They include a hijacking attempt, a suicide bid, a system malfunction and even alien abduction. Over the years, theories that have surfaced on what might have happened to MH370 range from the plausible to the ludicrous. The report's conclusion stated: 'The team is unable to determine the real cause for the disappearance of MH370.' The theories They said controls on the aircraft were likely deliberately manipulated but they could not say who was responsible. When releasing Malaysia's report on MH370 in July 2018, lead investigator Kok Soo Chon said the safety investigation team ruled out the possibility that the pilot, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, caused the plane's disappearance. The debris include a flaperon - a section from a plane's right wing that helps to control speed and position - which was found on the French Island of Reunion, and a panel from the right part of the tail with the words 'No Step', found in Mozambique. The plane's black boxes - the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder that contain information critical for investigations - were never found.ĭozens of pieces of debris from the aircraft have since washed ashore, most of them appearing to support the theory that it went down in the southern Indian Ocean. Yet they were perfectly routine, said aviation experts. The pilot's final recorded words to the control tower seemed almost prescient. The search was resumed in January 2018 by Ocean Infinity in the southern Indian Ocean, but ended in June the same year without success.Īudio clips from the cockpit failed to shed any light. The search in the choppy waters of the vast Indian Ocean was called off in January 2017. MH370's transponder - a transmitter in the cockpit that allows the aircraft to be tracked by ground radar - was disabled at some point, he said.īased on data from British commercial satellite firm Inmarsat and Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the plane is presumed to have crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean.įor nearly three years, underwater search efforts were conducted some 2,500km south-west of Perth.

Malaysia and countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, India, China, France and the United States took part in the operations.Īreas near Vietnam in the South China Sea and near Penang in the Strait of Malacca were combed in the initial days after the incident, until a week later, on March 15, when Malaysia's then Prime Minister Najib Razak revealed that data showed the flight had changed course and headed towards the Indian Ocean. An Australian-led underwater search covered 120,000 sq km at an estimated cost of about A$200 million (S$202 million) before it was suspended almost three years later. The search for MH370 was one of the largest surface and underwater hunts in aviation history. There were two pilots, 10 flight attendants and five children. Of the 239 people on board, 153 were China nationals 38 were Malaysian and the rest from Indonesia, Australia, India, France, the United States, Iran, Ukraine, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Russia, and Taiwan. There was no distress call from the cockpit or from passengers on their mobile phones. Its final known sighting on military radar was at 2.22am. It last made contact with air traffic control at 1.19am over the South China Sea, with the words: 'Good Night, Malaysian Three Seven Zero'. We must find MH370 this time around.' The factsįlight MH370, bound for Beijing, departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12.42am on March 8, 2014. 'There is no risk for the Malaysian government if they agree (to Ocean Infinity's offer). Mr Peter Foley, who was ATSB's director of operations for the Australia-led search from 2014 to 2017, said the search was ended 'prematurely' and that finding MH370 is crucial for the safety of future commercial flights. It is building remotely controlled ships for ocean surveys which will be ready by then, Mr Plunkett said, describing them as 'probably the most modern, cutting-edge ships in the entire world'. Ocean Infinity has offered to resume the search early next year or in 2024. Mr Oliver Plunkett, group chief executive of Ocean Infinity, a private seabed exploration company which had previously searched for the plane on a 'no-win, no-fee' basis, said at the event that it was 'worthwhile' to conduct another search based on the new findings.

Mh370 found