Mystery of missing plane gets murkier

The greatest aviation mystery of the modern era has thrown up several questions about contemporary problems, ranging from the most obvious, the threat of terrorism and laxity in dealing with security issues, to operational efficiency and structural worthiness of aircraft criss-crossing the globe like never before. The tragic wait for any news of their loved ones must be excruciating for the kin of the 239 people on board Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, which has disappeared. The very fact that mid-air disintegration is also being thought of as a possibility makes the situation even more unbearable.

Not since the Bermuda Triangle used to be the major mystery for shipping and aviation in the 1950s could there have been an event of which we know so little, more so at a time when American spy satellites are said to be capable of finding a needle in a haystack on Earth. The background of the possible presence of stealthy passengers travelling on fake passports adds a chilling dimension that of the threat of terrorism that hangs over modern life with plenty of room for angst in malcontents who hardly need any motivation to plot the sickest strikes against orderly life.

The lesson to be drawn even at this early stage of wide ranging investigations into the tragedy of the missing plane is that we cannot afford to be lax on the ground if aircraft are to fly safely for millions of journeys to end in peace and on time. The first rule is rules and regulations have to be implemented, not just for the sake of form but for the genuine safety and security of air passengers. Supervision of all aspects of air travel has to be top class because strikes against aviation probably rate very high in terms of worldwide attention-grabbing, if indeed an act of terror struck down the flight to Beijing.

The scant regard paid to Interpol alerts on stolen passports is just the tip of an iceberg of ground realities. The general apathy to vigilance in the face of the need to clear millions of people in time to keep the wheels and wings of transportation going is an unaffordable luxury in this age of terrorism, especially for India which is one of the most vulnerable countries situated as it is in a dangerous neighbourhood. Developing countries have to come up to scratch in the matter of thoroughness in checking by streamlining procedures and modernising the use of on-venue databases in real-time processes. At a time when modern aviation guarantees the highest possible safety in the air, we cannot let ourselves down through human failure in the manning of supporting processes like security.