MH370: Raw data to be released soon, says DCA chief

File pic of DCA director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman - AFP

Published: Tuesday May 20, 2014 MYT 12:01:00 PM 
Updated: Tuesday May 20, 2014 MYT 1:55:00 PM

PETALING JAYA: All relevant parties are working to release the data communication logs and the technical descriptions pertaining to missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370.

Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said Inmarsat has been giving its full support in the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of the aircraft.

“The DCA has been discussing with Inmarsat with the assistance of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), to get a common descriptor for the Inmarsat satellite data.

“Such data was provided to MAS when MH370 first went missing,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

He added it was imperative for authorities to provide helpful information to the next of kin and general public – which will include the data communication logs as well as relevant explanations.

“It is to enable the reader to understand the data provided.

“It must be noted that previously where reference has been made to ‘data communication logs’ and ‘raw data’ – they refer to the same set of data,” he said.

Azharuddin added that the data communication logs is just one of the many elements of the investigation information.

“The release of the data is in line with our policy of transparency,” he said.

On Monday, Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein announced that he had instructed the DCA to discuss with Inmarsat with regard the release of the aforementioned data.

“A team of technical experts has convened in Canberra to discuss and refine the satellite data, calculations and analysis which have been made available by Inmarsat.

“This is in light of the recent demands by the next of kin for the Inmarsat ‘raw data’,” he said, adding that, it was consistent with Malaysia’s stand for greater transparency and prioritising the interests of the family members of those onboard flight MH370.

Flight MH370, with 239 people on board including 12 crew members, left the KL International Airport at 12.41am on March 8 and disappeared from radar screens about an hour later while over the South China Sea.

The Boeing 777-200ER aircraft was supposed to have landed in Beijing at 6.30am on the same day.

A multinational search was launched to trace the aircraft, initially in the South China Sea, and then in the southern Indian Ocean when it was determined to have deviated from its original path.