As of this writing, there is still no word about Malaysian Airlines flight MH 370 that went missing last Saturday on route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The plane, a Boeing 777-200ER was two hours into its flight, considered to be the safest phase of the flight as it was already at its cruising altitude. The plane suddenly vanished from the radar scopes of those monitoring it from Malaysia and Vietnam. More than a day has passed and authorities are already assuming the worst, although several hypotheses have come up, especially in the light of the discovery that two passengers on the plane's manifest were not even aboard, but whose passports were allegedly stolen.
The plane itself has a stellar safety history, with only one accident since its launching in 1995. Last year, a 777 crashed into a wall in San Francisco, killing three people. The MH370 aircraft has a good history of safety, maintenance and was piloted by veterans. At this point, anything could have happened but what puzzles authorities and experts is the absence of a distress call from the aircraft. Any situation, except an abrupt one, would still give enough time for the pilot to send out a distress call so they could be tracked. An abrupt situation would be the plane violently breaking apart, caused by decompression or even an explosion. Which is why authorities are not ruling out terrorism but are not definite about it, yet. The discovery of the two stolen passports does make the investigation lean more into the terrorist scenario.
A massive search is ongoing, with aircraft and sea vessels from several countries, including ours, are combing the ocean. A Vietnamese aircraft spotted oil slicks at the spot where they lost contact with the aircraft, leading them to believe that it has indeed gone down. But no official statement regarding the plane has been issued.
I cannot imagine what the relatives of the passengers must be going through. Nothing is worse than not knowing. Good news, even bad news is better than no news at all. I can only hope that they find the aircraft soon, in whatever state it is in. With all the theories going around, it must be hell for the relatives who are now clinging to anything.
Commercial aircraft travel has become much safer nowadays, as compared to when it was just starting. Technology, even findings from previous crashes have all lent a hand in improving the safety of air travel, still considered to be the safest way to travel. There are fewer and fewer accidents. Of course, all that means nothing if you are one of the relatives waiting for news at the airports of Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. Most of the passengers are Chinese, with several foreigners. I'm relieved that no Filipinos are aboard the flight, but my heart goes out to everyone right now. Two hundred thirty-nine passengers and crew. I sincerely hope they do not become yet another statistic, and another lesson by which the industry can and should learn from.