Ten years after it vanished with 239 people on board, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is still one of the world’s biggest aviation mysteries.
On March 8, 2014, the Boeing 777 vanished while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
An study of satellite data revealed that the plane most likely fell off the coast of western Australia, probably in the southern Indian Ocean. Two extensive searches, though, produced no noteworthy results.
Here are some details about the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 and the unsolved mysteries surrounding it:
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT DO WE KNOW?
About forty minutes after the Malaysia Airlines aircraft took off for Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, it sent its final communication.
As the aircraft entered Vietnamese airspace, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah bid farewell with the words “Good night, Malaysian three seven zero”.
Its transponder was turned off shortly afterward, making it difficult to monitor.
According to military radar, the aircraft deviated from its intended course and circled back over Penang Island and northern Malaysia before heading out into the Andaman Sea and toward the tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. After that, it turned south, breaking all communication.
SEARCHES UNDERWATER
Based on information from automatic connections between an Inmarsat satellite and the aircraft, Malaysia, Australia, and China began an underwater search in a 120,000 sq km (46,332 sq miles) area in the southern Indian Ocean.
In January 2017, the search, which had cost over A$200 million ($143 million), was canceled because there had been no sign of the jet after two years.
Malaysia accepted a “no-cure, no-fee” offer for a three-month search in 2018 from the American exploration company Ocean Infinity. This meant that the company would only be compensated if it was able to locate the jet.
That search, which concluded in May 2018, spanned 112,000 sq km (43,243 square miles) north of the first target area and was likewise unsuccessful.
WHAT HAS BEEN FOUND IN DEBRIS?
Only three of the more than thirty pieces of suspected airplane wreckage that have been found on islands in the Indian Ocean and along the African coast have been positively identified as coming from Flight MH370.
In an attempt to pinpoint the aircraft’s potential position, the majority of the wreckage was utilized in drift pattern analysis.
Report on Investigations
Investigators were unable to identify the person(s) who altered the Boeing 777’s controls intentionally to cause it to go off course, according to a 495-page study on MH370’s disappearance that was released in July 2018.
The report also pointed out errors made by the air traffic control centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur and provided suggestions to prevent a recurrence of the incident.
The investigators stated that they needed to locate the wreckage of the jet before drawing any conclusions on what happened to MH370.
THEORIES OF CONSPIRACY
Numerous conspiracy theories have been sparked by the difficulty to find the crash site of MH370. These hypotheses range from more odd explanations like alien abduction and a Russian plot, to more realistic ones like mechanical mistake or a remote-controlled disaster.
Some aviation experts have stated in recent years that a skilled pilot intentionally taking the jet off course is the most plausible scenario. However, investigators have stated that the co-pilot’s and captain’s backgrounds, financial matters, training, and mental health were all normal.
Is a new search planned?
Anwar Ibrahim, the prime minister of Malaysia, stated last week that if there was a strong enough reason, the government would be open to reopening the MH370 probe.
The invitation to explore a new search plan was extended to Ocean Infinity, a U.S. seabed exploration business, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke. When the cabinet of Malaysia approves Ocean Infinity’s proposal, according to Loke, Malaysia would discuss with Australia the possibility of working together to resume the search.
Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; reporting by Rozanna Latiff
