Have you ever had something small, like a ring or a necklace, just disappear? Like, something in your jewelry box that you know is there, but when you return, it’s gone? That happened on March 8, 2014, to Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. Except, instead of being in a box or on a shelf, it disappeared straight out of thin air, literally.
The Night’s Events
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was intended to fly out of Kuala Lumpur and land in Beijing. The aircraft took off at 00:42 a.m. local time and was en route to land in Beijing Capital International Airport at 6:30 a.m. local time. However, that landing never happened. The flight’s last communication with air traffic control(ATC) was around 38 minutes after takeoff. At 1:19 a.m. local time, the final voice contact occurred with Flight MH370, when the captain said, “Goodnight. Malaysian three seven zero.” Exactly two minutes after this comment, the flight disappeared from the Kuala Lumpur Area Control Center(ACC)’s radar. However, Malaysian military radars continued to track the aircraft, which, almost immediately, turned left to travel south-west. Voice contact was attempted by a different aircraft, but only radio static and mumbling were heard. Eventually, all 227 passengers and 12 crew were presumed dead. Flight MH370 is still missing to this day, according to Britannica.
What Happened?
There are four main conspiracies about why this flight disappeared. The first is that the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, committed a murder suicide, and this theory has been backed up by the pilot’s at-home flight simulator. The second is that there was some form of passenger involvement in this flight’s downfall. The third theory is that the cargo caused an accident. The fourth and final major theory is that something happened on the flight that rendered the passengers and crew unresponsive.
The Pilot’s Murder-Suicide
The main major conspiracy is that the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, committed a murder suicide with the entire plane. Despite research proving none of the 12 crew members had undergone significant financial transactions, meaning an extremely high likelihood that no crew member was bribed. Also, with examination of CCTV footage, none of the pilots seemed to have undergone significant behavioral changes, like suddenly being outwardly suicidal. However, there were many facts that made Shah seem extremely guilty. For starters, his at-home flight simulator was examined as a preliminary attempt to figure out what happened. It was discovered that he had taken an almost identical flight, including the unexpected path over the Southern Indian Ocean, less than a month before the disappearance, according to The New Zealand Herald. This, coupled with uncovered information about his personal life, made him seem extremely suspicious. He had been cyberharassing twin models Lan Qi Hui and Qi Min, making perverted comments and repeatedly asking when they would be coming to his town, despite being married and with three children himself. Had his wife discovered this information and his possible intention of cheating, he could’ve felt a desperation to not let his public image get slandered, and attempted to prevent it in the only way he knew. Shah had also made a 45-minute phone call, about a month before the flight and around the same time as his flight simulation, to an aircraft engineer named Zulhaimi Bin Wahidin (his cousin), who is speculated to have discussed how to potentially hijack the plane.
Passenger Involvement?
To rule out the second theory, that a passenger hijacked the plane, U.S. and Malaysian officials completed background checks on every single passenger on flight MH370. One passenger briefly raised suspicion, solely because he was a flight engineer for a Swiss jet charter company and was thought to have the necessary “aviation skills.” Then, attention was turned to two men who were found to have boarded with stolen passports, which immediately raised suspicion following the flight’s events. However, it was later discovered that these men seemed to be asylum seekers, and it was concluded that this flight disappearance was not a terrorist event. No other passengers’ backgrounds waved red flags at officials.
Cargo? More like Plane go…
This flight contained 23,823 pounds of cargo. Four standard-sized cargo containers contained about 10, 500 pounds of mangosteens and lithium-ion batteries. The mangosteen handlers and importers were investigated and questioned to rule out sabotage. The lithium-ion batteries, packaged in accordance with IATA guidelines, didn’t undergo any additional inspections at the airport. Lithium-ion batteries can cause extreme fires if overheated and ignited, which has happened on other flights. These fires have caused strict regulations, according to BBC, so it is pretty unlikely that these caused the flight to go down.
Unresponsive and Autopilot
One last theory, and possibly the least exciting theory, is that there was an in-flight accident that resulted in the uncontrolled decompression of the aircraft, leading to the crew and passengers becoming unresponsive. It is believed that the flight was on autopilot for the remaining 5-hour flight, which would have ended in a spiral dive, entering the ocean within 23 miles of the autopilot disengaging.
Which theory do I believe happened?
I believe that the most believable and factually backed conspiracy theory of what happened is that the pilot committed a murder-suicide. Between the phone call to his cousin, the comments to the models, and his flight simulation, I truly believe that it was Zaharie Ahmad Shah who made the plane and all 238 passengers and other crew members die that day. However, if it is the truth, then it is extremely unfortunate that 238 people were unnecessarily harmed, and their families had to suffer, because a man made a mistake and couldn’t live with the consequences.
The families of every person have spent over 10 years without answers, and they are no closer to finding the answers they seek than we were the day the plane disappeared. There have been many investigations, searches through the ocean, by plane, searching land and coasts where it could’ve landed, and yet the word is left almost fully empty-handed, having only found the flaperon, pieces of the right stabilizer and wing, an outboard flap discovered off the coast of Tanzania, and other small debris not certain to be from plane MH370, which, to the families especially, must be disappointing, to say the least.
