MH370 families seethe over ‘shameful’ Malaysia Airlines photo

Families of Australians lost on MH370 expressed outrage at the airline over timing of photo posted of two happy pilots.

An image from Malaysia Airlines’ Facebook page wishing its customers a great flight ‘wherever they are’, the day the families of MH370 victims were informed the search for their loved ones would be suspended.

Families of Australians lost on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 expressed outrage at the airline yesterday for posting a photograph of two happy pilots in a cockpit on the same day hopes of finding their loved ones’ resting place were crushed by an announce­ment the search had been called off.

The post put up on Tuesday shows the grinning pilots, one wearing sunglasses, with aviator watches and cups of tea or coffee, and reads: “Good morning from the cockpit! We wish you a great flight wherever you are today.”

Relatives of the six Australians lost when MH370 went missing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, said the post was emblem­atic of what they claimed was the callous indifference Malaysia Airlines, and its owner, the Malaysian government, had shown toward­s them and their quest to unravel the mystery.

Many called on the federal government yesterday to pressure Malaysia to agree to continue the hunt, amid further suggestions that Australian officials want to explore a new area of ocean but have been blocked by lack of political will. In a comment on the Malaysia Airlines post, Peter Weeks, who lost his brother Paul on MH370, wrote: “So shameful … Perhaps the slogan should be ‘We wish you a great flight, but can’t guarantee you’ll actually see your family ever again’.”

Paul Weeks’s widow, Danica, now a single mum to their sons Lincoln, 6, and Jack, 3, on the Sunshine Coast, wrote: “The pilots wear Rolexs, they refuse­ to fund a further search for my husband, Best friend and fathe­r of two young boys ... but hey you decide. It’s a crazy world when all morals and values go out the door!”

Queenslander Amanda Lawton, who lost her parents Bob and Cathy, told The Australian the Malaysia Airlines post “almost feels like they’re mocking the whole situation”. “It makes you question the company’s level of remorse,” Ms Lawton said.

In a press release issued­ yesterday before the Facebook post row erupted, Malaysia Airlines said: “The search has been a thorough and comprehensive effort … we share in the sorrow­ that the search has not produced the outcome that everyone had hoped for. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are affected by this tragedy.”

Queensland trauma psycholo­gist Paul Stevenson, who has spent the past two years assisting the families of passengers on the missing plane, said of the airline’s communications: “It’s mixing these reality messages with a promotional ad at the same time — I think that’s in bad taste.”

“I can see that Malaysia Airlines would want to embark upon both strategies, but to have that featured on the site in the morning, the timing is just all wrong”.

In response to inquiries from The Australian, Malaysia Airlines said: “The post was part of an existing Facebook content strategy intended to share the storie­s behind Malaysia Airlines. Unfortunately, the post went live several hours before the MH370 tripartite communique (announcing the end of the search).

“At the time of posting, Malaysia Airlines was unaware a statement regarding the MH370 search would be made that day.”

In the joint communique on Tuesday, Transport Minister Darren Chester and his Chinese and Malaysian counterparts announc­ed that the underwater search for MH370 in a 120,000sq km target zone in the southern Indian Ocean had ended, and would not be resumed without “credible information” identifying the precise location of the aircraft.

Ms Weeks said she had been promised a telephone conversation with Mr Chester, and would tell him: “I want him to put pressure on the Malaysians to continue the search.

“It is ultimately the responsib­ility of the Malaysian government,” she said, observing that under international law Malaysia was in charge of the investigation because MH370 was registered in that country.

The Boeing 777 went missing on a scheduled route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, deviating back over Malaysia soon into the flight before turning south with its radar transponder turned off and no radio contact, leading most professiona­l pilots and air crash investigators to conclude it was a case of pilot hijack.

In a press conference in Melbourne yesterday, Mr Chester rejected­ calls for the search to continue into a new 25,000 sq km area to the north, identified last month by a panel of international experts convened by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, saying that did not constitute a specific location of the aircraft.

In that press conference and several radio interviews, Mr Chester said any call to renew the search would “be a matter for the Malaysian government primarily.”

Grace Nathan, a British-educate­d Malaysian lawyer who is the key spokeswoman for the international group representing the families, Voice 370, told The Australian yesterdaythat ATSB officials had told them privately in face-to-face meetings in Malaysia in July, and Australia in September, that they wanted to continue the search.

“The ATSB is keen and I believ­e have indicated they were willing to continue to oversee the search should Malaysia, China and Australia want to continue,” Ms Grace said.

She said she found Mr Chester’s comments “disingenuous”.

“The Australian minister, by saying he wants to know the precise­ location of the aircraft, has effectively said he doesn’t want to look for the aircraft until it is found,” Ms Nathan said.

An ATSB spokesman said the decision to discontinue the search was “unanimous by the three countries”.

Families of Malaysian victims have said the Malaysian government has engaged in a pattern of trying to shut down the MH370 story domestically.

Malaysian state media has reportedly­ been ordered not to report­ on the issue.

Last year a billboard on Kuala Lumpur’s national highway dedicated to the passengers and crew of MH370 was quietly removed and a memorial at Kuala Lumpur International Airport also dis­appeared.