PUTRAJAYA: The investigation into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 is to prevent future aviation accidents, and not to apportion blame or liability to any party, the Malaysian International Civil Aviation Organization Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team said yesterday, a year after the Boeing 777 aircraft vanished.

The team said it is currently focused on analysing the information it has gathered since its formation last year, but added that it was “interim in nature” and new details may become available that would alter the information before the final report was published.

“The sole objective of the investigation of an accident or incident shall be the prevention of future accidents or incidents,” said Datuk Kok Soo Chon, the head of the investigation team, who read out the statement that was aired on RTM’s TV1.

“It is not the purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability, as stated in paragraph 3.1 of Annex 13,” he said, referring to the Convention on International Civil Aviation on aircraft accident and incident investigations.

Kok said the team had gathered information from air traffic control recordings and aircraft maintenance records, carried out simulator sessions to reconstruct the plane’s flight operator and system operation, and interviewed more than 120 people.

It had also visited cargo operators, freight-forwarders and consignees of lithium batteries and mangosteens, as well as air traffic centres in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

He said the analysis of the facts would consider eight areas: airworthiness, maintenance and aircraft systems; air traffic control operations from 1.19am to 6.32am on March 8, 2014; cargo consignment; crew profile; diversion from filed flight plan route; organisational and management information of the Department of Civil Aviation and MAS; and satellite communications.

The investigation team has also prepared standard operating procedures and checklists for the investigation to prepare for the plane’s recovery once it is located.

“In the months ahead, the investigation team will need to analyse to draw conclusions and give safety recommendations based on the information that have been gathered,” said Kok.

“In addition to the analysis and the conclusion phase of the investigation, steps taken will also include further validation of the [facts] on emergence of new evidence.” — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 9, 2015.