The release of a 1,500-page report into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 four years ago has done little other than disprove a number of previously put forward theories, anger relatives of those who were on board the ill-fated flight who had been hoping for answers, and confirm that investigators still do not know what happened.
Kok Soo Chon was the lead investigator and he has confirmed that the flight certainly deviated from its intended flight path and that this was made under manual control as opposed to the result of system anomalies.
Malaysian investigators confirmed that they had considered every single suggestion, whether a conspiracy theory, rumor or item of gossip, and had narrowed down the reason for the disappearance of the flight to one of seven plausible theories.
Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic controllers came under specific criticism for a twenty-minute window between when the plane went missing and anyone was alerted, thus delaying search and rescue operations.
The report stated that the pilot and first officer had been well rested and were not under any obvious financial, emotional or psychological stress.
Kok was clear to state that “we cannot rule out unlawful interference by a third party,” in particular pointing to the cessation of all communication and the turning back of the plane. However, it was felt this was not a terrorist attack as no terrorist group had claimed responsibility for the flight’s disappearance.
While Malaysian authorities announced this as a “final” report and though the search for the missing flight was officially called off earlier this year, Kok began the press conference for the release of the report by clarifying that it was not a final report and that the search might continue.
