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19 January, 2017

Malaysia Airlines Insensitive Social Media Gaffe as MH370 Search Called Off

Malaysia Airlines was at the centre of a social storm after an insensitive media post was published on the same day as the search for missing MH370 was called off.

Yesterday, nearly three years later and with no news on the mysterious fate of MH370, the search for the missing jet and its 239 passengers was officially called off.

At the same time, Malaysia Airlines’ Facebook page posted an image of two cheerful pilots holding coffee cups in the cockpit of a plane. Per The Australian, the caption read, “Good morning from the cockpit! We wish you a great flight wherever you are today.”

The now deleted photo, captioned, “Good morning from the cockpit! We wish you a great flight wherever you are today.” Source: The Australian

The post appears to have now been deleted from the page, after an uproar from those who claimed it was further proof of the harsh indifference the airline and Malaysian officials displayed towards finding the missing plane.

Per The Oz, one of the comments on the post came from Peter Weeks, who lost his brother Paul on MH370. He wrote, “So shameful … Perhaps the slogan should be ‘We wish you a great flight, but can’t guarantee you’ll actually see your family ever again’.”

Paul Weeks’s widow, Danica, also commented, “The pilots wear Rolexs, they refuse to fund a further search for my husband, Best friend and father of two young boys … but hey you decide. It’s a crazy world when all morals and values go out the door!”

Responding to The Oz, Malaysia Airlines admitted the post was a scheduled piece of content that was part of a wider social strategy, and that it appeared ahead of the announcement that the search was being called off.

“The post was part of an existing Facebook content strategy intended to share the stories behind Malaysia Airlines. Unfortunately, the post went live several hours before the MH370 tripartite communique (announcing the end of the search),” MH told the newspaper.

“At the time of posting, Malaysia Airlines was unaware a statement regarding the MH370 search would be made that day.”

In a press conference made in Melbourne yesterday, Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester rejected pleas to expand the search into a new area of 25,000 square kilometres, north of the current search area, which was last month identified by a group of international experts enlisted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

Chester claimed it was “a matter for the Malaysian government primarily.”

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Latest comments

Dan Crowther says:
January 19, 2017 at 7:37 pm
WTF? How is that insensitive?
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