down in the Indian Ocean.
Continue reading: Authorities Call Off Search for Missing Boeing 777
March 31, 2016
The Latest on MH370 Disappearance
It’s been two years since the MH370 disappearance and we are still nowhere close to finding out what happened to the jumbo jet and its 239 passengers.
For months, no trace of the plane could be found despite the best efforts of a multinational search operation scouring hundreds of miles of ocean. That changed last summer when debris from a Boeing 777 plane washed ashore on Reunion Island. The piece of the plane, a six-foot-long “flaperon,” was later confirmed as a piece of the missing airliner, renewing hopes that the plane would soon be found. This, of course, has not happened.
The same optimism after the Reunion Island discovery was felt last week when another piece of debris was found in Mozambique. Officials have said the Mozambique debris is “highly likely” to have come from MH370.
Both of these findings have solidified the feelings held by investigators that MH370 crashed somewhere in the Indian Ocean. The consensus, thus far, seems to be that the fact some debris from the missing airlines was found, does not measurably enhance the search for the airplane; all it really does is confirm that they are probably looking in the right ocean.
A Recap of What We Know About the MH370 Disappearance
- Who was on the plane? There were 227 passengers aboard the Boeing 777 and 12 crew members. More than 150 passengers were from China, 38 were from Malaysia and three were from the U.S. Other passengers were from Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Indonesia, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Taiwan, and Ukraine.
- Who were the pilots? Flight Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, had clocked 18,000 hours of flying time prior to the MH370 disappearance. Co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, had 2,700 hours of flying time. Both were from Malaysia.
- Where was the plane going? MH370 departed from Kuala Lumpur at 12:20 a.m. on March 8, 2014. It was scheduled to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m.
- When was the last contact with the plane? At around 1:00 a.m. (less than an hour into the flight), the Boeing 777 sent off a final Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) transmission signal. ACARS systems allow computerized flight systems to communicate with air traffic control. The last communication from the flight deck was at 1:20 a.m. “Good night Malaysia three seven zero.”
- How did the flight path change? Investigators believe the plane changed course shortly after communication was lost. The Boeing 777 deviated from its northern path and banked west. U.S. investigators have theorized said the airliner may have stayed in the air for up to four hours before it finally crashed somewhere in the Indian Ocean.
- What is the status of the MH370 search? Investigators from Australia, China, and Malaysia say they have covered roughly 70 percent of the 1,100-mile search area and will likely finish the entire search area by this summer. China has said it has offered “massive resources” in the search, including 2,500 personnel, 21 satellites, 19 vessels, and 13 aircraft. As more time passes, the chances of finding the missing plane are shrinking.
- What about the families of MH370 disappearance victims? In short, they continue to suffer. When Malaysia declared the MH370 disappearance of an accident, the door was opened for families of victims to begin the compensation process. Sarah Bajc, whose partner was an MH370 passenger, joined other family members to hire a private investigation firm in search of answers. She told the Los Angeles Times that she “won’t give up hope until there’s proof otherwise.”
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MH370 Families Want Answers and They Want Justice
December 3, 2015
New Report Indicates Sudden Power Failure May Have Doomed Flight
The pilots of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 may well have been confronted with a runaway power failure that crippled the vital systems of the Boeing 777 plane. The news of the MH370 power failure is buried in a lengthy report issued by the Australian Transport Bureau, which is directing the search for MH370.
According to the report, the flight crew had been able to maintain contact with air traffic controllers prior to the MH370 power failure. The Boeing 777 was also able to automatically transmit its position. However, once the power failure occurred, nothing from the pilots was ever heard again. The Boeing 777’s two automatic reporting systems both stopped working.
The extent of the MH370 power failure is still being examined. One flight system was miraculously able to recover power and emit a scheduled “handshake” signal to a satellite.
What the report lacks is a clear indication of when the power failure occurred. According to the report, the MH370 power failure happened within a 56-minute window.
The report is the first acknowledgment of what had previously been a theory—that a runaway power failure disabled vital flight systems. It also damages what, for many, was a firmly held belief—that the pilots were responsible for essentially hijacking the plane. Based on the report, it appears that the pilots were likely fighting to avert disaster in a situation that many pilots would find difficult, to say the least.
September 3, 2015
French Investigators Confirm Piece of Wreckage is From MH370
French investigators examining the piece of wreckage found on Reunion Island have definitively confirmed that the debris is, in fact, from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 plane. The piece of wreckage, which is known as a flaperon, was found on July 29 and sent to Toulouse for inspection by a team of aviation experts.
