Search
 

Flight to Nowhere

How could one of the safest airplanes in the sky vanish without a trace, and what does that mean for the rest of the commercial aviation industry, and those who insure it?

By Bill Coffin | Updated on March 28, 2014

Shortly before 1:00 am on March 8, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER took off from Kuala Lumpur, bound for Beijing China. On board were 227 passengers (two thirds of whom were Chinese) and 12 Malaysian crew. Shortly after takeoff, the plane’s transponder and automatic messaging systems went down (or were shut off) and the plane made a preprogrammed turn off course, heading west back over the Malay peninsula and out to the Indian Ocean. By the time MH370 was an hour overdue in Beijing, Malaysia Airlines announced that it had lost contact with the flight.

Not all of that information was immediately known to search and rescue teams, however, and for four days, teams scoured the Gulf of Thailand in search of the lost plane before efforts shifted west. For more than two weeks, a vast international effort of commercial and military planes and ships from China, Japan, Australia, Great Britain, the United States and other countries searched in vain for any sign of the lost flight. Satellite imaging companies even put high-resolution images of the search area online in an effort to crowdsource the search efforts, inviting anyone and everyone to look for clues. Meanwhile, theories on what happened to the plane ran the gamut from cockpit fire to hijacking to pilot suicide.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free
PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader.

INCLUDED IN A DIGITAL MEMBERSHIP:

  • All PropertyCasualty360.com news coverage, best practices, and in-depth analysis.
  • Educational webcasts, resources from industry leaders, and informative newsletters.
  • Other award-winning websites including BenefitsPRO.com and ThinkAdvisor.com.

Already have an account?

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Recommended Stories

PropertyCasualty360

Join PropertyCasualty360

Don’t miss crucial news and insights you need to make informed decisions for your P&C insurance business. Join PropertyCasualty360.com now!

  • Unlimited access to PropertyCasualty360.com - your roadmap to thriving in a disrupted environment
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including BenefitsPRO.com, ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
  • Exclusive discounts on PropertyCasualty360, National Underwriter, Claims and ALM events

Already have an account? Sign In Now
Join PropertyCasualty360

Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.