In a long-awaited report released on Monday, the official investigation team pointed to numerous lapses by air traffic controllers in both Malaysia and Vietnam.
These included failing to initiate “emergency phases” as required after the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board vanished from radar displays.
Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director-general of the Department of Civil Aviation, said the report had found that the air traffic control did not comply with standard operating procedures.
“Therefore, it is with regret and after much thought and contemplation that I have decided to resign as the chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia effective 14 days from the date of the resignation notice which I have served today,” he said in a statement.
The disappearance of flight MH370 more than four years ago remains one of aviation’s greatest mysteries. No sign of the Boeing 777-200 was found in a 120,000 sq km (46,000 sq mile) search zone in the Indian Ocean.
In a 495-page report, investigators said they still did not know why the plane vanished. They said the course of the Malaysia Airlines aircraft was changed manually, and refused to rule out that someone other than the pilots diverted the jet.
The transport minister, Anthony Loke, said on Monday that “the aspiration to locate MH370 has not been abandoned” and vowed to take action against any misconduct committed based on the findings.
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