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|title=Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
|keywords=Australia, ATSB, MH370, investigation, search
|description=The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) was involved in the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean
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[[Category:SEO 2025]]
<h2>Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370</h2>
<div class="header main>
<p>The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is an [[ICAO/Accident Investigation Authority|accident investigation authority]], responsible for the independent investigation of accidents and incidents involving civil aircraft in Australia. </p>
<p>The ATSB website is: <html><a href="https://www.atsb.gov.au/" target="__blank">https://www.atsb.gov.au/</a></html></p>
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<h3>Background</h3>
<p>On {{Day:01}} Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 00:42 am (MYT) and was expected to arrive in Beijing at 6:30 am (MYT). The Boeing 777-200ER was carrying 12 crew and 227 passengers. Communication with the aircraft was lost when it was in the vicinity of waypoint IGARI over the South China Sea. Instead of proceeding toward Vietnam en-route to China the aircraft made a turn-back west across the Malay Peninsula; changed direction again and flew north west towards the Andaman Sea; and then turned south. Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.</p>
<p>As the [[State of Registry|State of Registry]] for the aircraft [[B777/9M-MRO|9M-MRO]], and the [[State of the Operator|State of the Operator]], [[Malaysia]] was responsible for the Investigation in accordance with ICAO Annex 13. The Department of Transport (Malaysia) instituted an independent international Investigation Team known as <i>The Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370</i>. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau appointed an <i>accredited representative</i> to the Investigation, along with a number of <i>advisors</i> to the accredited representative.</p>

<h3>Search</h3>
<p>The Australian Transport Safety Bureau was involved in the search for MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean, which was coordinated by the [[Australian Maritime Safety Authority|Australian Maritime Safety Authority]]. The surface search for MH370 ended on 28 April 2014. The Malaysian Government accepted the Government of Australia’s offer to lead the search and recovery operation in the southern Indian Ocean in support of the Malaysian accident investigation.</p>

<h3>Investigation</h3>
<p>The ATSB opened an External Aviation Investigation <html><a href="https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2014/aair/ae-2014-054/" target="_blank">AE-2014-054</a></html> and the search for MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean is documented in the report <i>The Operational Search for MH370</i></p>

<h3>Summary</h3>
<p>In brief, Malaysia is responsible for the Investigation. Australia has an Accredited Representative from the ATSB in <i>The Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370</i>. Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean and an international surface search was coordinated from Australia by AMSA supported by the [[Department of Defence (Australia)|Department of Defence]] (Australia), the ATSB and other agencies with the [[Joint Agency Coordination Centre]] providing a single point of contact and liaison. The ATSB led the under-water search for the aircraft. The search was funded by a [[Tripartite]] arrangement between the Governments of [[Malaysia]], the [[China|People's Republic of China]], and [[Australia]].</p>

<div class="quote">
<p>The ATSB expresses our deepest sympathies to the families of the passengers and crew on board MH370. We share your profound and prolonged grief, and deeply regret that we have not been able to locate the aircraft, nor those 239 souls on board that remain missing.</p>
<p style="text-align:center">{{ATSB/Ref Report 3Oct2017}}</p>
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<h5>The ATSB and The Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370</h5>
<p>On {{Day:39}}, 39 days after flight MH370 went missing on {{Day:01}}, the Malaysian Minister of Defence and Acting Minister for Transport, Hishamuddin Hussein, [[MH370News:2014/Day 039|announced]] that Cabinet has agreed to set up an International Investigation Team to specifically look into the MH370 incident. The Team, officially named the <i>[[Malaysia/Annex 13 Investigation Team|The Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370]]</i>, was instituted by the Minister of Transport on {{Day:49}}. ({{SIR2018/Ref}} 2.7.1) </p>
<p>The Team included an Accredited Representative from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).</p>
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<h5>Accredited Representative</h5>
<p>An <i>Accredited Representative</i> is 'a person designated by a State, on the basis of his or her qualifications, for the purpose of participating in an investigation conducted by another State. Where the State has established an accident investigation authority, the designated accredited representative would normally be from that authority.' (ICAO Annex 13).</p>
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<h5>Resources and links to related articles</h5>
<ol>
     <li><b>Australian Transport Safety Bureau website</b><br />
<html><a href="https://www.atsb.gov.au/" target="_blank">https://www.atsb.gov.au/ </a></html></li><br />
     <li><p><b>Assistance to Malaysian Ministry of Transport in support of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on 7 March 2014 UTC</b><br />
<i>Investigation number: AE-2014-054</i> <html><a href="https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2014/aair/ae-2014-054/" target="_blank">https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2014/aair/ae-2014-054/ </a></html></p>
<p>The Final Report, <i>The Operational Search for MH370</i> can be downloaded from this webpage.</p>
<p>The webpage for the Investigation also indexes all of the supporting documents and reports, including search areas, drift reports, flight path analysis etc.</p></li><br />
     <li><b>The ATSB was supported by other agencies, including the following:-</b><br />
<ul class="ulNone" style="list-style:none">
     <li>[[CSIRO (Australia)|CSIRO]]</li><br />
     <li>[[Department of Defence (Australia)/DSTO|Defence Science and Technology Organisation]] (DSTO),</li><br />
     <li>[[Geoscience Australia|Geoscience Australia]]</li>
</ul></li><br />
</ol>

<p><b>In attempting to locate MH370, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau was assisted by many organisations, as acknowledged below:-</b></p>
<div class="quote">
<p>The work of many organisations and individuals from Australia and around the world was coordinated by the ATSB. Of particular note was the contribution of members of the search strategy working group (SSWG) including; Inmarsat, Thales, Boeing, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) of the United Kingdom, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States, the Defence Science and Technology Group (DST Group) and the Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia. Other significant contributors were the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Geoscience Australia.</p>
<p class="margin50"><u>Source</u>: {{ATSB/Ref Report 3Oct2017}}</p>
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<p>The cooperation between these organisations; the level of scientific and technological expertise; international collaboration; consensus, and effort applied to locate the missing aircraft is unprecedented. Failure to locate the wreckage does not prove that it is not there.  All of those involved in the search for MH370, on the surface or under water, have absolutely done the best they could to find the aircraft in a vast area of a remote and unforgiving ocean, guided by innovative analyses of fragments of satellite communication data. </p>
<p>The Australian Transport Safety Bureau released a Final Report <i>The Operational Search for MH370</i> on {{Day:1306}} and the status of the External Investigation <html><a href="https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2014/aair/ae-2014-054/" target="_blank">AE-2014-054</a></html> is now 'Completed'.</p>

<h2>Australian Transport Safety Bureau: The search for MH370 continues</h2>

{{NewsContent:Day 080/ATSB Dolan}}

[[Category:Australia]]
[[Category:Australian Government]]
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[[Category:Accident Investigation Authority]]