The March 8 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370, a Boeing 777 aircraft carrying 227 passengers from 14 different countries, is an unparalleled event in modern aviation. There is no other instance in recent history of a passenger jet being lost without a trace. Yet unlike the many open questions surrounding the disaster, the law provides relatively simple and direct answers regarding liability.
How can any action proceed where the circumstances of the disaster are unknown? The answer is clear with regard to the airline’s liability, which is governed by the 1999 Montreal Convention treaty.
