Malaysian civil aviation chief resigns over MH370 disappearance

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Whatever happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?

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Malaysia’s civil aviation chief resigned Tuesday to take responsibility for shortcomings during the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370.

Azharuddin Abdul Rahman’s resignation comes a day after a report by a 19-member international team revealed the doomed jetliner was likely steered off course deliberately by someone and flew over the Southern Indian Ocean for more than seven hours after communications were severed.

Rahman said in a statement the report showed failures by Kuala Lumpur air traffic control to comply with standard procedures.

Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared in March 2014. (Reuters)

“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.

The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing vanished March 8, 2014, and is presumed to have crashed in the far southern Indian Ocean. The report noted that it was difficult for the aircraft's course change to be attributed to mechanical or system failures.

The report said the investigation showed lapses by air traffic control, including a failure to initiate an emergency response and monitor radar continuously.

Malaysia formed a committee to investigate and take action against any misconduct based on the report findings, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Tuesday.

All 239 on board the flight are presumed dead. (Reuters)

The report added that there was insufficient information to determine if the aircraft broke up in the air, or during impact with the ocean.

Scattered pieces of debris that washed ashore on African beaches and Indian Ocean islands indicate MH370 crashed in a distant stretch of the ocean, but a multi-government search by Australia, Malaysia and China failed to pinpoint a location.

Fox News’ Travis Fedschun contributed to this report.