The discovery was the first piece of physical evidence found of the missing MH370 plane. Families who lost loved ones aboard the ill-fated flight are hoping that the discovery will help solve one of the greatest aviation mysteries in history.
French officials made the announcement confirming the flaperon as a piece of MH370 on Thursday after weeks of analysis. The investigators had previously been cautious about officially confirming the piece of wreckage as a part of MH370, but a technician from Airbus formally identified one of three numbers found on the flaperon as being the serial number of the MH370 Boeing 777. According to This Day Live, Airbus was the flaperon’s manufacturer and supplier of this part for Boeing.
August 6, 2015
MH370 Families at Odds With News of Reunion Discoveries
“Why not wait and get everybody on the same page so the families don’t need to go through this turmoil?” – Sara Weeks, sister of MH370 passenger Paul Weeks
The families of MH370 victims are frustrated at the news coming on the heels of the plane debris discoveries in Reunion. On one hand, Malaysian officials have indicated that the piece of wing fragment found on the shores of Reunion is undoubtedly from MH370. On the other hand, French authorities have said that while it’s safe to strongly presume that the piece of wing fragment is from MH370, more verification is needed.
According to NBC News, relatives of MH370 victims have reacted to the conflicting news by protesting outside of Malaysia Airlines’ corporate offices in Beijing. Many feel that the Malaysian government is in a hurry to close the case and dodge any responsibility for the aviation disaster. In a social media account for MH370 families, a post read that relatives must hear from the French and from Boeing that the plane debris is unequivocally from MH370. The post goes on to say that the MH370 families aren’t in denial, they just owe it to their loved ones not to declare them gone without being 100 percent certain.
August 6, 2015
MH370 News: Plane Window Found on Reunion
Officials announced Thursday that more aircraft debris believed to be from MH370 has been found on the French island of Reunion. Malaysia Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told reporters that a plane window, found on the same shores as a wing fragment, is from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
While news of the discovery could be another clue in the mystery surrounding the disappearance of MH370, French authorities have indicated that it might be too early to unequivocally declare that the wing fragment is from the airliner. According to NBC News, the team of investigators from Malaysia have been accused of trying to fast track a complicated investigation. Lai shot that down by saying that while they respect France’s decision to continue the due diligence of seeking further verification of the wing fragment, the team from Malaysia who are “actually the experts” confirmed the flaperon to be from MH370.
Aside from the window, officials also found aluminum foil believed to be MH370 debris. It is unclear when exactly these latest discoveries were made.
August 5, 2015
Malaysia Prime Minister: Wing Fragment ‘Conclusively’ From MH370
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters at a news conference today that the wing fragment found on the shores of the French island of Reunion is from MH370, which disappeared from radar over a year ago without a trace. The Boeing 777 plane with 239 people on board vanished on March 8, 2014, en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.
At today’s press conference, Razak said aviation experts have “conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed MH370.” The challenge for investigators now becomes finding out how the airliner went down. Officials now plan to examine the flaperon with high-powered microscopes in the hopes of finding clues to what has been dubbed one of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time.
July 30, 2015
MH370 Plane Debris Found on Reunion Island, Malaysia Government is ‘Almost Certain’
A piece of plane debris found on the shores of Reunion Island appears to be from MH370. Could this discovery help solve the mystery of the airliner’s disappearance?
May 20, 2015
As MH370 Search Widens, Officials Say it’s Impossible to Know Where to Look Next
Australia’s Transport Safety Bureau says search teams have covered more than 75 percent of the original 23,000 square mile search area with no results. Now experts say the highest probability of finding MH370 is within the extended 46,000-mile area, but with one added caveat—if they can’t find the missing plane in the widened search area, they don’t really know where else to look next. Officials say the search in the expanded area has already begun.
March 9, 2015
MH370 Families Want Answers and They Want Justice
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary for the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing less than an hour after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing. The plane held 227 passengers and 12 crew. The plane has yet to be found.
The aviation lawyers at the law firm of Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman are representing the families of many of the Chinese passengers aboard the ill-fated flight in a joint effort with two prestigious law firms in China. The lawyers say their clients are ready to confront the litigation phase of this tragedy as Malaysia Airlines has done little to help the families either in the form solid information about the disappearance of the flight or of monetary compensation.
