8 Interesting Theories About Flight MH 370 that Disappeared
On March 8, 2014, a scheduled international passenger flight, Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 started its journey from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, headed towards its destination, Beijing Capital International Airport. But the fateful flight never made it to its destination – it went missing within an hour of its take-off. Search parties, international navy, and a multi-nation rescue operation were then initiated to find out this flight or what happened to it, but to no avail. More than 20 days have passed since the disappearance of Flight 370 along with its crew and 227 passengers. The multi-nation search operation itself is reportedly the world’s largest, covering the entirety of Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea, Strait of Malacca, Andaman Sea and even the remotest, desolate and almost inaccessible parts of the Indian Ocean. Scores of satellite imagery have been referred to. Investigators, aviation experts and government personnel of several nations have relentlessly worked for hours on the days that followed the disappearance, but till date they have no concrete evidence as to what actually became of the fateful flight MH370. All they have are theories about what could have happened based on data available. Astrologers, psychics and conspiracy theorists have come up with their own bizarre theories. Listed below are the top 8 most interesting (ranging from the remotely plausible to the most bizarre) theories about Flight MH370 that disappeared.
1. Fire
One of the more plausible theories is that Flight MH370 could have caught fire due to some technical glitch or mechanical failure. Somehow a fire broke out and even though the pilot may have tried to turn back to return to the Malaysian airport, the plane may have crashed into the sea before it could make it towards land. The fire could have been electrical which explains the sudden cut-off of radio communication. The crew and passengers could not have tried to communicate either because they could have been overcome by smoke or decompression of the aircraft. Even the pilots may have passed out and the plane continued to fly till it ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean.
2. Hijacking
Another theory states that Flight MH370 has been hijacked. One of the passengers could have gained access to the cockpit and could have taken control of the flight. The passenger could have been armed and threatened the pilots to change course. Alternatively, the passenger himself could have been a trained pilot and took over the controls himself after incapacitating the pilot.
3. Terrorist attack
The flight could have fallen prey to a planned terrorists’ attack. The terrorists could have been among the passengers who showed their true colors once the flight was in the air. Investigation has in fact revealed that two of the passengers were flying with stolen passports, which makes this theory quite probable. But no terror group has claimed responsibility, nor has there been any ransom demand.
4. Pilot suicide
An interesting theory is that the pilots may have committed suicide by deliberately flying the plane into the sea. This theory stems from facts and similar incidents in the past. In 1997, a Boeing 737 was deliberately plunged into an Indonesian river by the pilot intending to commit suicide, according to US investigators. Also, this theory almost fits because hardly any debris has been found on the ocean bed, because if the plane had been flown into the ocean, it would retain its structural integrity and would not cause much wreckage that would remain afloat. It would have gone down with all hands as water would have rapidly seeped into the aircraft, thereby gradually sinking it to the bottom. Investigation is underway to find out if the pilots of Flight MH370 had any serious psychological problems.
