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Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Air Traffic Supervisor Asleep On Job When Plane Lost

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 02:02 PST, Mar 12, 2015

An interim investigation report into the disappearance of flight MH370 has revealed that a Kuala Lumpur air traffic control supervisor may have been asleep while on duty last year, after the Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared from radar.

The investigation revealed transcripts of conversations between air traffic controllers that document the confusion after flight MH370, a Boeing 777, disappeared from radar on March 8, the Daily Mail reports. In one of those transcripts, which took place four hours after flight MH370 had vanished, a controller who came on duty after the plane disappeared told a Malaysia Airlines official he would have to wake his supervisor for information about the incident. The Malaysia Airlines official was inquiring whether flight MH370 had been successfully handed over to Vietnamese air control, according to the Malaysia Chronicle.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai reacted swiftly to the news, launching an internal probe into the allegations that he asserted would be quickly completed. He vowed to take stern action if the allegations were confirmed.

“The work is on rotation… If he is on a working shift, this is serious. We will definitely take action if there is any misconduct.”

Though a year has passed since the still unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, no confirmed wreckage has yet been found from the missing jet. In January, the government of Malaysia declared flight MH370’s disappearance an accident, asserting that all aboard are presumed dead.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that a moist towelette branded with the Malaysia Airlines logo was discovered on a beach in Western Australia. As the Inquisitr previously reported, the towelette was found in July of last year by a couple walking the beach, and it is being tested by experts to determine if it is linked to flight MH370. According to officials, however, it is unlikely that analysis would be able to conclusively link the item with the missing flight.

The interim report also revealed that the battery for an underwater locator beacon connected to MH370’s flight recorder had expired a full year before the jet went missing. The issue was apparently caused by a data error, which was not uncovered by maintenance crews.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has asserted that the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which is taking place in the sea off his country’s west coast, will continue.

[Image: Reuters via the Daily Mail]

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