As the New Year gets underway, it’s customary to reflect on the previous year. 2016 was a busy year with plenty of ups and downs. Unfortunately, it was also a bad year for aviation accidents. Specifically, there were numerous unsolved plane crashes, including Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which was lost in 2014.
New York City aviation accident lawyer Jonathan C. Reiter explains, “Aviation accidents — especially a large scale accident like Flight 370 — are devastating because they result in such a large loss of life. For many families who lose someone in an airline crash, knowing why the crash occurred is just one way to bring some sense of closure. As the crash approaches the three-year mark, these families are still left to wonder what happened, which can intensify their grief.”
A total of 239 people were killed on Flight 370. Three countries — China, Malaysia, and Australia — are in charge of investigating the crash, and all three nations have stated they will stop searching for wreckage in January 2017 unless they discover new leads in the investigation. Aviation experts, including the president of the Australian Federation of Air Pilots, have said they’re opposed to calling off the investigation, as it’s important for the global aviation industry to know why accidents happen.
Other Major Crashes That Have Gone Unsolved
There were also other major aviation disasters that remained unsolved in 2016. For example, investigators still disagree over what caused the explosion of a Metrojet A321 that killed 224 people. The jetliner exploded over the Sinai Peninsula during a flight bound for St. Petersburg, Russia. Russian investigators determined that the disaster was an act of terrorism, however, Egyptian officials dispute this.
A May 2016 crash of an Egyptian plane that claimed the lives of 66 people has also been scrutinized. The flight crashed into the Mediterranean after taking off from Paris. French investigators reject the possibility of a bomb being smuggled through a French airport, while Egyptian investigators claim that traces of explosives were found on the bodies of some of the victims.
Although the U.S. is not involved in any of these crash investigations, a representative from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) commented on the problems that sometimes occur during aviation investigations in other countries, where political motives can skew the results. He stated that the U.S. and other Western countries have laws in place “designed to keep politics out of air crash investigations. But that is not the case in much of the rest of the world.”
Media Contact:
Airline accident lawyer Jonathan C. Reiter. T: 866-324-9211.
Jonathan C. Reiter Law Firm, PLLC
The Empire State Building
350 5th Avenue #6400
New York, NY 10118
