For nearly 10 years, Jiang Hui has been searching for answers as to why the plane carrying his 70-year-old mother back from vacation in Malaysia vanished without trace.
Jiang’s mother, Jiang Cuiyun, was one of 239 people on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 when it deviated from its scheduled path from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and disappeared over the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014.
To this date, the fate of MH370 remains one of history’s greatest aviation mysteries, and Jiang has never given up on his quest to find out what happened.
On Monday, a Chinese court will begin hearing claims for compensation for families of MH370 passengers, who say the disaster not only deprived them of their loved ones, but also plunged some into financial distress.
“Almost 10 years on, the family members (who refused to accept settlement offers) did not receive any apology or a penny of compensation,” Jiang, 50, told CNN in an interview ahead of the hearings at the Chaoyang District People’s Court in Beijing, more than seven years after the lawsuits were initially filed.
“In fact, my mood is very complicated now. There is both a sense of relief and a deep feeling of helplessness.”
Jiang is suing Maylasia Airlines, its insurer, Boeing and the manufacturer of the plane’s engine – companies he believes should be held responsible under Chinese law for damage occured during transportation. His demands include compensation, a formal apology, and the resumption of psychological assistance to family members, as well as the creation of a fund to continue searches for the plane.
About 40 Chinese families are taking these companies to court with varying but largely overlapping appeals, with hearings expected to last until December 5, Jiang said. His own case will be heard on Friday, he added.
Of the more than 200 people aboard the flight, 153 were Chinese nationals.
“The complete lack of legal remedies over the past decade has made our painful lives even more unbearable,” Jiang said.
In a statement to CNN on the court hearings, Boeing said: “Our thoughts continue to be with those who were on board MH370 and their loved ones.”
CNN has also reached out to Malaysia Airlines, Allianz and Rolls-Royce for comment.
It’s unclear what enforcement power the Chinese court can wield over the defendants if it rules in favor of Jiang and the other plantiffs. All of them are international companies headquartered outside China, though Malaysia Airlines, Boeing and Roll-Royce have offices in China.
Similar cases brought in the United States by the victims’ families have been dismissed on the grounds that these lawsuits should be handled by the Malaysian legal system.
In Malaysia, two young boys who lost their father on the flight sued Malaysia Airlines for breach of contract and the Malaysian government for negligence in 2014. The case was settled out of court the next year.
