Airline Tragedy Hits Home
Dallas-area man among those missing on Malaysia Airlines flight
Malaysia Airlines flight has been missing for more than 24 hours.Courtesy photo
Philip Wood was one of the Americans aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.Photo courtesy of Elaine Wood/Facebook
On March 8, a Malaysia Airlines flight vanished in the air with 239 people on board, including one from Keller, Texas. Philip Wood, 50, was one of three Americans on the list of passengers provided by the airline.
Family members and friends confirmed that Wood was aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared while en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing, China. Wood was an executive for IBM who lived in the Dallas area before moving to Asia.
Wood had two sons, 20 and 24, and an ex-wife, Elaine Wood, who posted an update on Facebook calling him "a wonderful man" and asking for "peace and quiet." His brother James Wood said that Philip was in Texas last week for a visit. "I am blessed to have been able to see my brother just a week ago," he said.
His family issued a statement asking for prayers, "not only for ourselves, but for all involved during this difficult time."
Austin-based Freescale Semiconductor announced that 20 of its employees were also on the flight; eight were from China and 12 were from Malaysia.
The Boeing 777 lost contact with air traffic controllers early Saturday morning. The flight has been presumed crashed; more than 40 planes and two dozen ships from several countries, including a warship from the U.S. Navy, have rushed to the site. Searchers discovered two long oil slicks in the sea in the area where the plane was flying, as well as debris that is speculated to be part of a plane door.
The flight is being scrutinized by counter-terrorism authorities because two of the passengers traveling together were using stolen passports.
