Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared after losing contact with air traffic control an hour into the flight, March 8. There have been traces of the plane but no substantial evidence of the plane or the 239 passengers on board.
There is much uncertainty to what happened, but all that is known is the following: flight MH370 left Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia at 12:41 a.m. Malaysia time, Saturday, March 8. An hour into the flight, the plane’s transponder stopped working and air traffic control lost contact with the plane over the sea between Malaysia and Vietnam.
Other than that, not much is known about flight MH370. Experts have been unable to figure out the reason why the transponder stopped transmitting. The Malaysian military has radar data that suggests the plane went off course, and turned around. The pilots did not indicate any trouble and no distress call was issued.
There is a possibility that a power failure could have disrupted the main transponder and its backup. Also, there are suspicions that a pilot turned it off, but because of the vital information — and thus, protection — the transponder provides, it’s highly unlikely a pilot would turn it off, according to a CNN source, former airline captain Mark Weiss.
There was also evidence that two passengers used stolen passports to buy tickets. This lead to speculation of a terrorist attack by the two unidentified passengers. However these fears faded when investigators found a lack of terrorist ties. These investigators also say the most likely reason for the stolen passports was because the two passengers were seeking asylum in another country.
Despite this, there is still strong speculation from experts that the plane was sabotaged. Investigators are increasingly suspecting that the communication systems were manually disabled.
According to The Wall Street Journal, there are “strong indications that one or more people on the plane deliberately changed its course and tried to mask its location.”
Supporting this theory as to what happened to the plane, The Wall Street Journal says about the possible sabotagers that “it would have required a detailed knowledge of the long range Boeing Co. 777’s inner workings.”
The Malaysian Prime minister said that someone deliberately steered the plane off course, which led to investigators focusing on the pilots of the plane.They are also investigating the crew and anyone who came in contact with the plane.
However, none of this can be proven until the missing plane is found. Searches are being lead to try to find the plane. Dozens of ships and planes from various countries were scouring the South China Sea near where the plane was last detected. Debris and oil have been spotted, but have turned out to be unrelated to the plane.
Authorities were uncertain if they are concentrating on the right spot. Due to the lack knowledge of where the plane is, it is hard to know if search teams are looking in the right place. The search has expanded to cover large swaths of land and sea, including 11 countries and deep oceans. Twenty-six nations are helping in the search for flight MH370.
However there are searches being conducted of the coast of Australia that started Thursday, March 20, following what Malaysian government called a “credible lead.” The large objects, which Australian officials said were spotted by satellite four days ago in one of the remotest parts of the globe, are the most promising find in days as searchers scour a vast area for the plane lost with 239 people on board.
March 24, Malaysian Prime Minister announced that flight MH370 ended in the Southern Indian Ocean, discovered using a mathematical based process with doppler technology and satellites. Before the announcement, Australian officials stated that they spotted two objects that could be related to the flight. But there is no confirmation that the debris spotted is flight MH370.
Also before the announcement, Malaysian Airlines sent out a text message to the families of the passengers and crew saying that “all lives are lost.”
The text message said: “Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond a reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board survived. As you will hear in the next hour from Malaysia’s Prime Minister, we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean.”
Updates:
– Australian officials continue to search for the wreckage
– Monday April 7, and Australian using high-tech U.S. equipment vessel Ocean Shield received signals similar to the kind that the aircraft’s on board data and cockpit voice recorders would emit.
-Officials are launching an underwater vehicle to scan the ocean floor. The device sends a pulse that produces a three-dimensional map of the seafloor.
-The first attempt to use a U.S. Navy underwater vehicle in the hunt for Flight 370 ended early, after the probe got close to waters deeper than it is rated to go, setting off safety protocols that sent it swimming back to the surface.
-Cell phone tower detected co-pilot’s phone signal after plane turned around
-Officials now say the last words from the plane to ground control before it lost contact was “Good night Malaysian 3-7-0”
-Australia continues to lead the search efforts for Flight 370.
-A metal object that washed ashore on Australia’s coast wasn’t related to Flight 370, officials said.
-Starting 45 days after Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 went missing, families can file suit in American courts against United States aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co.
– The next phase in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will be a more intense underwater searches that will use private contractors, take months and cost about $56 million, officials said.