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A plane that disappears off the face of the earth sounds like a movie plot, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, in 2014 it became a reality for many families. Unless you lived under a rock, you’ve heard of the Malaysian Airlines’ Flight MH370. Very little information has been found about the missing airliner since its disappearance. An Australian amateur investigator claims to have found the wreckage…
Malaysian Airlines’ Flight MH370
Ever since the plane disappeared in 2014, there have been many attempts to try and bring to light what exactly happened with the missing people. Many nations got together to try and solve the mystery by delving deep into the waters where they last received the signal. These expeditions were extremely expensive, time-consuming, and exhausting and resulted in very little knowledge as to what happened.
The Beginning
On March 8th, 2014, Flight 370 left Kuala Lumpur on it’s route to Beijing. There were 227 passengers and 12 crew members aboard. Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, was manning the plane. He has been flying with the company since 1981! He’s an experienced pilot with years of experience. This flight was just like every single other to him.
Experienced Pilots
Since Zaharie has been flying with the company since 1981, he had an astounding 18,365 hours of flying under his belt. He was extremely qualified as a pilot and was also an instructor and examiner. His co-pilot, First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, was also an experienced pilot who has been with the company since 2007. He began as a cadet and worked his way up, gaining an excellent 2,763 hours of flight. As a co-pilot, he was training to become a pilot. This flight was the last part of his training before the promotion.
So, The Pilots Are Good… What About the Plane?
It’s easy to assume the crash was a pilot error, but considering that these are two fantastic pilots who were extremely experienced and respected, we have to look elsewhere. Maybe it was the plane? This was a Boeing 777-200, a very common type of plane. It’s had a great safety record ever since it’s introduction to the industry in 1995.
Boeing 777-200
Since this disappearance, the Boeing 777-200 has been looked into more in terms of track record. It turns out, 0.4% of this 777 series have crashed or had a bad incident. Out of the 1,412 planes Boeing produced, just six of them have been involved in a fire or accident up until 2016.
Two Famous Incidents
Despite this amazing track record, the Boeing 777-200 has been involved in two international crisis’. Another jet that was heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine. This happened on July 17th, 2014, just four months after the Flight 370 tragedy. All 298 passengers perished. Outside of these two incidents, there were only four others with the Boeing 777-200 model.
So What Happened?
Officials were able to rule out pilot malfunction and plane malfunction… so what happened? The incident with Flight 17 in Ukraine was obviously not something Malaysian Airlines could have controlled, it just so happened to happen and become a complete disaster. As it turns out, Flight 370 had gone through a comprehensive maintenance check just a month prior to the disappearance.
Everything Seemed Normal At Take Off
Flight 370 took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12:42 a.m. Captain Zaharie reached 18,000 feet and went towards the navigational waypoint. Everything was starting normal, and nothing tipped off operators as they were monitoring the flight. They were about to get clearance to reach 35,000 feet, all as normal.
Regular Communications
At 1:01 a.m., the pilot was able to confirm with Lumpur radar that they reached the desired cruising altitude. The cockpit reached out to the Lumpur operations again to confirm they were holding altitude at 1:08 a.m. Then, Captain Zaharie exchanged some final words with Lumpur radar at 1:19 a.m. The Lumpur Radio operator said, “Malaysian three-seven-zero, contact Ho Chi Minh one-two-zero decimal nine. Good night.” Captain Zaharie responded, “Good night. Malaysian three-seven-zero.
One Last Signal
The prior communication was the last verbal communication from Flight 370, but not the last signal. Ho Chi Minh radar did pick up the plane a minute after the last communication. The records say the plane was still at 35,000 feet, as Captain Zaharie said before, and was traveling at 542 mph. But then, it vanished. Radar systems in Kuala Lumpur and Vietnam could not pick up a signal.
Known Flight Path
This map depicts the bizarre flight path the plane was recorded making. The flight itself could still be detected but could not be communicated with. It ended up taking a right turn before reaching Vietnam, which was off the path. At 2:22 a.m., the flight completely vanished from all radar technologies. They were 280 miles northwest of Penang Airport in Malaysia and were flying at 29,500 feet. The auto satellite system operated for some time after but also stopped at 8:19 a.m.
