MH370: Battery in crucial locator beacon died one YEAR before plane vanished
THE BATTERY in an underwater locator beacon expired more than a YEAR before the Malaysia Airlines plane vanished, a new report has revealed.
The Boeing 777 aircraft – and the 239 passengers and crew on board – vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 2014.
A record-breaking international search operation for the missing passenger plane has been taking place over the last year in the Indian Ocean.
The lack of answers and definitive proof – such as aircraft wreckage – has made this more difficult to bear
So far, no evidence of Flight MH370 has been found.
Relatives of passengers and crew today marked the anniversary of the mysterious disappearance.
Voice 370, a support group for the relatives, hosted a "Day of Remembrance" at a mall in Kuala Lumpur with songs, poems and prayers.
"The lack of answers and definitive proof - such as aircraft wreckage - has made this more difficult to bear," Malaysian Prime Minster Najib Razak said in a statement.
"Together with our international partners, we have followed the little evidence that exists. Malaysia remains committed to the search, and hopeful that MH370 will be found."
Malaysian authorities today released a detailed report into aviation's biggest mystery.
*See more pictures from the MH370 memorial*
"The sole objective of the investigation is the prevention of future accidents or incidents, and not for the purpose to apportion blame or liability," the report said.
It revealed the battery on the beacon attached to the flight data recorder expired in December 2012, but went unnoticed by maintenance crews because of a computer data error.
While it is possible for a battery to continue to work past its the expiry date "it is not guaranteed that it will work or that it would meet the 30-day minimum requirement," the report clarified.
The battery on the locator beacon of the cockpit voice recorder was confirmed to be working at the time of the dissappearance.
Both the flight data and cockpit voice recorder are critical in any plane crash as the two instruments - commonly known as "black boxes" - record critical data leading up to the end of the flight.
The Malaysian report also found 221kg of lithium ion batteries, packed by Motorola Solutions in northern Penang state, were not screened by security at Penang airport.
Although the shipment was inspected by airline staff and was put through a customs inspection and clearance before it was sealed a day before the flight – no additional security screening was made at Kuala Lumpur airport.
The report said the batteries were not regulated as dangerous goods.
A detailed investigation into the crew’s lives, their medical and financial records and training is also included in the 584-page, which was conducted by an independent investigation group.
It claims MH370 Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah had no known history of apathy, anxiety or irritability.
"There were no significant changes in his lifestyle, interpersonal conflict or family stresses," it said.
It also said there were "no behavioural signs of social isolation, change in habits or interest, self-neglect, drug or alcohol abuse" by Zaharie, his first officer or the cabin crew.
Chinese MH370 relatives still suffering
This comes amid claims from experience airline pilots that 53-year-old Captain Shah deliberately hid the plane from radar and flew it thousands of miles off course, before crashing it into the ocean to take his own life.
Known as the "rogue pilot" theory, the explanation into the disappearance has continued to gather pace.
British Boeing 777 captain Simon Hardy says Captain Shah flew a circuit around his home island Penang, off Malaysia, to take a “long, emotional look” before the plane disappeared.
These claims have been disputed by the pilot's family.
Earlier this year, the Malaysian government officially declared the disappearance of MH370 an accident.
It confirmed there were no survivors.
The whereabouts of the Malaysia Airlines wreckage remain still unknown.
