The Star Online: Nation
The Star Online: Nation |
- MH370 crash: Cockpit voice recorder won't help unravel mystery
- Four graves desecrated by robbers
- Elderly woman falls into cauldron of hot oil
| MH370 crash: Cockpit voice recorder won't help unravel mystery Posted: 27 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370's cockpit voice recorder will not yield any answers about the critical moment the plane deviated from its Beijing-bound route as the voice data have been erased due to the CVR's two-hour recording cycle. This means that investigators might never fully solve the mystery of MH370 as it would be impossible to know what went on in the cockpit after air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft at the border of Malaysia-Vietnam airspace. A source familiar with the workings of the "black box", comprising the CVR and Flight Data Recorder, said technical information from the FDR alone would not be enough if investigators found that mechanical error was not the problem. "Trained specialists would be able to gain a lot of information from the Flight Data Recorder. But if it wasn't mechanical error but deliberate action? I think we will not be able to tell what really happened without the voice data," he said. According to US firm Honeywell Aerospace which supplied the black box, only the last two hours of recording are maintained as the recorder continuously records over itself throughout the flight. "The principle is in place because it is normally the last section of a flight that determines the cause of the crash," reported the BBC. The exhaustive search and rescue operation to locate MH370, deemed to have ended in the southern Indian Ocean, looks set to become even harder if the recorders are not found before the two beacons run out of battery life in about two weeks. Although the US Navy's Towed Pinger Locator 25 (TPL-25) arrived in Perth yesterday, authorities have yet to identify whether the debris spotted by satellite is even connected to MH370. UK's The Telegraph quoted aviation specialist David Barry as saying that the "pings" from the beacons could continue for an extra 10 days. "Given the remoteness of the site and the depth of the water and the weather down there, the black box will be almost impossible to find. "It will then be a case of digging through the wreckage field, possibly for a couple of years," he said. |
| Four graves desecrated by robbers Posted: 27 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT ALOR GAJAH: Grave robbers struck in Nyalas town and damaged four graves while looking for jewellery and other valuables. The damage was discovered when families went to the Chinese cemetery in Kampung Gapis to clean the graves for the Qing Ming festival next month. Businessman Yau Lay Tong, 60, said his mother's grave had been dug right down to the coffin. Yau and his brother had gone to the cemetery at about 7.30am on March 23 to clean the grave. He lodged a police report later that morning. A 60-year-old lorry driver, who asked for anonymity, said he found his grandfather's grave dug out as well. He was told about the damage by a friend who had gone there to perform prayers and saw that the grave had been desecrated. "I cried when I saw what had been done," he said. "It is a heartless act." He has hired a contractor to repair the damage and will perform prayers at the graveside on Sunday. A villager, Manaf Abilah, 46, believed that the graves were desecrated a few days before the families came to the cemetery. "We noticed that some tombstones had been damaged earlier and had asked friends to help alert their next-of-kin," he said. But Manaf was not aware that the graves had been dug up and the coffins tampered with. "This must be the work of lunatics," he added. Alor Gajah MP Datuk Koh Nai Kwong condemned the heinous act and hoped that those responsible would be caught. |
| Elderly woman falls into cauldron of hot oil Posted: 27 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT IPOH: An elderly woman met a horrifying end when she fell into a cauldron of hot oil while frying fish crackers. The charred remains of Lee Oi Lin, 66, was found in the kitchen of her Ampang New Village home by nephew Lee Yau Pang, 25. Yau Pang, who lives 500m away, said he rushed to his aunt's house after seeing it on fire at about 5pm on Wednesday. "With other neighbours, I tried to put out the fire," he said, adding that his aunt had been living alone. Ipoh Fire and Rescue Department chief P. Samasuvam said the victim suffered 100% burns and was already dead when firemen arrived at the scene about nine minutes after receiving a distress call at 6.34pm. "Her body was in the wok with her face down. The fire was already put out when we arrived," Samasuvam said adding that the victim suffered from hypertension and was believed to have been unwell prior to the incident. The cause of the fire is still being investigated. |
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