MH370: Ten Years On

On 8 March 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, had disappeared without a trace in the dead of night. This year, it marks the 10th year since the aircraft took off. It was never found.

By: Haotian

Published on: 10 March 2024, 10.00am (GMT +8)

Photo of 9M-MRO, the missing aircraft, pictured in December 2011. Photo: Wikipedia

On 8 March 2014, came the devastating news that horrified the whole world. Malaysia Airlines 370, a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, had disappeared without a trace in the dead of night.

The flight departed runway 32R at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (WMKK/KUL) at 12.41am Malaysian Time, and was scheduled to arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport (ZBAA/PEK) at 6.30am the same day. It never landed.

Good Night, Malaysian 370

At 1.29am, almost an hour after the Boeing 777-200ER carrying 239 passengers took off, the last ever radio transmission from Kuala Lumpur ATC to MH370 was “Malaysian 370 contact Ho Chi Minh 120 decimal 9. Good night.” Just 5 seconds later,Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah responded with, “Good night, Malaysian 370.” And with that, at 1.21am,  the aircraft vanished from radar, in the dead of night. This showed that something – or someone, had tampered with the aircraft’s transponder, of which the latter is more believable. 

What happened, and why did it happen?

Since the incident, many conspiracy theorists have come up with different possible causes as to why and how a massive and modern airliner, which was carrying more than 200 passengers, could have just disappeared without a trace. Such a modern jetliner should be technologically advanced so as to not be easily tampered with, but it still happened anyway.

Even though the aircraft had lost radar contact with civilian air traffic controllers, Malaysia’s military radar was still able to continue tracking the aircraft. Almost immediately after the aircraft transponder was turned off, the aircraft made a sharp bank to the left at 36,000 feet.

Pilot Suicide?

One conspiracy theory that was the most prominent in the investigations of MH370 was that the captain of the flight, Captain Zaharie, intentionally hijacked the aircraft and crashed it into the South Indian Ocean.

Captain Zaharie Shah and his flight simulator at home. Photo: Zaharie Shah/YouTube

Just a few days after the plane vanished, Malaysian police raided Captain Zaharie’s home and found a flight simulator setup, and upon further investigation, found that he had flown a similar route to the route that MH370 was presumed to have flown, down to the South Indian Ocean, before crashing in between western Australia and Antarctica. 

In addition, the way that he executed the plan was thought to be very elaborate – Firstly by depressurising the entire cabin, and also made sure not to intrude into Thailand or Vietnamese airspace to avoid detection, and to avoid his plan from being foiled. As his oxygen mask was the longest-lasting one on the entire aircraft, it would mean that he was able to survive for the longest period of time. Furthermore, records show that the aircraft’s oxygen supply was just inspected and topped-up before the flight, adding to the suspicion that MH370 was, indeed, a pilot suicide. 

Data from satellite showed that in the last moments of MH370, the aircraft made a very steep dive, presumably from either the aircraft running out of fuel, or that the captain made a deliberate movement on the yoke.

The scenario in which the aircraft runs out of fuel, would be when the pilot sets an autopilot course and altitude for the aircraft, and let the plane run out of fuel.

Or maybe… It had something to do with the US Military?

Diego Garcia Naval Support Facility, where the US military is stationed. Photo: Veteran Life

Another speculation was that the plane was bound for Diego Garcia, which is a remote island used by the US military, and over there, the US military shot it down, over fears that an attack similar to that of 9/11 was about to happen.

Mr Marc Dugain, the former head of Proteus Airlines, stands by this theory, which might just explain the sharp left turn after the infamous “Good night, Malaysian 370”. Furthermore, he also added that residents in the Maldives reported seeing a passenger jetliner flying low in the sky towards the said island. However, going with this theory would mean jeopardising the Inmarsat satellite data, as well as debris, that was washed up in Madagascar.

A bizarre and, frankly, out of pocket claim

As you would have probably predicted by now, yup, there were people who thought the disappearance had something to do with aliens.

A theory suggested that MH370 had been intercepted by an UFO, and subsequently sucked into a black hole, but people online were quick to debunk the myth. Bizarre right?

So, what ACTUALLY happened?

A wall of signatures dedicating prayers for MH370 at KLIA. Photo: Yahoo! News

Though there is no concrete evidence that any of the above situations actually happened, majority of the evidence points to Captain Zaharie, meaning that MH370 was probably a successful pilot suicide attempt.

However, we can never be sure as to what was the actual reason for the disappearance, nor can we be sure about the innocence of either pilot. Either way, our hearts are with the victims of MH370 and their families.