Late at night on March 7, 2014, 227 passengers and a dozen crew members prepared to board a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 at Kuala Lumpur Airport. They were expected to arrive in Beijing on a routine flight named MH370.
The flight number has become shorthand for the deepest secret in aviation history, and relatives of the victims have not been able to find out about their loved ones even 10 years later.
The plane took off as usual at 12:42 a.m. on March 8, and at 1:19 p.m., the captain confirmed that he had been instructed by Malaysian air traffic controllers to enter Vietnamese airspace. Ki: ‘Good night, Malaysian Three Seven Cumin.’ These were the last words heard from the plane.
A minute later, controllers in Kuala Lumpur spotted the plane passing ‘Agri’ about a third of the way from the Malaysian coast to Vietnam. Within seconds the MH370 disappeared from the radar screen.
Transmissions of technical data (described as ‘pings’) to satellites from the Boeing 777 continued intermittently until 8.19am, seven hours after the last verbal message and almost two hours after the plane touched down in Beijing. .
Over the following weeks, meticulous analysis of radar tracking and back-to-back results showed that the plane had changed course to fly west over the Southeast Asian peninsula and then over the Indian Ocean. The top was turned south.
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When a passenger plane goes missing over the ocean, there is a standard procedure for finding the plane: calculating a possible path, looking for debris on the surface of the water, and locating it in a small, defined area on the ocean floor. to search
In 2009, the wreckage of Air France Flight AF 447 was similarly found in the Atlantic Ocean.
The so-called ‘black boxes’ reveal the tragic series of pilot errors that killed 228 people on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris over the Atlantic Ocean.
The reaction of an inexperienced pilot unnecessarily worsened the situation, despite the fact that the initial technical problems were not severe enough to cause a major accident or disaster on their own.
Information about the people on the flight deck, including MH370’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, can also provide valuable evidence about the plane and, more importantly, help the families and loved ones of the victims. Questions can be answered.
Yet the search for the plane has baffled the entire transportation safety community. Inevitably, this gap is filled with speculation. Many theories have been easily dismissed, including that a North Korean missile did not shoot down MH370 or that the plane is hidden in a hangar in Kazakhstan.
But it leaves a sea of possibilities.
When the Boeing plane took off from Kuala Lumpur, were there more than 239 people on board? Communication with air traffic controllers was lost, possibly on purpose: Did someone intentionally turn the plane and crash the 777 into the ocean? Or did it just veer off course and run out of fuel?
Finding the missing plane could help solve the mystery, but after 10 years and two searches at the bottom of a section of the Indian Ocean, little evidence has been found of debris scattered on beaches. .
The 19 accident investigators concluded in the official report: ‘The team is unable to determine the exact cause of the disappearance of MH370.’
These are important questions and many of the answers are not yet known.
What was the sequence of events?
The Malaysian Airlines flight had departed for Beijing on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur. The report said there were 239 people on board, but some believe there may have been at least one more person hiding under the floor.
At 1:19 p.m., the captain confirmed receiving instructions from Malaysian air traffic controllers that read: ‘Good night Malaysian three seven zero’. This was the last radio transmission recorded from MH370.
“The captain did not confirm the frequency assigned, which was inconsistent with radiotelephony procedures,” the official investigative report said.
The plane appeared to disappear while being handed over from Malaysian to Vietnamese air traffic controllers.
The world became aware of the malfunction when air traffic controllers in Vietnam were unable to contact the Boeing 777.
After much confusion and spurious reports that the plane had diverted to Cambodia or had landed in southern China with technical problems, MH370 was declared missing. The plane is believed to have crashed in the South China Sea.
For a week, rescue workers searched the waters between Malaysia and Vietnam for the wreckage without success. Then, in a dramatic press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that the plane had been flying for several hours after it went missing.
People light candles during a ceremony organized by relatives and supporters of the passengers to mark the 10th anniversary of the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on March 3, 2024, in Subang Jaya, Malaysia. This plane disappeared from the radar screen on March 8, 2014, on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and nothing has been found so far (AFP).
What do we know about where the plane might be?
Analysis of radar and satellite history shows that it suddenly changed course, flew over Peninsular Malaysia, turned south-northwest of Penang and then into the southern Indian Ocean.
The plane eventually ran out of fuel and crashed into the Indian Ocean, thousands of miles from its intended destination, west of Australia.
It was estimated that the plane was near the so-called ‘Seventh Arc’ off the west coast of Australia.
From an Australian Air Force base north of Perth, reconnaissance flights over the suspected crash site began. Two unusual and ultimately unsuccessful exploration projects were undertaken at the bottom of the ocean.
