Update | Malaysia formally declares MH370 crash an accident, passengers presumed dead
Regulator says all 239 on board presumed dead, paving way for relatives to seek compensation
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was formally declared an accident, the Malaysian government announced on Thursday, paving the way for victims’ relatives to be compensated.
The nations’ civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said it was with “the heaviest heart and deepest sorrow” that “survivability highly unlikely” and all onboard “presumed to have lost their lives” in the southern Indian Ocean.
The Boeing 777 aircraft, with 239 passengers and crew on board, lost contact with air traffic control on March 8, last year during a transition of airspace between Malaysia and Vietnam en-route to Beijing
Citing the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, Malaysia hoped an official declaration would allow the next-of-kin to obtain the assistance they needed, “in particular through the compensation process”.
The airline is set to take on their responsibility to the next-of-kin by paying compensation to the victims’ families either by consultation or by litigation.
James Healy-Pratt, a leading aviation lawyer, told the South China Morning Post the formal declaration brings some legal certainty to MH370, and the fate of the passengers and crew.