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Tiana Tippetts
L. Jay Williams

Communications 1050-010

May 5, 2014
Theory Research Paper on Missing Malasia Flight 370 using Face-Negotiation Theory and
Epistemology approach
With 227 passengers and 12 crew members, Malaysia Flight 370 took off at 12:41am on
March 8, 2014 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia and was expected to land at
the Beijing Capital International Airport at 6:30am. Unfortunately, it didnt ever reach its
destination. Nobody knows why it disappeared and where it went, and because it became
worldwide news with several countries and cultures and directly involved 22 countries,
including, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Australia, France, United States, New Zealand,
Ukraine, Canada, Russia, Italy, Taiwan, Holland, Austria, China and more, there has been a lot
of saving face.
What we do know is that the plane lost communication at 1:21am, and its last known
position was the Gulf of Thailand. Speculations on the whereabouts of the airplane have been
plentiful, which has also been emotional and tiresome on family members of the passengers of
the airplane. Search and rescue started in the South China Sea at 5:30am on March 8
th
.
The next day, on March 9
th
, military radar indicates that there may have been an air
turnback which had them second guessing the South China Sea, 2 days later this information
brought the search to Strait of Melaka, we then find out on March 15
th
that the flight that made
the turnback was in fact flight MH370 this information was traced by primary radar. Satellite
images then showed what could have possibly been objects related to the plane in the South
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China Sea which on March 16
th
we find out that this wasnt the case and Chinese authorities had
to save-face and announce that the images were mistakenly issued which caused face
restoration. Chinas culture is about pleasing others and this was a conflict in the system.
Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency then sees oil 100 maritime miles of the coast of
Malaysia, these oil spots turn out to be bunker fuel and not airline fuel.
We also find out that two of the passengers boarded with fake passports, which brings
speculation of a terrorist attack, two days later we find out that the two passengers are not linked
to terrorist groups. On April 2
nd
, Malaysian police clear all passengers of foul play, but continue
to investigate the crew.
On March 14
th
, the search is extended to the Indian Ocean. Once the announcement
confirming the air turnaround was made by Prime Minster Datuk Seri Najib Razak on March
15
th
, search efforts focused on 2 corridors, the northern corridor stretching from the border of
Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and the southern corridor stretching from
Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean. This also ended the search efforts in the South China
Sea.
Between March 21 and March 28, several sources claim seeing debris on satellite images
in the South Indian Ocean, the debris findings turn out are not related to flight 370. This brings
more speculation and more disappointment for the families of the passengers.
On April 4
th
, the search turns to the depths of the Southern Indian Ocean where the search
for the black box pinger starts. On April 5
th
, two pulse signals were heard. These signals were
heard for the next few days in the search.
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The search continues with a few more leads that turn out to be not related to flight 370.
As of when this paper was written, the search widened to the floor of the Southern Indian Ocean,
but there is still no sign of the aircraft.
There were several sources involved in the search for the airplane, including radar, radio,
satellite and submarine. I wont discredit the sources, but unfortunately, all of the leads have
gone empty. This leaves the family members trapped in confusion. They want answers, and
they want them now. Authorities are doing all that they can to have positive face, knowing they
dont have control over the situation.
Although we dont know where the plane is and what happened to it (terrorist or
mechanical issues), what we do know is that the plane is missing and the involved countries are
doing everything in their power to try to get answers. Saving face is ongoing until answers are
made know.