Criminal Investigation
The question of why a criminal investigation has come up again. Quoting here some words from Andrasz much earlier in the thread. He made a number of salient remarks on possible lines of investigation soon after the loss of the aircraft, too many to repeat all but the most relevant.
I think we can simply say Malaysia has made a call based on the fact that there are reasonable grounds to believe a crime may have occurred. They are the only ones who can, and this then gives an extra judicial layer to the gathering of evidence and determination of cause. If the disappearance is not found to have been caused criminally, then there is no loss having the judiciary involved as an extra layer. If a crime was committed, then it is important that evidence be gathered as promptly as the circumstances allow.
Andrasz - quote:
But at some point the Malaysian authorities will have to make a tough call, if the aircraft or wreckage is not found soon. As they are the state of registry, at present they (and ONLY they) have the right to launch an official investigation, which may later be ceded if the plane is to be found in some other territory. Similarly, if there were any criminal act it would have been committed on board an aircraft of Malaysian registry, so until that aircraft is found to have landed elsewhere, they are only ones who may launch a criminal investigation. In the case of the former I'm sure all evidence had been secured, so the SAR effort takes full precedence (as it should) and there would be no benefit derived from launching a parallel investigative process. On the other hand in the latter case time is of essence, just someone needs to make the call.