MH370: May God give us strength and guidance in difficult times

My stopover in Malaysia this time around coincides with the most difficult time for the country - the MH370 event (I'm hesitant to call it a crash yet). I'm afraid the large gloomy cloud will linger for quite some times over the previously, relatively unknown nation (I don't have to explain that Malaysia is between Singapore and Thailand anymore to people who has never been to this region).

Tun Mahathir was perplexed that no modern technology could detect the plane. I'm more disturbed with the fact that in this modern era people could vanish after taking a large commercial airline. I'm not alone. I've heard about a number of cancellations to attend international meetings due to the MH370 event. Though, being a Muslim, I believe in fate - we can work hard to change our conditions (God promises to reward hard working), but life and death cannot be changed. When, where and how we die are already predetermined. Being a transportation risk expert, I also take comfort that flying is much safer than driving or walking for that matter.

MH370 will remain a mystery for a long while. The three leading theories and my opinion are as follows:

• Hostage: The level of expertise in evading the radar requires a very smart group and unprecedented level of secrecy, to a point that I think only a state-sponsored organization is capable. Also, if they are so smart, they would not just let the plane crash. However, if they have landed somewhere the CIA should have already heard the chatter of an airplane sighting or a large group of people being fed in a remote location.
• Sabotage/Suicide: A crew would simply dive down en-route to Beijing. It shouldn't be any turn back or radar evasion.
• Catastrophic Accident: A rare condition (Black Swan) led to multiple failures that resulted in a catastrophic event (Perfect Storm). A lost of pressure and oxygen would caused a "ghost plane" after all crew and passengers incapacitated.

I still believe the most likely theory (99.9%) is the catastrophic accident.

#MH370 Stanford undergrad's theory is the most technically sound so far. We are not looking wide enough @H2OComms http://t.co/cgbJ6pA6YQ
— Dr R (@ilmuialahkuasa) March 12, 2014

Without any confirmed debris, I'd still put a 0.01% likelihood of a hostage. I wish the whole technical report of the satellite data analysis is being made public for scrutiny. It took me more than two years to get a new technical engineering methodology published in a distinguished academic journal. They completed the satellite data analysis using a new methodology and review in less than two weeks. A simple error in using a minus sign would give a wrong conclusion.

I'll leave the country this weekend with a heavy heart. However, I'm truly grateful that I have my love ones. The MH370 is also a reminder that we should always try to have a proper goodbye as you never know if it would be the last one. Ironically, my itinerary back to the States will include a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing at 12:25am - the newly numbered MH318. Life must go on.

My thought and prayers to the affected MH370 families and friends. May God give us strength and guidance in difficult times, Amen.