[Peetwo]

Seemed like a good idea – at the time.

'Iggins - "Ms Weeks said she was so ¬enraged by Mr Hood’s decision that she was inclined to take up an offer from Brisbane barrister Greg Williams to work pro bono to use every legal avenue available to force him to release the documents."

I have a modicum of sympathy for the plight of Ms. Weeks and the rest of the MH 370 world and the last thing I’d ever want to do is crush their hopes; but a word of caution is needed. The ‘legal’ road is not the best route. Time and time again challenges to the system which protects the minister, the departments and the safety agencies have failed. The Acts and regulations alone are designed with exactly this purpose in mind; in short, they are not a level playing field and the goalposts are moveable feasts. It is, I believe, also fair to say the costs in both time and money would almost match the cost of mounting a new search.

No intention of dashing good intention; just well meaning words of caution. IMO, this time quite humble, the best way of confounding the ‘system’ is to find the aircraft; or, at least present overwhelming evidence of where it is. The first hurdle to that is of course, the lack of information; which the government will not release.

Essentially, we are no better informed today than we were the night 370 disappeared. It may well be that there is, in reality, no useful information available. That said, I would like to know why that information cannot be released. The TSI is a very powerful Act, invoking national security, heavily supported, politically, legally and by the vested financial interest which feed off it. A tough nut to crack – even before the international political interests weigh in.  

The legal challenge route is probably the last avenue I’d choose to travel so long as there were other options. I’ve no alternate route to suggest, just trying to prevent hopes and expectations being dashed yet again. The solution is of course to have the information released. There can be no valid reason for the Malaysians not doing so. Essentially, it is their aircraft, their accident and their investigation; if anyone is to be held to account it is them.  Perhaps the Chinese government will lend some weight to a request for information; start there.

Toot – toot.

Media references -  

First via 'that man' and the Oz:

ATSB ‘looks guilty of cover-up’

12:00amEAN HIGGINS

The refusal of authorities to release documents on the MH370 search makes them ‘look more guilty’ of a cover-up.

Australian and Chinese families of those who died on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 yesterday expressed outrage at Australian authorities’ refusal to release crucial documents, with an Australian widow saying it made them “look more guilty” of a cover-up.

Danica Weeks, whose husband Paul perished when the flight went missing three years ago, called on Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Greg Hood to reverse his decision to reject a freedom of ­information request from The Australian. “Who are they trying to save face for; is it the Malaysians or the ATSB?” Ms Weeks, who lives on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, said yesterday.

Mr Hood upheld another ATSB officer’s decision to not ­release opinions of an international team of experts about satellite data which the bureau claims support its theory that MH370 went down in an unpiloted crash with the flight crew incapacitated.

The ATSB relied on what has become known as the “ghost flight” and “death dive” theory to design the strategy for its failed $200 million underwater search for the aircraft.

Many aviation experts claim the search could never have succeeded because the ATSB’s “unresponsive pilots” premise was wrong, and suggest instead that captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah ­hijacked his own aircraft and flew it to the end and outside the search zone.

The Boeing 777, with 239 ­people on board, deviated about 40 minutes into a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, when its radar transponder was turned off and radio communications ended, with automatic satellite tracking data showing it ended up in the southern Indian Ocean.

Ms Weeks said she was so ­enraged by Mr Hood’s decision that she was inclined to take up an offer from Brisbane barrister Greg Williams to work pro bono to use every legal avenue available to force him to release the documents.

“It is our loved ones, and it ­affects the whole flying public,” Ms Weeks said. “The Australian taxpayer paid a significant amount for the search; surely we have the right to know.”

The association representing families of Chinese MH370 victims issued a statement noting the ATSB’s general manager for strategic capability, Colin McNamara, originally refused the FOI request on the basis it could “cause damage to the international relations of the commonwealth”. The families said they believed this formed a pattern in which Malaysian authorities “have something to hide”, and Australian authorities were assisting them to this end.

In justifying his rejection of the FOI application, Mr Hood wrote “the activities of the ATSB with respect to assisting the Malaysian investigation are covered by the Transport Safety Investigation Act” and the documents sought had been classified as restricted.

&.. via IBTimes...

Will MH370 Ever Be Found? Missing Flight Details Won’t Be Released


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[url=http://www.ibtimes.com/will-mh370-ever-be-found-missing-flight-details-wont-be-released-2526918][/url]
www.ibtimes.com - Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in 2014 on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, but no closure ever came for the families of those on board. An extensive, multi-country search mounted fo...

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