Australia says debris may be from missing Malaysia Airlines jet (Week 3)

There is still no concrete answer to the Malaysia Airlines question.

Demick, Barbara. "Australia says debris may be from missing Malaysia Airlines jet." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar 2014. Web. 20 Mar 2014. <http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-malaysia-plane-australia-20140320,0,1403942.story>.




This article continues the news coverage of the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft by describing a new revelation concerning the possible location of the plane. Australia has reported two possible satellite sightings of large chunks of debris off the Western coast of Australia. As of now, a Royal Australian Air Force Orion aircraft has been deployed to investigate the situation further. Three more aircraft are on their way as well. John Young, general manager of the maritime authority, described the largest of the objects as about 78 feet long and located about 1,500 miles off the coast of Perth. The article continued to say that approximately 25 nations are part of the search effort in total now. The article was careful to shy away from making any kinds of irresponsible, gross conclusions, which is a method that certain other news agencies have tended to forget. The article essentially concludes on a "back to work" note by noting the efforts that the United States and China are contributing to the search.

Radar data suggests missing Malaysia plane deliberately flown way off course (Week 2)

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Kidd and USS Pinckney are seen en transit in the Pacific Ocean in this U.S. Navy picture taken May 18, 2011. Kidd and Pinkney have been searching for the missing Malaysian airliner and are being re-deployed to the Strait of Malacca of Malaysia's west coast as new search areas are opened in the Indian Ocean, according to officials on March 13, 2014. 

Koswanage , Niluksi , and Siva Govindasamy. "Exclusive: Radar data suggests missing Malaysia plane deliberately flown way off course - sources." Reuters. Reuters, 14 Mar 2014. Web. 14 Mar 2014. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/14/us-malaysia-airlines-radar-exclusive-idUSBREA2D0DG20140314>.




In this lengthy article, which marks yet another analysis of the striking situation concerning Malaysia's flight 340, the cause of the disappearance of the aircraft is being refined and becoming more concrete. Flight data shows that the aircraft was deliberately flown hundreds of miles off-course. For investigators, this dramatically raises the chance of "foul play" (read: terrorism), and decreases the chance of a simple mechanical or structural failure. A closer look at the flight path suggests that the person who was flying the plane had a clear understanding of the flight patterns in the area, including specific waypoints along the way. In other words, the theory that the aircraft was deliberately diverted is now being backed by convincing evidence. The article concludes by stating that Malaysia is requesting raw radar data from neighbors Thailand, Indonesia and India, which has a naval base in the Andaman Islands, which means that additional evidence is still being collected at this time.

Why Malaysia Will Say Almost Nothing About the Missing Plane (Week 2)

The mystery of Malaysia Airlines 370 has left everyone confused and disturbed.

Kurlantzick, Joshua. "Why Malaysia Will Say Almost Nothing About the Missing Plane." BloombergBusinessweek. Bloomberg, 12 Mar 2014. Web. 12 Mar 2014. <http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-12/why-malaysia-will-say-almost-nothing-about-the-missing-flight>.



In this frustration-fueled article, criticisms towards Malaysia and its flag carrier are expressed and explained. The article harshly acknowledges that while families of those affected are rightfully desperate for answers, nothing better should realistically be expected from Malaysia. While Malaysia Airlines' safety record has been historically very good, Malaysia's government continues to be riddled in corruption, squabbles, and inefficiency. The article validly claims that Malaysia's disappointing political climate falls to its worst in cases like this, and uses this reason to justify the fact that the United States is now playing a major role in the investigation. Further, the author indicates that, given Malaysia's fraught relationship with most Muslim countries, the government will likely be opaque as ever in terms of investigating any kind of terrorism possibilities and sharing this information with the public. The article utilizes prior cases and examples, such as situations in which Malaysia Airlines was very clearly mismanaged, to support the author's viewpoint and drive the argument home.