Disappearance of Malaysian Flight 370

On March 8, 2014, the Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 disappeared. With 227 passengers and 12 Malaysian crew members on board, the aircraft’s flight supposedly ended up in the Indian Ocean. Absolutely no one survived and zero bodies were retrieved. As of today, dozens of missing pieces from the plane have been found in the Indian ocean, however, there’s still no explanation to what actually happened.

After departing from Kuala Lumpur toward Beijing, the flight quickly became undetectable. According to The Atlantic, the controller at Kuala Lumpur center was taking the final safety precautions before taking off when he radioed, “Malaysian three-seven-zero, contact Ho Chi Minh one-two-zero-decimal-nine. Goodnight.” Captain Zahari Ahmad, who was described as a veteran pilot who joined the Malaysian Airlines, answered, “Good night. Malaysian three-seven-zero.” The transmission sounded good, however, those were the last words the world has heard from MH370.

Dozens of conspiracy theories have surrounded the Malaysian flight for years. Until we have proof that the flight did crash, it remains a theory. One of the most popular–and most plausible–theories known today is called “The Cockpit Fire Theory.”

Captain Zahari Ahmad Shah was a very experienced pilot. It would be unlikely that the disappearance had to do with his flying incapabilities. Digging deep into the mystery, investigator Chris Goodfellow has gathered all possible evidence and put it together, creating the Cockpit Fire Theory. Whether the fire was caused by something electrical or from an overheated tyre on takeoff, Goodfellow believes the fire sent smoke into the cockpit. He then wondered what the pilot would do in that situation. Goodfellow concluded that Ahmad would evacuate the situation by finding the nearest airport. According to bbc.com, “The pilot executes a sharp left turn and heads for a nearby emergency landing spot, while turning off electronics-such as transponder-in order to isolate the problem.” Keep in mind the transponder was one of the only devices connecting them to the rest of society. Removing the transponder would eliminate chances of getting rescued.

Although Ahmad was an exceptionally talented pilot, Malaysia did not rule out the theory that the missing flight 370 was due to a suicidal pilot. Is it possible that a single suicide led to the mass murder of 227 people?

In the Sky News Australia documentary “MH370: The Untold Story,” Australia’s prime minister Tony Abbott spoke about his theory. Abbott was not only extremely invested in the case, but he was also positive that he figured out the mystery. Foxnews.com displays information on a recent report from last year: “MH370 Captain Zahari Ahmad Shah was often ‘lonely and sad,’ and had experimented with a flight profile similar to that of the missing plane…” It wouldn’t be too unusual if the missing flight had to do with him. Given that information about Zahari, it was pretty clear that Abbott was pretty sure about his proposition. Speaking with confidence, Abbott vocalized, “I’m not going to say who said what to whom, but them reiterate, I want to be absolutely crystal clear, it was understood at the highest levels that this was almost certainly murder-suicide by the pilot.” However, Malaysia’s former prime minister and numerous police say “there was no conclusive proof that the pilot killed himself.”

The last–most well known–theory was that the plane was hijacked, whether it was by the pilot or another terrorist onboard.

Headed toward Beijing, the Boeing carried 227 passengers. Investigators have taken time to look at the crew list with intentions to find any history of a physiological profile. Zero passengers on board had a criminal-like background. However, investigators suspected Captain Zahari for many reasons. “He had a flight simulator in his basement that reportedly had data points that corresponded to where investigators believed the plane went, indicating a potential ‘dry run’”, says research from express.co.uk. Similar to above, people close to the pilot also claimed he struggled with mental illness. And on top of that, “co pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, was once caught allowing passengers in the cabin, and his mobile phone connected with a cell tower on Penang island, which some thought could mean something.” Despite the investigations, neither of the captains came across as a definite culprit.

Nearly six years ago, the Malaysian Flight 370 disappeared into a vast area of the southern Indian Ocean. There has been no definite trace of the flight being found, however, according to bbc.com, “more than 20 pieces of possible debris have been found by members of the public, on the African coast and islands in the Indian Ocean.” Still on the lookout for possible clues and evidence to what has happened to the aircraft, investigators still have hope into solving the mystery that has left society stumped for six years.