WASHINGTON — It’s been nearly three weeks since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared, and for the families of the passengers, the waiting for word has been torturous.
On Monday, Malaysia’s prime minister said that satellite data showed the the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean. So will this bring closure to the families?
Ken Jenkins is an aviation crisis consultant hired by one of Malaysia Airlines’ vendors to work with the families of the 239 passengers aboard Flight 370. He told WTOP’s Veronica Robinson that a typical family’s day is spent mostly trying to get information from the airline. And the lack of such information is agonizing.
“Each day that there’s a new theory as to what happened to the plane, they get more frustrated and more angry, because they don’t know what happened,” Jenkins says.
Jenkins makes sure families’ needs are met and they’re receiving communication. But even information isn’t enough, he says. Without any debris or bodies, it’s hard to move forward, Jenkins adds.
“There’s certainly healing, and being able to move past the event, but there’s not closure,” he says.
And it gets to him sometimes.
“My heart just goes out … I share in their frustration, and in some cases I’ve shared in their anger, but certainly not to the extent of what they’re experiencing.”
Related Stories:
- China demands Malaysia turn over satellite data
- Relatives sob as Malaysia confirms plane is lost
- Weather stops plane hunt as China demands data
Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.
