Many theories have emerged in the year since Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing during a scheduled service from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The search in the Indian Ocean to the west of Australi and south of Indonesia has so far cost about $93 million (Dh342m), yet no trace as been found of the aircraft or its 239 passengers and crew.
Many in the aviation industry will want to find the wreckage so they can piece together exactly what happened on March 8, 2014. A report released yesterday noted that the battery on the flight data recorder's underwater locator had expired more than a year before the plane's disappearance. While this adds to the frustration of those trying to locate the plane, the recorder itself is likely to be in perfect working order. Its absence leaves a string of questions still unanswered, including why the radar transponder was turned off and by whom, and why the aircraft made an unscheduled sharp left turn before it disappeared.
But far more important than finding the “black box” will be finding the passengers. Among those who vanished with the plane were people of 14 nationalities, the largest group, of 153, being Chinese. Those on board included artists, engineers, honeymooners, a martial arts expert and a 23-month-old boy.
They were husbands, wives, brothers, sisters and children, and our thoughts must be with their loved ones who have endured 12 months of uncertainty and pain. Their lives have been on hold, awaiting answers – which probably explains why many conspiracy theories have sprung up to explain the disappearance of MH370. It is for their sake that the search must continue no matter the cost or time involved.