China Focus: Declaring MH370 an accident facilitates claim for compensation, experts

Chinese legal experts have said that declaring the MH370 an accident will help passengers' families to claim for compensation.

The Malaysian government officially declared MH370 an accident on Thursday, and all 239 people, including 154 Chinese nationals, on board the plane are presumed dead.

Lawyer Niu Linna said the timing of the announcement helps ensure passengers' families' prescribed period for litigation -- as international law demands that litigation begins within two years of any accident -- before March 8, 2016.

"It now appears that time is pressing, as the preparation work is very difficult and will take a very long time," said the lawyer, adding litigation preparation includes passenger investigation, their past income, work ability and social contribution among other materials and evidence. All these factors determine the amount of compensation.

Lawyer Bi Wensheng said, "It is very difficult to legally start compensation procedures until the accident is officially announced."

Declaring MH370 an accident protects passengers' rights and interests, Bi said.

"Malaysia Airlines will undertake their responsibilities in relations to the legitimate rights and interests of the next-of-kin, which includes the fulfillment of the compensation process," Director General of Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said on Thursday in a statement, adding that the company was ready to proceed immediately with the compensation process.

Malaysian side also promised to continue search for the plane and release an interim statement detailing the progress of the investigation "on or around the one year anniversary of the accident".

Prof. Dong Nianqing of Civil Aviation Management Institute of China said the search will help determine the cause of the accident. While Mao Yanfeng, an accident investigation director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, warned of challenges that searchers will face as the accident was "unprecedented" in international civil aviation history of the last 30 years.

New ways of tracking planes, such as transponders, have been proved impossible, Mao said.

Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, a Boeing 777 aircraft with 239 people on board, disappeared on March 8 last year shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en-route to Beijing.

Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday called on Malaysia to continue the search. "We hope Malaysia will act on its commitment and continue search and investigation efforts, fulfill its compensation obligations, and make every possible effort to find the plane and passengers," Li said. Endi