Malaysian credibility in jet hunt challenged again

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-EXCITE

By CHRIS BRUMMITT and GILLIAN WONG

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - It may mean little to investigators that the last words air traffic controllers heard from the lost jetliner were "Good night, Malaysian three-seven-zero," rather than "All right, good night." But to Malaysian officials whose credibility has been questioned almost from the beginning, it means a great deal.

Malaysian officials said more than two weeks ago that "All right, good night," were the last words, and that the co-pilot uttered them. They changed the account late Monday and said they are still investigating who it was that spoke. The discrepancy added to the confusion and frustration families of the missing already felt more than three weeks after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared.

"This sort of mistake hits at the heart of trust in their communications. If Malaysia is changing what the pilot said, people start thinking, 'What are they going to change next?" said Hamish McLean, an expert in risk and crisis communication at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.

"Information is in a crisis is absolutely critical. When we are dealing with such a small amount of information its needs to be handled very carefully," he said.

FULL story.



Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140401/DACTB2901.html

---

In this Tuesday, March 25, 2014 file photo, Chinese relatives of passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, flight MH370, shout in protest as they march towards the Malaysia embassy in Beijing, China. Authorities have been forced on the defensive by the criticism, the most forceful of which has come from a group of Chinese relatives who accuse them of lying about - or even involvement in - the disappearance of Flight 370. The blue placard reads: "We won't leave or ditch you, we will wait right here." (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)+

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Malaysia's reaction to the problem is rather material overall

They have come across as reluctantly cooperative thru out the whole incident, making an international weird event
even..weirder.

[secondwind]

2. I agree. They sound very casual about the whole thing.

[Blue_Tires]

10. Malaysia is culturally different

for starters, before the incident the Malaysian government press conferences were along the lines of "I've made my statement; now this conference is over..." They were clearly unprepared to handle the global press who, you know, actually ask follow-up questions and point out contradictions in previous statements...

Yeah, they've gotten a little better now, but that first week was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster...

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. I was wondering if, like Japan, there is a cultural norm against admitting mistakes

esp. when it comes to criticizing superiors.

[sofa king]

14. I see an authoritarian line of logic from them.

I think they're effing up like this because they're basing their facts upon the statements of authorities rather than upon the actual evidence.

Some boss said this one thing happened without having the actual data in front of him, so that's what got written down by or told to someone else, who in turn took it up the political food chain until someone with enough clout to get in front of the cameras told it his own way, and the momentum is always toward errors because nobody inside of the institution dares question the authority of the person presenting the so-called facts.

You want an authoritative statement that's going to pan out? Then believe me when I say that such buffoonery is not at all foreign to the western world, especially the United States.

It's just that the buffoons temporarily surrendered that territory to scientists and engineers in a small handful of cases. Virtually everywhere else, especially in the current House of Representatives, the very same sort of nonsense is coin of the realm. The investigative rigor of Rep. Issa's committee, for example, is well worthy of comparison to the Malaysians who are muddling through this crisis.

[bigworld]

3. They're just very unprofessional and thorough about the whole thing

They're acting like they have something to hide, or are just embarrassed about the whole thing, or it's just way over their head.

Accidents happen, I know. But their response to it gives me very little confidence in the competence of the Malaysian authorities.

[dembotoz]

4. feel sort of sorry for them--looks like the airline and the country not quite ready for prime time

and yet here they are in prime time

deer in the headlights look

and yes the biggest victims are the folks on the plane and their families

but the folks on the ground stuck with the situation that is way far outside of their worst nightmares or training.

[liberal N proud]

5. I think they have lost all credibility

[Sunlei]

6. Families are frantic & rightly upset. Searchers have not found even one piece of wreckage!

Chinese relatives and the Chinese people know for a fact their Gov is not very trustworthy over anything.

It is a big area of the sea and without those couple satellite engine pings--they would not even know an area to look. Chinese relatives may worry those engine pings are some kind of set-up/scam.

[Sunlei]

13. ok, the reports from Aviation expert "Geoffrey Thomas" seem on the mark

google his name for the reports. a different field of over 100 objects and his hijack theory of person(s) hidden in the pilots area around where the transponders/gear are stored.

[ColesCountyDem]

7. This assumes they have any credibility remaining. n/t

[Hestia]

8. I still don't get it - everyone is acting as if this is the only accident in aviation history

The families are acting as if the Malaysian government purposely took down this plane and are accusing officials of a cover up.

NOBODY knows what happened - but golly gee whiz, it just has to be terrorism doesn't it? Smear good men's names because accidents never occur, right?

AND going on tv and screaming at officials DEMANDING answers right the hell now! is not helping any situation whatsoever.

Sometimes in life we don't get the answers when we want then, now, or ever.

I feel tremendous sorrow for the passengers and crew of this plane and I do hope that they went as painlessly as possible. But the families as losing me with their actions - acting as clowns in this situation is NOT HELPING ANYONE.

IMO, as if it counts for anything in this world, it appears a cabin fire overwhelmed the crew and passengers, crew tried to land at the nearest airport, as the crew passed away they were on auto-pilot, which flew until fuel burned out or fire over took the avionics, etc.

COUNTRIES in that part of the world are looking for the plane in one of the worst areas for a rescue and/or recovery.

What More Can Humans Do?

[Blue_Tires]

9. Not the only accident in aviation history

but it is the strangest in recent memory, and it isn't even close...

FWIW, the Chinese traditionally must have the remains so they can formally begin their grieving process...And the Malaysian gov't didn't do themselves any favors with how heavy-handed they treated the families early on...

[Jesus Malverde]

11. At some point one comes back to the imprisonment of anwar

The opposition leader the day before the crash.

The incident has been described as a godsend for the ruling government.