10 theories about MH 370’s Disappearance

10 theories about MH 370’s Disappearance


8th March, 2014

Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

12:41 a.m., Local Time

Malaysian Airlines flight MH 370 to Beijing was all set to take off. The 227 passengers on board the Boeing 777-200 ER were snuggled comfortably in their seats. 152 of them were Chinese, excited at the prospect of landing in their Homeland, next morning. Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid checked and re-checked the parameters. Everything was normal and they were all set to go. As MH 370 taxied out of the apron into the main runway, the Air Traffic Control gave its go ahead for take off. Take off, it did. As MH 370 climbed to its cruising altitude, the passengers drifted off to sleep and the crew steered the aircraft in its course towards Beijing. Everything had been smooth till then. Precisely 39 minutes later, the crew wished a warm “Good Night” to the Air Traffic Control, and that was the last which the world would hear from Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 370.

At 01:20 a.m., when the aircraft was flying over the Gulf of Thailand, all contact with the Air Traffic Control was severed and the transponder signal(Direct satellite link) was lost. Thus began the saga of the most mysterious aviation disaster in history as MH 370 disappeared into the realm of the unknown. As a multi billion dollar international search operation was mounted, it emerged from the satellite data that the aircraft had continued to fly for several hours after losing radio contact. As the search operation still continues, no debris, floating or underwater has been ever found. Later analysis led to the conclusion that the flight had ended in the southern Indian Ocean, as announced by the Malaysian Prime Minister. But, it hardly laid the speculation to rest and till date, MH 370 continues to be a mystery. Several intriguing conspiracy theories pertaining to its disappearance have evolved. Let us take a look at 10 of the most significant ones among them.

#10- Terrorists Hijacked MH 370?

Hijack

The ghastly incidents of September 11th, 2001- the day when three airliners with hundreds of people were hijacked and destroyed, is still fresh in everyone’s mind. When MH 370 disappeared without trace, with a sudden disability of radio contact and transponders, it  fueled speculations of hijack. The modus operandi would have been a hijack followed by crashing it into the ocean.

It was discovered that two of the passengers onboard were traveling with stolen passports. Officials rummaged through information and extensive profiling of all the passengers was done with a special emphasis on the ones with stolen passports. Nothing incriminating was found as psychologists studied their behavioural pattern from CCTV recordings before they boarded the aircraft. The background profiling yielded no conclusion either. This theory has since been dismissed.

#9- Pilot Suicide

MH 370 Pilots

The alleviation of suspicion on passengers led to investigators zero in on the pilots- Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid, both Malaysians. It was suspected that the pilots deliberately flew the aircraft off its course and turned off all communication links, before plunging it into the ocean as an act of suicide.

The theory of the pilots committing suicide wasn’t dismissed immediately as in the past, Egypt Air Flight 990 and Silk Air Flight 185 had been the victims of this bizarre act, which claimed hundreds of lives. The pilots’ antecedents and career records were thoroughly studied. The Malaysian Police in fact visited their respective residences and conducted a pin-pointed investigation of the Pilots.

Again, nothing suspicious or abnormal was found. But, Pilot suicide has not been ruled out yet as the procedures which were performed to switch off the communication links could only have been done ‘by a specialist’. Suspicious, indeed!

#8- The Second Bermuda Triangle?

Map

The sudden disappearance of an aircraft over a large body of water has led to eerie similarities being inevitably drawn with the Bermuda Triangle theory. Bermuda Triangle is a loosely defined triangular patch of ocean in the Caribbean, in the vicinity of Bermuda island and Eastern Coast of U.S. which has attained notoriety. Several airliners and ships have disappeared without trace in this region, never to be found. This has primarily been attributed to weather related disturbances which regularly occur in the region.

At the time when the airliner disappeared off the radars, there wasn’t any such weather related disturbance in the area it was last reported to be in. This deepens the mystery further and raises new questions as to how it disappeared. Straight out of a sci-fi flick, isn’t it?

#7- A Bizarre Blaze

Burning

The aircraft flew for hundreds of kilometres, off-course. It is believed by a section of experts that the plane flew on auto-pilot for such a long distance because the pilots were ‘incapacitated’ beyond revival.