The Plane Never Showed Up
The plane was scheduled to land in Beijing at 5:06 a.m. It wasn’t until 7:24 a.m. that Malaysia made the announcement of the disappearance. They had to break it to many waiting families that they did not know where the plane was, there were no reports of any technical problems, no issues with weather, and no distress calls that were made. That was all of the info that they had, and the families were extremely upset by this.
Trying To Get Info
Authorities immediately went to work. They went to search the area that the plane was last seen. They worked long and hard for two weeks but did not see anything. No wreckage, no parts, and no bodies. On March 24th, Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia gave a long-awaited press conference. He said that the Air Accidents Investigation Branch and Inmarsat, a satellite company, had briefed him about the planes last location. It was over the Southern Indian Ocean, which was far off course from where it should have been. Najib also claimed that there was no viable land in the area of the last signal, it must have been in the sea.
Families Needed Answers
These families needed to know what happened! Months went by with no new answers. The families were still grief-stricken and they weren’t sure as to what happened. People began to talk. Speculations and conspiracy theories started to run amuck in place of actual information. Some could make sense, others were crazy.
Crazy Conspiracies
There were tons of people getting creative with the theories of what happened. There was a huge rumor that the pilot was responsible for a murder-suicide that caused the plane to crash. Many thought it was nuts, but it was plausible. He could have easily lost connection on purpose, but why bring all of the innocent people involved with it? In 2016, two years after the disappearance, authorities found a flight simulator in Zaharie’s home. New York magazine claimed that the simulator had a similar route to the journey the fated plane took. It was interesting and nearly incriminating, but just not enough info to really make a cause.
Was It Shot Down?
Did this flight face a similar fate to the Ukraine incident? No one thought that could be the case, but Rush Limbaugh was adamant that that is what happened. He speculated that the flight was most likely shot down and covered up. This was a crazy accusation, especially from someone so far removed from the situation. Scott Mayerowitz of the Associated Press claimed that there was, “no evidence that Flight 370 was brought down by a government entity.”
Was It Taken Over?
There is also a large possibility that the flight was hijacked. Hijacking planes is always a threat when traveling, but it’s hard to believe that someone could hijack a plane and not one of the 200 passengers would Tweet or text anything about it. It was still a popular theory, as it makes sense that hijackers would make the plane go off course like that. Others say it could have been a cyber attack, a fire on board, or even a black hole swallowed the plane.
Some Wreckage Was Found…
…But not much. There were small pieces that were found and washed ashore at different locations along the Indian Ocean coast. They never found the main body or even large and defined parts of it. They called off the search in January 2017 with $168 million down the tubes.
Supports The Theory of a High-Speed Crash
Even though this happened four years ago, experts are still talking and investigating. The most recent conclusion was made late May 2018. Aviation experts believe that the crash was a high-speed crash that was on purpose. The pilot wanted to kill himself and everyone else on board. This theory is what most people are going for, as a baffling mass murder-suicide is the only viable option. Other experts believe that it went into a death dive and was unable to be controlled by pilots but may have been in the end. This theory is not very conclusive, though.
A Breakthrough?
In March 2018, Australian mechanical engineer Peter McMahon, 64, says he found Flight 370 via Google Earth. McMahon has been an amateur aviation crash investigation for the past 25 years. He also claims to have found clear evidence… of foul play. So what does he think happened to the ghost plane?
Is it Legit?
McMahon claims to have spotted the wreck just by zooming in on Google Earth in the Indian Ocean. He took some screenshots of the plane and sent them to the Australian Transport and Safety Bureau. The agency responded, “The images sent to ATSB by Mr. McMahon… were captured on 6 Nov, 2009 more than four years before the flight disappeared.” Although Google Earth says this was taken via satellite 10/27/2014, the ATSB says differently.
Does this Add To The Conspiracy?
Sure feels like it! Who would you believe? It’s tough to say. McMahon has proof that the photos were taken in October of 2014, but the government entity says differently. This absolutely is set up to fuel more conspiracies, that’s for sure.