News that the search for Malaysian airlines Flight MH370, which went missing on March 8, 2014, has been suspended must be heratbreaking for the families of the passengers and crew.
It also means that some important questions about airline safety may be left unanswered.
The plane carrying 239 passengers and crew was travelling between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing, and searchers have covered more than120,000 square kilometres of the ocean floor.
An announcement made jointly by the Australian, Malaysian and Chinese governments said that the decision to abandon the search was not taken lightly, or without sadness.
“Despite every effort using the best science available, cutting-edge technology, as well as modelling and advice from highly skilled professionals who are the best in their field, unfortunately, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft,” the statement said.
While many pieces of debris have been found, the plane’s final resting place, nor the all-important black boxes, have not.
Was one of the pilots, crew or passengers to blame? Was there a malfunction in the aircraft? Was it attacked? We may never know.
There is more on the search and the theories about the plane’s disappearance here.