March 9, 2015
The Mysterious Disappearance of Flight MH370 Sparks Debate over Aviation Safety Requirements
Manufacturers have known for many years that the systems being utilized did not optimize location information throughout the length of many over-ocean flights. They have known for years that hijacking is a potential risk, and that sophisticated hijackers would know how to defeat onboard reporting and navigation systems (see: 9/11/2001). Airlines have long known that dangerous cargo that can explode should not be allowed on passenger flights. Yet, nothing has been done. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has cooperated with industry is dragging its feet on these, and related, issues for many years, and has yet to act. In fact, it now complains that it will still take years to fully implement safer systems.
March 8, 2015
One Year Anniversary of MH370 Marked with Many Tears, Little Progress
A Day of Remembrance for the victims aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was held today at a mall in Kuala Lumpur. Voice 370, a support group for the families and friends of MH370 victims, hosted the event. Families of MH370 victims made one thing very clear on the one year anniversary of the flight’s disappearance: they will never give up searching for the wreckage and for answers to one of the greatest aviation mysteries in history
February 18, 2015
Are MH370 Search Teams Looking in the Wrong Places?
Relatives of MH370 victims arrived in Kuala Lumpur this week to discuss compensation for struggling families as well as the reasoning behind the Malaysian government’s decision to call the airliner’s disappearance an accident. In related news, an oil rig worker claims that he saw MH370 thousands of miles from where search teams are currently looking.
January 29, 2015
MH370 Declared an Accident, Opening the Door for Death Certificates and Compensation Claims
The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) has officially been declared an accident by the Malaysian government. This allows the families of victims to finally secure death certificates and pursue compensation claims. The government’s statement offered no new information regarding the plane’s mysterious disappearance.
October 30, 2014
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Pushes for Real-Time Aircraft Tracking and Data Sharing
It’s been nearly nine months since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared from radar. In the months since many have wondered how a jumbo jet could go missing? In an effort to address this aviation safety issue, Malaysia Transportation Minister, Liow Tiong Lai, is pushing the international aviation community to implement real-time flight tracking.
September 9, 2014
Six Months of Torturous Waiting | Missing GPS = Missing Jetliner
Aviation attorney Ron Goldman talks about why GPS technology should be required on commercial airliners. Technology has far surpassed that of ‘black boxes’, which ping location for only about 30 days in the event that something goes wrong. Goldman asks: “Who will step up to accept responsibility for what the lack of a GPS system has done to the families of the missing passengers?”
September 8, 2014
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Still Remains One of the Biggest Aviation Mysteries
With the search for the missing MH370 plane set to resume again in September, aviation experts believe answers to one of the greatest aviation mysteries in history might be found in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Australia. The new search area – roughly the size of West Virginia – will cover about 23,000 square miles, and 26 countries from around the world have offered their assistance in the search.
August 28, 2014
New Intelligence May Shift Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Search Area
New intelligence from the Australian government could move the search area for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which has been missing since March. Analysis of failed satellite phone calls made by Malaysia Airlines officials to the MH370 flight crew after the plane had disappeared from radar indicates that the plane may have turned south earlier than previously thought. Armed with this new data, what’s next in the MH370 investigation?
July 1, 2014
Missing MH370 Flight Will Likely Prompt Changes in Flight Tracking
The search for the missing jumbo jet has left many people wondering: how is it possible to lose a commercial airliner? It turns out that in some cases, airlines ignore flight tracking due to either lack of technology or regulation requiring sufficient contact with their fleet.
May 7, 2014
Two Months Later, Still No Sign of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
International experts have already concluded “beyond any reasonable doubt” that the Boeing 777-200ER went down somewhere in the Indian Ocean and none of the 239 people aboard survived. Two months into the search for MH370, what do we know?
March 31, 2014
Chicago Law Firm’s Filing Over MH370 ‘Premature’
Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman aviation attorney Ron Goldman says a Chicago law firm’s filing over the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is “premature.” Goldman told InsideCounsel that “in the short run, [the filing] likely will not be productive.” He added that everyone, including lawyers, shouldn’t leap to any conclusions about the missing jumbo jet because it “doesn’t serve the public interest, nor the best interests of the families of those lost.”
March 12, 2014
Multinational Search For Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight Enters the Fourth Day
A multinational search effort for the missing MH370 flight has produced no results. As day four of the search comes to an end, more information has surfaced regarding the pilots and passengers of MH370, the weather conditions and the flight status of when the plane went off the radar.
March 8, 2014
Contact Lost With Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
A Boeing 777-200ER, operating by Malaysia Airlines, Flight 370 disappeared from radar today. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane not long after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. The plane and its 239 passengers and crew members were bound for Beijing. Aviation experts say the aircraft vanished from radar hundreds of miles off the charted flight path. The U.S. State Department issued a statement saying three Americans were aboard MH370.
