Lawsuit suggests electrical failures led to Flight 370 crash

A series of catastrophic electrical and other failures may have led to the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 over the Indian Ocean, according to a lawsuit filed in the US on behalf of the families of 44 people on board the still missing plane.

The lawsuit, filed Friday against Boeing in US District Court in South Carolina, names seven malfunctions, from an electrical fire to depressurisation of the plane's cabin, that could have led to the crew losing consciousness, the plane's transponder stopping its transmission and the plane flying undetected until it crashed after running out of fuel.

The suit was filed by Gregory Keith, a special administrator for families who lost loved ones on the flight. It names 44 victims as plaintiffs.
 

The lawsuit was filed in South Carolina because Boeing has built a massive new plant in the state to build the 787 Dreamliner. Flight 370 was a Boeing 777 and the lawsuit doesn't say where it was made.

Boeing doesn't comment on pending lawsuits, but the company's thoughts continue to be with the people who died on Flight 370, Boeing spokesman Tom Kim said in a statement.

One lawyer representing the Flight 370 families is Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the US Department of Transportation. She did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The jet disappeared March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. Malaysia, Australia and China suspended a nearly three-year search in the southern Indian Ocean on Jan. 17 after failing to find any trace of the plane.

The lawsuit notes that search efforts for the plane have ended and says the lack of finality has led to unprecedented levels of "economic and non-economic losses, emotional and physical pain, distress and mental pain and suffering" for the people on the airliner and their families. It does not ask for a specific amount of damages.

Boeing also didn't use available technology on its 777 planes that would have allowed them to be tracked at all times and made the flight and cockpit voice recorders easier to find, the lawsuit says.