What happened to MH370?The theory behind the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight

Ten years after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 seemingly disappeared into thin air, the BBC will screen a new documentary that will reveal new evidence that could help solve one of the aviation industry’s biggest mysteries.

The new program, which airs on March 6, explores all possibilities from technical glitches to hijackings, in an attempt to answer questions from hundreds of families of missing passengers and crew.

Here’s everything you need to know Why planes disappear: The search for MH370 And all the yet-to-be-discovered theories surrounding this aircraft.

What happened to flight MH370?

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 jet numbered MH370, disappeared while flying over the South China Sea and was last seen after 1 a.m. on March 8, 2014.

The last known communication was from the captain, 53-year-old Zaharie Ahmad Shah, to Malaysian air traffic control.

“Good evening. Malaysia three seven zero,” he said before leaving Malaysian airspace.

The plane was traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and was carrying 239 people, including 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 14 different countries.

The flight disappeared from air traffic control radar after entering Vietnamese airspace, but was detected by military radar after turning sharply left and deviating from its intended northeastern route.

It began flying westward until, at 2:22 a.m., it exceeded the radar range of the Andaman Maritime Air Force and entered the northeastern Indian Ocean.

Information released by Malaysian authorities appears to indicate the plane crashed in the Indian Ocean southwest of Australia.

A massive Australian-led search followed, covering 46,000 square miles of the southern Indian Ocean and costing an estimated £100 million.

The mission was eventually halted nearly three years after it began, without making any significant discoveries.

Although small amounts of debris from the plane have been found on islands off the coast of India and Africa, the final moments of the flight remain a mystery.

There are many theories about what actually happened, ranging from a mass murder-suicide plan by the pilots to a U.S. military operation to shoot down the plane and cover it up.

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What’s the theory behind its disappearance?

Pilot mass murder-suicide

In a new BBC documentary, the show examines recent cases of mass murder-suicides by pilots and explores how to improve the mental health of crew members – who are ultimately responsible for the lives of millions of passengers.

Flying MH370 is Mr. Ahmad Shah, a highly respected veteran pilot who joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981 and has more than 18,000 hours of flying experience.

He is a father of three and lives in Kuala Lumpur with his wife.

Mr Ahmed Shah’s home flight simulator was found to have mapped a similar path to MH370 but deviated from the official route, based on radar and satellite data.

There is speculation that he could have locked his co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, from the cockpit before the crash. His family had long denied that he was suicidal.

An independent Malaysia-led investigation released in July 2018 said there was no evidence of unusual behavior or stress on the part of the two pilots.

hijack

Another theory is that the plane was hijacked. The 2018 investigative report found that the plane’s course was changed manually, but they did not name the suspect and raised the possibility of “third-party intervention.”

The hijacking theory was put forward by US aviation journalist Jeff Wise, who believed that Russian agents were ordered by Vladimir Putin to steal MH370.

Wise said there were three “Russian” passengers on board, one of whom was sitting near the hatch leading to the electronics cabin. He pointed out that the disappearance of MH370 coincided with the beginning of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Satellite data does not support this theory, but Mr Wise believes it may have been tampered with.

Others speculated it might have been hijacked by the Taliban or other terrorist group, although no one has come forward to claim responsibility.

US military covers up the truth

Former airline CEO Marc Dugain claimed the plane may have been shot down by US forces and there was a cover-up.

Mr. Dugan wrote an article for Paris Match in which he speculated that the United States shot it down because they feared an attack on the American military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.

The U.S. government has repeatedly denied that the plane ever came anywhere near the island. But Dugan cited witnesses in the Maldives who said they saw a “huge aircraft flying towards the island at a very low altitude”.

Other theories claim it was shot down intentionally or by mistake during military exercises.