One year down, MH370 probe still inconclusive

The battery of the black box locator beacon of the doomed MH370 had expired over a year before the Malaysian plane mysteriously disappeared, a new report said on Sunday as grieving families of the 239 people on board marked the first anniversary of the world’s biggest aviation mystery.

Investigators, however, found no indications of unusual behaviour among the pilots and cabin crew of the Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines plane that dropped off radar just an hour after taking off from here on March 8. “There were no behavioral signs of social isolation, change in habits or interest, self-neglect, drug or alcohol abuse of the captain, first officer and the cabin crew,” said the 584-page interim report.

In the aftermath of the disappearance of the plane there was intense focus on the flight’s captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, and his co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid. The report said Boeing 777-200’s captain did not have any personal or financial problems that would cast suspicion on him.

It contained factual information about the missing plane rather than analysis. It offered relatives of the 239 people, including five Indians, on board no apparent answers about why the aircraft dropped off radar.

Meanwhile, Voice 370, a support group for the kin of those on board, hosted a Day of Remembrance at a mall here. The purpose of the event was to urge people all over the world to not forget about the disaster and encourage the government to keep searching for the wreckage.

According to maintenance records, “The SSFDR ULB battery expired in Dec 2012. There is no evidence to suggest that the SSFDR ULB battery had been replaced before the expiry date.”  “It is not guaranteed that it will work or that it would meet the 30-day minimum requirement.”