There have been theories of a major blaze inside the aircraft which could have killed all passenger and crew onboard, but without damaging any of the aircraft’s internal or external components, which allowed it to fly on auto-pilot for such a long distance. Then, as per this theory, it would have plunged into the ocean and disintegrated, upon running out of fuel. Though plausible to some extent, this theory cannot fully be lent credence until some debris has been found.

Its just about finding one’s way out there in the dark. No leads or evidences, Just Speculation!

#6- With the Taliban in Afghanistan?

IC814 Hijack

With the stakes running high and the Afghanistan situation worsening, a theory of a Taliban misadventure was not ruled out. The NATO armed forces present in Afghanistan have harassed the Taliban to a great extent and its leadership has been wiped out by drone attacks.

It was speculated that the Taliban could have hijacked and flown the aircraft to an unidentified airfield in Afghanistan territory. Since the passengers were of varied nationalities, their being taken hostage would have pressurised native countries into accepting the terms and conditions laid down by the Taliban, which could have negotiated to its favour.

Since no group claimed responsibility in the aftermath of the disappearance, this theory has also been dismissed.

#5- ‘Cracker’ of a theory

Fuselage Cracks

The aircraft type of MH 370 was the Boeing 777-200 ER, renowned worldwide for its aviation safety record. But of late, the Federal Aviation Administration had warned of ‘cracks’ and ‘corrosion’ in the main body of such type of aircraft. It had recommended an airworthiness inspection of all such aircraft, worldwide.

Could the same have occurred with MH 370. Had that been the case, the aircraft would have disintegrated and spiralled down into the ocean.

#4- ‘The Invisibility Cloak’ Theory

invisibilitycloak

After the eerie disappearance of the aircraft, downright weird theories like the ‘invisibility cloak theory’ have emerged, catching the world’s imagination. Some people suggest that Flight MH 370 could have been ‘concealed’ electronically and that it is technologically possible, though not demonstrated over an aircraft yet. This gives rise to suspicion that the aircraft was intentionally ‘concealed’ from radars and visual sighting by such a technology.

There were 20 employees of a single American firm- Freescale Semi-conductors on board the ill-fated flight. People who subscribe to this theory are of the view that ‘electronic concealment’ is precisely what the same company is capable of achieving, given its expertise in that field. The company was reportedly working on such a technology for aircraft. Right out of the Harry Potter series, isn’t it? But this time, its an aircraft! Bizarre!

 #3-‘Out of the World’ thinking

Aliens

Our purported ‘extra-terrestrial’ friends- the people we label as ‘aliens’ have been the cause of much investigation and study. UFO sightings and other visually sighted abnormal activity have added to the intrigue and man believes that aliens do exist.

Could it have been that MH 370 was effortlessly snatched away by the aliens, who are depicted in popular culture to be possessing much more advanced technology than us? This conspiracy theory has been put forward by a sizeable number of netizens. Investigators have although ruled out this angle altogether. But given the total disappearance of the plane and no sign of any debris, is this the latest sign of alien invasion?

 #2- Shot Down?

AA Gun

Some experts have speculated that the aircraft might have been ‘unintentionally’ shot down. Joint Military exercises between Thailand and the United States had commenced in the same area, which included firing exercises.

Could the aircraft have fallen prey to anti aircraft fire accruing out of these exercises? The concerned authorities have flatly denied it although some experts are of the opinion that this could have happened, followed by a sophisticated cover up by the two nations. If that is the case, this would go down as the most outrageous cover up in human history. Nothing short of that!

#1- Force Landing at Diego Garcia?

Diegogarcia

Diego Garcia is a coral atoll in the middle of Indian Ocean. The U.S. has a naval airbase on this atoll. It has been speculated that the United States could have directed its fighter jets to force the MH 370 to land at Diego Garcia and that this has subsequently been covered up. The flight path to Diego Garcia from the last known location of the plane is consistent with the path which the plane actually followed after mysteriously veering off course.

Further, no one can come out with a plausible reason why this may have happened. There are rumours that the United States wanted to get hold of the latest Chinese Operating system, the knowhow of which was with the Chinese engineers onboard. In that case, the United States could have sabotaged the flight and forced it to land at Diego Garcia. This has vehemently been denied by the U.S. authorities.

MH 370 , where are you?