The lack of any evidence indicating what caused flight MH370’s disappearance raises a legal conundrum that is expected to force Malaysia Airlines into out-of-court settlements with angry next-of-kin, aviation law experts said.
More than two months since MH370 disappeared, no wreckage has been found to even confirm a crash, let alone apportion blame.
But relatives of the 239 people on board can still come after Malaysia Airlines because under international aviation law it is an airline’s responsibility to prove it was not to blame for an accident.
“On the surface, (Malaysia Airlines) is responsible,” said Jeremy Joseph, a Malaysian attorney specialising in transport law.
The “burden of proof” rests on the national carrier to clear its name, he added.
Under International Civil Aviation Organisation rules, next-of-kin in an air crash are entitled to an automatic minimum of about US$175,000 (RM564,847) per passenger, regardless of fault, payable by an airline’s insurance company.
But Malaysia Airlines is also vulnerable to civil lawsuits for potentially greater damages by hundreds of relatives already infuriated over the lack of information on the case.
The Beijing-bound plane disappeared March 8 and is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean. Theories on what happened include a terror act, rogue pilot action, or mechanical problems.
11/05/14 Malay Mail Online
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
More than two months since MH370 disappeared, no wreckage has been found to even confirm a crash, let alone apportion blame.
But relatives of the 239 people on board can still come after Malaysia Airlines because under international aviation law it is an airline’s responsibility to prove it was not to blame for an accident.
“On the surface, (Malaysia Airlines) is responsible,” said Jeremy Joseph, a Malaysian attorney specialising in transport law.
The “burden of proof” rests on the national carrier to clear its name, he added.
Under International Civil Aviation Organisation rules, next-of-kin in an air crash are entitled to an automatic minimum of about US$175,000 (RM564,847) per passenger, regardless of fault, payable by an airline’s insurance company.
But Malaysia Airlines is also vulnerable to civil lawsuits for potentially greater damages by hundreds of relatives already infuriated over the lack of information on the case.
The Beijing-bound plane disappeared March 8 and is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean. Theories on what happened include a terror act, rogue pilot action, or mechanical problems.
11/05/14 Malay Mail Online
