Flight MH370 Went Down in the Southern Indian Ocean, Analysts Conclude
March 24, 2014
Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, announced today that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which has been missing for two weeks, crashed into the southern Indian Ocean and sank without a trace. Razak stated that the British government’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and Inmarsat, a private British company that provides satellite data, “have concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor, and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth [Australia].” “This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites,” he noted. “It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.” Before the announcement, the families of the people on board the fight were told that the British analysts had concluded “beyond reasonable doubt” that the plane was lost and that there were no survivors.
Flight MH370 was en route from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew members when it disappeared on March 8. The mysterious disappearance of the Boeing 777 led to a massive international search effort. This, in turn, triggered a massive media frenzy with “experts” endlessly speculating on what might have gone wrong.
Flight MH370 was flown in a Boeing 777-300, a large twin-engine passenger jet. The airliner can fly about a fourth of the way around the world without refueling. (The Boeing Company)
The day after the plane disappeared, Interpol revealed that two male passengers aboard the flight were traveling on passports stolen from an Austrian and an Italian in Thailand. This disclosure led to theories involving terrorism. Police discovered a flight simulator in the home of the pilot, from which files had recently been deleted. This led to speculation about his involvement. Just today, the chief executive of Malaysia Airlines, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, revealed that MH370 carried several hundreds pounds of lithium batteries in the cargo hold. Such batteries can be a fire hazard under certain circumstances. He noted, however, that the batteries had been handled and packaged so that they were deemed “non-hazardous” under civil aviation standards.
While the Australian Navy continues to look for debris in the southern Indian Ocean, Flight MH370 remains the only commercial flight in history that seems to have disappeared without a trace.
Additional World Book articles:
- Airplane
- Turbulence: Hidden Threat in the Skies (a special report)
