TEMPO.CO, Sydney - The discovery of plane debris washed up on a remote island in the southern Indian Ocean has rekindled efforts by family members of passengers on board a missing Malaysia Airlines flight to seek greater compensation, aviation lawyers said on Friday, July 31, 2015.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared in March last year en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board. No trace of the plane has been found yet but the appearance of an object, identified by aviation experts as part of a wing, on Reunion island east of Madagascar could offer the first real clue.
Most of those on board were Chinese. Zhang Qihuai, a lawyer representing the families, told Reuters more than 30 family members in China have already agreed to sue if the debris is confirmed to be a part of the missing plane.
Joseph Wheeler, special counsel at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers in the Australian city of Melbourne, also said he had started fresh talks with more families in Malaysia since Wednesday's discovery.
"It's triggering renewed monitoring and recommendations to families," Wheeler told Reuters.
"If there is evidence that the aircraft has failed, that very well may trigger a wave of lawsuits from around the world, predominantly Malaysia and China," he said.
Zhang said the families had discussed filing lawsuits in China, Malaysia or the United States.
A Malaysian official and aviation experts have said the piece of debris, a 2-2.5 metres (6.5-8 feet) long wing surface known as flaperon, is almost certainly part of a Boeing 777, the same type of aircraft as MH370.
In January, Malaysia Airlines declared the plane's disappearance an accident, clearing the way for it to pay compensation to victims' relatives while the search for the missing plane goes on in a vast area 1,600 km (1,000 miles) west of Australia.
REUTERS
