Kuala Lumpur: An international high-profile investigative team would be set up to look into the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines plane and probe the actual cause of the incident.
The Malaysian Cabinet has agreed to the formation of the probe team.
“We had no problems getting people to agree to come on board because everybody wants to be part of this unprecedented incident,” Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said at a press conference here.
Members of the team, which will be formed in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, will be announced next week, said Hishammuddin. He said the team would comprise three groups - airworthiness, operational as well as medical and human factors.
Hishamuddin said the main purpose of the team was to evaluate, investigate and determine the actual cause of the incident so that similar incidents could be avoided. He also said this was an ideal opportunity to tap the knowledge of international experts, such as those from the US' National Transportation Safety Board, Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch and France's BEA among others.
Hishamuddin said the team would not look into criminal aspects under the purview of the Royal Malaysian Police. The Malaysian Aviation Accident Investigation Bureau would be the secretariat for the team. He said they would make the report public because of global public interest, although he did not specify the date.
The Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 - carrying 239 people, including five Indians, an Indo-Canadian and 154 Chinese nationals - had mysteriously vanished on March 8 after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. The mystery of the missing plane continued to baffle aviation and security authorities who have so far not succeeded in tracking the aircraft despite deploying hi-tech radar and other gadgets.
