[Peetwo]

Captain's Log 18.04.17: MH370 HSSS wars continue

Top post Ziggy and the question of where is the 'independent investigation' could possibly be a postmark for the ATSB for the better part of a decade, or at least since the Lockhart River air disaster - the ATSB independent my arse...

Some further developments today, with Liow and Hood lashing out at the Oz and that man 'Iggins...

First from FMT news online:

We are not hiding any info on MH370, says minister

Predeep Nambiar
 | April 17, 2017

Relatives have access to latest data via a website, which is updated weekly, and the full report will be released by years’ end, says transport minister.


GEORGE TOWN: It’s not fair to say the Malaysian or Australian governments are hiding information on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, says Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai.

This follows claims by relatives that information was not forthcoming.

Liow said at present, all next of kin of those who perished on the flight were given access to the latest details from the investigation.

He said the information was published on a website and updated weekly.

“Wait for a full investigation report to come out, then everyone will get to see it.

“It’s not fair to accuse the Malaysian government of hiding (information).

“We cannot give everybody these details.

“And it is unfair to accuse the Malaysian and Australian governments of hiding (things).

“We are very thankful to Australia and China, who have helped us all along,” Liow told FMT.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) was accused by a relative of one of the passengers who perished of covering up, after they refused to release material related to MH370’s search efforts.
The information was requested by families of the Chinese passengers on the ill-fated flight.

ATSB chief commissioner Greg Hood had said their request was denied under a law that prevents the release of information which could “cause damage to the international relations of the Commonwealth”, The Australian newspaper reported.

The newspaper also reported some ATSB’s officers were having second thoughts about the agency’s official line that MH370’s ­pilots were unconscious or dead at the end of the flight.
They fear that some of the documents may be leaked.

ATSB also warned staff who leaked information on the investigation that they could be jailed at least two years.

Liow said the investigation data was being sent to an investigation team under Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (ICAO).

He said all will be able to view the final report from the compiled investigation data. The report is expected to be published by the years’ end.

The minister said the seven-member ICAO Annexe 13 safety investigation team, led by Kok Soo Chon, was working around the clock to complete the investigation.

Kok, who is former Civil Aviation Department director-general, is heading the investigation panel, comprising aviation investigators from US, China, France, Australia and also plane manufacturer Boeing and satellite company Inmarsat.

MH370, with 239 people on board, was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 when air traffic control staff lost contact with it less than an hour later.

Military radar evidence later revealed the plane had suddenly changed from its northerly course to head west.

Satellite tracking data appeared to confirm that the plane crashed in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Australia.

Australia, China and Malaysia, which jointly coordinated and funded the search operation led by ATSB, announced in January the suspension of the search for MH370.

A flaperon (wing piece), found on Reunion Island near Madagascar, was later reported to be from the plane. Several other pieces of debris were also recovered in other places, believed to have been washed ashore by ocean currents.

And today Hood was quick to fire up the ATSB 'correcting the bollocks' webpage to hit back at the Oz article yesterday... :

Correcting the Record

Inaccurate media coverage on the search for MH370

18 April 2017

On 17 April 2017, The Australian published an article, “ATSB shuts down details on MH370 search” by Ean Higgins. That article contained misrepresentations.

Mr Higgins stated that “(the) Australian Transport Safety Bureau has invoked draconian legislation in refusing to release material about its search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, warning that any bureau employee who provides such information to the public or a court could face two years in jail.”

The ATSB did not issue any such warning.

The Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (TSI Act) applies to ATSB investigations and reports, requiring investigators to protect evidence from disclosure other than in accordance with performing their functions under the Act. Consistent with international standards, the ATSB does not publish all the documents forming part of the investigation or report. This is to ensure cooperation and the future free flow of information to safety investigations.

However, while not all documents from a safety investigation are released, the results of the investigation are published.  The ATSB has published a number of reports concerning its search for MH370 on the ATSB website. 

In his article, Mr Higgins claimed that the TSI Act covers a request relating to documents for a “ghost flight” scenario. These are not the ATSB’s words and do not accurately reflect the request made by Mr Higgins. The ATSB has made it clear in previous publications that rigorous examination and analysis of the sequence of events and the SATCOM data matches most closely with a scenario in which there was no human intervention during the final phase of the flight.

Without providing any evidence, Mr Higgins suggested that some ATSB officers had second thoughts about the ATSB’s position in relation to the end of flight scenario. The ATSB is not aware of any officers who have concerns with the ATSB’s reported findings in this regard.

The ATSB’s work in the search for MH370 has always been characterised by a willingness to listen to new ideas, and to apply all the known facts to lead the underwater search.

The ATSB does not make any statement lightly, nor does it approach any issue with pre-conceived conclusions.
 



Last update 18 April 2017

 
MTF...P2