With authorities and even regular people trying to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of Malaysian Air Flight 370. But an equally more important one is whom to point to as liable for the missing airplane and the 227 passengers in it.
Bloomberg said that what is clear at this point is that families of the passenger could receive some compensation from the airline operator, which is Malaysian Airline System Bhd even though the plane is not found. Under international treaty, the Malaysian carrier is liable to pay a maximum of 175,000 per passenger, and Bloomberg added that payout could be even more.
The news agency said that survivors of the plane could even get more if wreckage was located and that a narrative of the circumstances of the plane's plight is assembled.
Pilot and air-disaster lawyer Robert Hedrick, whi is based in Seattle, said, "The disappearance of Flight 370 remains a mystery. The legal claims against Malaysia Airlines -- those are not a mystery. If the wreckage is located, the evidence may establish liability of other parties."
The Montreal Convention of 1999 is an international treaty that covers air travel and could be cited by the survivors of all 227 passengers for damages, even though the cause of the incident has yet to be known. Bloomberg said that based on the rules, Malaysia Airlines' liability to the passengers' families stand at over $40 million. Moreover, claims could be litigated in Malaysia and China, who are both signatories of the treaty and are the home countries of the missing airplane's scheduled route.
Today, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razaknarrowed announced the speculation that the plane's last location is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean west of Perth, Australia according to satellite data. In a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, he said, "This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites. It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean."