The largest underwater search in history, supported by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, was called off in January 2017 after two years.
Then Ocean Infinity, an American firm, spent several months in 2018 exploring a different part of the ocean.
Pieces of the plane began to wash up on beaches in the Indian Ocean, but even after analyzing the species of barnacles growing on the plane’s ‘flapron’, investigators were no closer to locating the wreckage.
Relatives of missing Chinese passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared on March 8, 2014, mourn before a meeting in Beijing on January 18, 2017, a day after authorities grounded the plane. It was announced to end the search operations. This plane disappeared from the radar screen on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, which has not been found yet (AFP).
Was the pilot responsible?
Investigators have looked at a number of explanations to explain the plane’s disappearance. All of them have major flaws.
Perhaps the least likely is that the plane’s commander, Captain Zehri Shah, deliberately hijacked his own plane in order to either take his own life and kill all on board, or abandon the plane. And survive yourself.
A common theory is that Captain Zehri Shah locked the first officer out of the flight deck. They shut down the communications system that was designed to keep MH370 in touch with air traffic controllers. He wore an oxygen mask and depressurized the plane.
At higher altitudes than Mount Everest, travelers and other crew members would soon die from lack of oxygen (hypoxia).
The captain then flew the plane along the border between Thailand and Malaysia to avoid arousing the concern of the military on either side, before turning south to a location he believed would never land. Will not get.
But the official report said: ‘There was no known history of lethargy, anxiety or irritability. There was no significant change in their lifestyle, interpersonal conflicts or family tension.’
The first officer was 27-year-old Fariq Abdul Hameed. He was on his first Boeing 777 mission without a training captain and had only flown the plane five times before.
Investigators say his ‘work ability and professional approach were reported to be good.’
Moreover, it is unlikely that someone with such limited aircraft experience would be able to carry out such a plan.
Tragically, however, there have been numerous accidents involving suicide pilots – most notably the tragic crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, in which the first officer killed himself and 150 others. There was—never so late a subsequent accident.
In addition, the investigators concluded: ‘There is no evidence that the PIC (Pilot in Command) and FO (First Officer) experienced recent changes or difficulties in personal relationships or There were any conflicts or problems between them.
‘There were no financial pressures on staff or future bankruptcies, recent or additional insurance coverage or recent behavioral changes.’
Investigators also analyzed the two pilots’ radio conversations and said they found ‘no evidence of anxiety or stress.’
A man writes a message during a ceremony held by relatives and supporters of the passengers to mark the 10th anniversary of the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on March 3, 2024, in Subang Jaya, Malaysia. This plane disappeared from the radar screen on March 8, 2014, on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and nothing has been found so far (AFP).
According to experts, what is the reason behind the disappearance of MH370?
Martin Dolan, who led the two-year seabed search by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, says the work was very carefully planned: ‘It was deliberate and it took a long time. was done.’
Aviation security guru Philipp Baum agrees: ‘Most agencies believe that the downing of MH370 was the result of a criminal act and that the plane was deliberately and manually diverted from its intended flight plan. was made to turn from
‘Then the question arises, who did this and where were they at that time?’
What do they think?
‘I still believe that pilot-assisted suicide is the most likely cause of this loss because it can explain almost every aspect of the change and even less evidence for any alternative scenario. shall be.’
He said: ‘In all other scenarios there would be at least one other person who knew, except for an undercover person who could have acted completely independently and therefore, I still think undercover. There is a strong possibility of an in-person scenario.’
The theory is that a man hiding in the flight deck took control, either in a suicide mission or with the intention of landing on a remote island.
Could a passenger or crew member be liable?
A poster with photos of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cabin crew can be seen at a school in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia on March 8, 2016. On March 8, 2014, there were 239 people on board the plane that went missing on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Given the large number of passengers on board, including 10 crew members, there could be many possible triggers.
Aviation security arrangements were made at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. As the tragic events of 9/11 show, passing through a checkpoint does not mean that there is no danger from the passenger to the plane and its occupants.
A total of 227 passengers (including three children and two infants) were on board, most of them from China, followed by people from Malaysia.
The two Iranian passengers were traveling on stolen passports, one Italian and one Austrian, respectively, but it appears they were illegal immigrants seeking to reach the West rather than with any malicious intent.
All 10 crew members were married and had children, some say, making them unlikely to hijack the plane.
Will we ever know the truth?
Aviation security expert Philipp Baum says: ‘I have some confidence that the wreckage will be found and the cause will eventually be known. Not sure if it will happen in my lifetime.’
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2024-04-20 17:22:56