08 March 2024 , 10:38
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Safety features introduced after the tragedy of 9/11 may have doomed passengers on board MH370, it has been claimed.
It has been ten years since the Malaysia Airlines flight vanished from radars for the last time, sparking a decade of tears for families who do not know what happened. Several theories have been thrown around as to what happened, including it being shot down or crash landing on an island.
Another surrounds the possibility of the plane’s pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 52, deliberately crashing the Beijing bound flight into the sea. A terrifying possibility, expert Beverley Boden, head of department for aviation, tourism, finance and marketing at Teesside University International Business, says would have been possible because of changes to airlines following the terror attacks on the US in 2001.
The changes meant it would have been impossible for crew outside the cockpit to get inside if the pilot had set a course for the rapidly approaching ground. She said: “The knee jerk reaction to the events of 9/11 with the ill-thought reinforced cockpit door has had catastrophic consequences, with crews unable to re-enter the cockpit should the sterile environment change.
Flight MH370 vanished ten years ago (AFP via Getty Images)“Planes go up, and planes come down, but what they don’t do is vanish into thin air, and this is what happened. Was it terrorism, was it an act of war, was it a deliberate act, was it hijacking? Some family members think that airline officials intentionally placed washed-up debris from a Boeing 777 to divert attention from the flight crew.
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“Nonetheless, the families of MH370 continue to hold onto hope for answers and closure as they patiently await any new developments or breakthroughs in the investigation. It remains one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history as lessons continue to be learned in how airlines respond to crisis management and crew resource management.”
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A press release from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2002 said cockpit doors “required strengthening”. It read: “The doors will be designed to resist intrusion by a person who attempts to enter using physical force. This includes the door, its means of attachment to the surrounding structure, and the attachment structure on the bulkhead itself.
“All new doors must meet existing FAA safety requirements. -- Requires cockpit doors to remain locked. The door will be designed to prevent passengers from opening it without the pilot's permission. An internal locking device will be designed so that it can only be unlocked from inside the cockpit.” The doors are also bulletproof and many aircraft are fitted with CCTV cameras so pilots are able to monitor activity in the cabin.