Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 ‘s disappearance on March 8, 2014, remains one of aviation’s biggest mysteries. The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people vanished from radar and communication systems somewhere over the vast southern Indian Ocean route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Despite extensive multinational searches spanning months and costing millions, no wreckage or bodies have ever been found.
timeline of key events
2014: Flight MH370 vanishes
In the early hours of March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 suddenly dropped from radar while heading from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. There were 227 passengers and 12 crew members aboard the aircraft, a Boeing 777. The passengers represented 14 nations, but most were Chinese. None was heard from again.
The last communication from the plane was 38 minutes after takeoff, when it was over the South China Sea. Military radar captured it veering dramatically off its intended path, heading westward, before the signal was lost. It is believed to have fallen into the Indian Ocean inside Australia’s search and rescue area.
2015: Malaysia declares MH370 an accident
Malaysian officials in January 2015 declared the disappearance of Flight 370 an accident and the passengers and crew aboard presumed dead, paving the way for the airline to pay settlements to the families.
The underwater search area was doubled to 46,300 square miles in April 2015 by Malaysia, Australia and China.
2016: More pieces of debris probably from MH370 found
More pieces of debris were recovered from several countries: part of a wing from the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, just east of Réunion, segments of a door and the engine from beaches in Mauritius and South Africa, a section of a wing’s outboard flap off the coast of Tanzania, and pieces of a wing from Mozambique.
2017: Search by Malaysia, Australia and China ends
An underwater search of a section of the Indian Ocean between May 2014 and January 2017 ended without success. Australia led the operation with support from Malaysia and China, and officials from the three nations said the decision to call off the effort “has not been taken lightly nor without sadness.”
“Despite every effort using the best science available, cutting edge technology, as well as modeling and advice from highly skilled professionals who are the best in their field, unfortunately, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft,” they said in a statement.
2024: Possibility of a fresh search operation
Family members of those who went missing with the flight demand answers and are pushing for the search to continue. Speaking at a remembrance with the families this week, Malaysia’s transportation minister, Loke, said that the government was ready to invite Ocean Infinity to discuss another “no-find, no-fee” search using new technology if credible evidence was ascertained. “I will do everything possible to get the cabinet’s approval to sign a new contract with Ocean Infinity for the search to resume as soon as possible,” he said.
Theories abound about what happened, but none have been conclusively proven. Here are some of the leading possibilities:
- Mechanical failure: While a possibility, investigators haven’t found any technical malfunctions reported before the disappearance or any distress signals sent from the aircraft.
- Hijacking: No group has ever claimed responsibility, and the plane’s erratic path – deliberately changing course and altitude – doesn’t align with a typical hijacking scenario where negotiation or landing the plane would be the goal.
- Pilot suicide/deliberate act: This theory has gained some traction due to the unusual flight path and the fact that someone on board seemed to have deliberately disabled the plane’s communication systems. Investigators scrutinized the pilots’ personal lives for any potential motives, but nothing conclusive emerged.
The lack of closure has been incredibly painful for the families of the victims. The unanswered questions continue to fuel speculation and conspiracy theories. There have been renewed efforts to locate the wreckage in recent years, with some private companies claiming to have identified new search areas based on advanced technologies.
This ongoing saga highlights the immense challenges of investigating aviation accidents in remote areas and the devastating impact they have on families. The hope persists that one day, the wreckage will be found, providing some answers and a final resting place for those who perished on MH370.
