On March 8, 2014, the infamous disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200ER, made headlines across numerous news outlets. Aboard were 239 people who just suddenly disappeared without a trace. Less than an hour after takeoff, the plane lost contact with air control. Military radar tracked the plane veering west over the Malay Peninsula and Andaman Sea before it disappeared from radar near the Andaman Islands. Satellite data indicated the aircraft continued flying south into the southern Indian Ocean for several hours. The final satellite ping was received west of Perth, Australia, suggesting the plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean. A comprehensive underwater search covering 120,000 km² (46,332 miles²) of ocean floor failed to locate the aircraft, leading to its suspension in January 2017. A private search by Ocean Infinity in 2018 also ended without success. In March 2025, Malaysia agreed to resume the search with Ocean Infinity. The new search area spans 15,000 km² (5,791.5324 miles²) in the southern Indian Ocean, with operations expected to last up to 18 months.
Over the years, several pieces of aircraft debris have been found along the Indian Ocean coastlines. These findings have been confirmed as part of MH370, though they have not provided conclusive information about the aircraft's final location. Many theories have been suggested regarding the disappearance, including mechanical failure, hijacking, and pilot involvement. What we do know is that the plane’s transponder, which allows radar to track it, stopped transmitting about one hour after takeoff, and most shockingly of all, the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which automatically transmits engine and system data, was also purposefully switched off. Due to this information, many people believe this shows deliberate action from someone on the plane. It cannot be safely assumed that the pilot turned off the systems, but it is extremely likely that someone did. The obvious theory of mechanical failure is unlikely, but it is not completely ruled out. However, the aircraft maneuvered deliberately after communications stopped, telling us that its flight was a manual input rather than a fully uncontrolled drift.
If the pilot was involved in this mysterious incident, there are theories that Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the pilot, plotted a hijacking scheme or a suicide plan. This is backed up by the navigation path the plane took. The path changes suggest someone with advanced knowledge of the aircraft controlled it, and it followed a route consistent with manual navigation, not a random drift. And oddly enough, simulated flights by Captain Zaharie on a home flight simulator included a route into the southern Indian Ocean, like MH370’s final trajectory. Despite all these facts, Captain Zaharie did not exhibit any odd or suicidal behavior prior to the flight. The co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, was also a suspect, but aside from having similar expert knowledge to Captain Zaharie, there is nothing to indicate he was involved. There is also no evidence of a potential hijacking done by a third party.
Other hypotheses suggest MH370 ended up in a very deep, remote area of the ocean trenches or ridges, such as the Broken Ridge area, making detection extremely difficult. Some assert the aircraft was deliberately flown there to make it difficult to find. The damage from the wing control mechanism is consistent with a controlled descent, but, as stated before, it is uncertain where the descent happened, so many believe it crashed into a deep seabed that is virtually inaccessible. Other theories suspect the plane flew into the airspace of another country and was promptly shot down, or that MH370 landed secretly in a hidden military base, Diego Garcia, as mentioned specifically. Additionally, the simulated path that the captain made followed the direction of Diego Garcia. These theories come with the conclusion that the government had something to do with covering up the plane’s disappearance, hence its lack of a trace. Unfortunately, not many clues have come from the few pieces of debris found, and there is no new information, but maybe that will change in the coming year as Ocean Infinity conducts their search.
Audio from the cockpit:
Longer analysis: