The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is one of the most unclear, unusual, and mysterious aviation incidents in the history of air travel. Although more than a decade has passed since the disappearance and despite the existence of advanced modern technology that evolves daily, concrete facts are still unknown.
The entire case is shrouded in numerous unknowns that remain unresolved even as years go by. Over time, various theories about the causes of the disappearance have emerged, such as pilot suicide, mechanical failure, hijacking, or cyber-attack, but concrete answers are still lacking. Moreover, there are ominous fears that the complete truth may never be uncovered.
The Beginning of the Flight
The Boeing 777-200ER on Flight MH370 took off on March 8, 2014, from Kuala Lumpur heading to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew members on board. The plane was to follow a routine route, with regular communication with air traffic control until the moment it left Malaysian airspace and was entering Vietnamese airspace. The last communication was recorded 38 minutes after takeoff, when air traffic control informed the pilot that he was entering Vietnamese airspace, to which the pilot responded with “Good night, Malaysia 370.” Shortly after, the plane disappeared from civilian radar.
The Aircraft’s Deviation from its Planned Route
Not long after the last communication, the plane’s transponder—a device that sends signals to enable tracking by radar—was turned off. The disabling of the transponder raised many questions, as it is highly unusual for such a system to be turned off without a valid reason, such as a malfunction. Some analysts suggested that this was a deliberate act by the pilot or someone else in the cockpit. After the transponder was disabled, Malaysian military radar detected an unusual maneuver by the aircraft—a sharp turn to the west, diverting it from the Beijing route towards the Malay Peninsula and the Indian Ocean.
Military radar data indicates that the plane headed west and southwest on an irregular route. The data suggests it continued flying for several hours, following an unclear path with varying altitudes and directions. As the flight continued southwest, the plane entered the Indian Ocean region, where it was no longer visible on any civilian radar. Although all communication systems on the plane were turned off, MH370 continued sending automatic “pings” to the Inmarsat satellite system, which provided basic information about the duration and direction of the flight. These pings, or automatic signals, did not include precise location data but allowed investigators to estimate, using the Doppler effect, that the plane moved towards the southern Indian Ocean. The last ping was recorded several hours after the initial deviation, suggesting the plane ended up somewhere in the remote ocean area.
A Fruitless Search
From the moment Flight MH370 disappeared from radar, one of the most expensive and extensive searches in history began. Led by Malaysia, Australia, and China, international forces searched for the plane in the southern Indian Ocean. After analyzing satellite data and communication pings sent by the plane, investigators concluded that Flight MH370 likely crashed in a remote part of the Indian Ocean—hundreds of kilometers off the western coast of Australia.
During 2015 and 2016, several pieces of aircraft debris were found washed ashore on the islands of Réunion, Madagascar, and other African coasts. Although the recovered debris effectively confirmed that the plane crashed somewhere in the Indian Ocean, it did not provide enough data to reconstruct the exact fate of the flight. The search lasted almost four years in total but was suspended in January 2017 without conclusive results. A second search, launched in January 2018 by private contractor Ocean Infinity, also ended unsuccessfully after six months.
While it is evident that MH370 crashed somewhere in the Indian Ocean with fatal consequences, the reason for the flight’s disappearance remains unclear. There are multiple theories, some more probable than others, while others border on science fiction.
The Pilot Suicide Theory
The most widely spread theory suggests that Zaharie Ahmad Shah, an experienced pilot with over 18,000 flight hours, intentionally diverted the plane from its planned route to commit suicide and kill all passengers and crew. This theory is based on several factors. Investigators found flight routes on the pilot’s home simulator, which passed through remote parts of the Indian Ocean, resembling the path that MH370 allegedly flew. Zaharie conducted these flights a month before the fateful flight.
Proponents of this theory believe that Zaharie flew to a remote area beyond radar reach to avoid detection and commit suicide. They suggest that the pilot may have incapacitated the co-pilot and cabin crew and taken control of the plane. Since MH370 did not send any distress calls or emergency signals, this scenario suggests the possibility of deliberate shutdowns of communication devices in the cockpit. However, there is no solid evidence to confirm this theory as the official version of events, and the pilot’s friends and family reject the idea of suicide.
Documentary about potential suicide of the pilot
The Sabotage Theory
A theory has emerged that sabotage by a crew member caused the flight’s disappearance. Supporters of this theory suggest that a crew member other than the pilot might have sabotaged communication and navigation devices or taken control of the flight. A scenario could have occurred in which a crew member with sufficient technical knowledge disabled key systems on the aircraft. However, there is no concrete evidence to support this theory, as all crew members underwent rigorous security screenings, and no elements were found indicating motivation for such an act. This makes the theory rather unconvincing.
Author: Matija Šerić
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons
