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Cape Town - The Malaysian airlines Boeing 777 flight MH370, which disappeared on March 8 2014 carrying 239 people en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, should not go down as an unsolved mystery, says Emirates CEO Sir Tim Clark.
Clark who has been responsible for the world’s largest airlines since 1985, has made a few controversial revelations in a candid interview with by well-known aviation journalist Andreas Spaeth, reports the Daily Mail.
The 64-year-old, a knowledgeable expert and critic of the aviation industry, said that he is concerned the disappearance might be relegated to appear on National Geographic as one of aviation's great mysteries.
He expressed his personal view that control was taken of the plane, but would not speculate about who was behind the incident.
The most startling statement made by Clark is that he believes information about missing aircraft MH370 is being withheld by authorities.
Emirates operates 127 Boeing 777, the same model as the Malaysia Airlines MH370 and Clark says the plane with the most advanced communication platforms should never have been allowed to enter a non-traceable situation.
With the disappearance of MH370 it is believed that the transponders were turned off, meaning it simply disappears from the radar screen. Clark also references airlines’ other means of constantly monitoring the progress of an aircraft ACARS, Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, which is primarily used to monitor engine performance.
Emirates “tracks every single aircraft from the ground, every component and engine of the aircraft at any point on the planet”, with Clark stating the airline is even able to track systemic faults before the pilots do.
Deactivating this mechanism is not easily done, yet it was disabled on flight MH370, “to the degree that the ground tracking capability was eliminated”. Clark said satellite constellations of today even have monitoring capability in the remotest regions of the ocean.
"MH370 was, in my opinion, under control, probably until the very end" he said in the interview.
Clark expressed his disbelief about where MH370 actually ended up and how not even a seat cushion had been found to date, saying his experience has been that “in water incidents, where the aircraft has gone down, there is always something… MH370 simply disappeared, raising a huge degree of suspicion”.
Clark ended his interview, pledging an obligation to the passengers and crew of MH370 and their families, saying he would continue to ask questions and make a nuisance of himself, even as others would like to bury it.
Malaysia has spent 33.46 million ringgit ($10 million or R112 milion at R11.20/$) to date in the search and rescue operations after two tragedies hit its national airline this year, an official said Thursday.
