Malaysia declares Flight MH370 an accident, almost a year after disappearance

(Image credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

The world is not really any closer to knowing what happened to Malaysia Airline Flight MH370 than when it vanished on March 8, 2014, but on Thursday, Malaysia formally declared the disappearance an accident, with all 239 people on board presumed dead. The declaration is largely meant to clear the way for the airlines to start compensating the next-of-kin of the plane's passengers — a move strongly encouraged by China, the home country of most of the passengers.

Malaysia insisted that it is still investigating the crash and hasn't given up looking for the wreckage. There are four vessels currently searching the Indian Ocean for any trace of the Boeing 777.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.