13th March 2023 – (Kuala Lumpur) On 8th March, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished from radar screens with 239 people on board, including passengers from various countries. Despite extensive efforts by aviation experts, data scientists, journalists, and search teams, the fate of the plane and its passengers remains unknown. The disappearance has been shrouded in mystery, confusion, and speculation over the years, with numerous theories emerging as to its fate.
The disappearance of the ill-fated plane has been the subject of many conspiracy theories. Despite extensive searches, the plane and its passengers have never been found, leading to much speculation about what really happened. Netflix attempts to debunk some the conspiracy theories surrounding the mystery which include the followings:
- The plane was shot down: Some people believe that the plane was deliberately shot down by a government or military agency for unknown reasons.
- The plane was hijacked: Another theory suggests that the plane was hijacked and taken to a secret location.
- The pilot intentionally crashed the plane: Some believe that the pilot of the plane intentionally crashed it for unknown reasons.
The new Netflix series delves into the details of the MH370 disappearance, chronicling the confusion and shock that followed, as well as the obsession and devastation felt by those involved. Despite the efforts of experts and search teams, the plane has never been found, and the mystery continues to baffle those involved in the investigation.
While the official narrative suggests that the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, was responsible for the crash, subsequent episodes of the series contradict this theory and offer alternative explanations, highlighting the inconclusive and conflicting evidence surrounding the event.
The search for MH370 has covered over 42,000 square miles at a cost of more than US$130 million, with no sign of the wreckage found so far. The series offers a glimpse into the frustration and confusion that has plagued the investigation, while also underscoring the obsession and determination of those who have been consumed by the search for answers.
Nearly nine years after the disappearance of MH370, it remains one of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time, and the search for answers continues. The series provides a detailed account of the events leading up to and following the disappearance, shedding light on the many theories and questions that remain unanswered.
The Malaysian Investigation Team’s Report
According to a 495-page report by the official safety investigation team, the Malaysian Airlines plane was under manual control and was intentionally downed. The report, however, did not assign blame to any individuals and was unable to determine why the plane changed course and eventually crashed, leaving the mystery unsolved. Chief investigator Dr Kok Soo Chon told reporters that his team believes the plane was flown by the pilot, but they cannot establish if it was flown by anyone else. The report also did not exclude the possibility of unlawful interference by a third party.
The Pilot and Co-Pilot
Captain Zaharie Amad Shah was flying the plane when it disappeared. He was born on 31st July, 1961, and was a veteran pilot who had joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981. Shah was a father of three, a passionate cook, and a keen fisherman. He lived with his wife in a luxury gated community, where he had built his own flight simulator. In the wake of the plane’s disappearance, rumours surfaced claiming that his wife had moved out of their home. Malaysian authorities believe that the last words heard from the plane, from either the pilot or co-pilot, were “Good night Malaysian three seven zero.”
The most damning evidence in support of the theory that Shah, an experienced pilot, deliberately crashed MH370 into the Indian Ocean as a mass murder-suicide, came to light in 2016. A flight simulator discovered at his residence had captured the attention of the media, revealing that Shah had practised a simulation of a similar off-chart course just a month before the doomed flight.
While the home simulator data seemed to be the “smoking gun” that investigators were searching for, Mike Exner of the Independent Group, a watchdog panel of aviation experts established to uncover the truth behind the plane’s final hours, offers a different perspective. According to Exner, the simulator’s data is not enough to conclusively prove Shah’s intentions. “It’s very unusual to simulate fuel exhaustion in the Southern Indian Ocean,” he admits. “Taking the simulator data by itself doesn’t prove a lot. It’s only one piece of the puzzle that fits.”
Despite this, Jeff Wise, a well-known aviation journalist, whose theories on the flight sparked a great deal of controversy among experts, claims that the FBI was aware of the flight simulator’s off-chart route as early as 2014. According to Wise, Shah’s plot to take control of the plane single-handedly would have required a “sophisticated and aggressive” plan that involved locking his co-pilot out of the cockpit, disabling radar communication, and depressurising the cabin to prevent any interference.
The FBI’s Involvement
In 2014, Malaysian investigators, with the help of the FBI, tried to restore files deleted from the home flight simulator of the missing plane’s pilot to see if they shed any light on the disappearance. The FBI was able to recover six deleted data points that had been stored by the Microsoft Flight Simulator X program in the weeks before MH370 disappeared, according to the document. Each point recorded the airplane’s altitude, speed, direction of flight, and other key parameters at a given moment. The simulated flights were not identical to the actual flight, though, with the simulated endpoint some 900 miles from the remote patch of the southern ocean area where officials believe the plane went down.
Rumours have long circulated that the FBI had discovered such evidence, but Malaysian officials made no mention of the find in the otherwise detailed report into the investigation, “Factual Information,” that was released on the first anniversary of the disappearance.The credibility of the rumors was further undermined by the fact that many media accounts mentioned “a small runway on an unnamed island in the far southern Indian Ocean,” of which there are none.
However, the fact that the FBI swiftly interfered in the investigation and worked with Malaysian authorities to investigate the pilots, thickens the plot that the U.S. may have had a hand in the disappearance of MH370. The rumours have long circulated that the FBI had discovered such evidence, but Malaysian officials made no mention of the find in the otherwise detailed report into the investigation, “Factual Information,” that was released on the first anniversary of the disappearance.
Inmarsat
While the aircraft lost all radar communications, it continued to electronically communicate with a satellite owned by British company Inmarsat. In the recent Netflix docuseries, Inmarsat representative Mark Dickinson revealed that the company’s system was checking every hour whether the satellite terminal on the plane was responding. The pings continued for up to six hours after the last contact, indicating that the plane was still in the air. Inmarsat satellite data is obtained and disseminated instantly from the ground station, ensuring that it cannot be altered or falsified in real-time across multiple databases.
Based on the analysis of satellite data and autopilot behaviour, the top 100 constrained autopilot dynamics candidate paths were selected, with the most likely location of the aircraft being between approximately 33.5–38.3°S at the time of the seventh handshake. This location was determined to be the result of fuel exhaustion and subsequent power failure, resulting in the autopilot disengaging.
The log-on request at the seventh handshake indicated that the aircraft may have been descending and travelling from northeast to southwest. As such, investigators needed to determine an appropriate search area from the seventh arc.
However, the Inmarsat data was not equipped with GPS-tracking capabilities, meaning that it could only determine how far away the aircraft was from the satellite with which it had been communicating. While the company provides telephone and data services globally via mobile terminals, its network is primarily used by the shipping, airline and mining industries, as well as governments, aid agencies, media outlets and businesses that need to communicate in remote regions.
Inmarsat’s ownership has changed hands multiple times, with the most recent acquisition by Viasat in November 2021. However, the company’s contracts with various governments around the world, including the US government, have raised questions about possible close ties. In November 2022, Inmarsat Government announced that the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency had awarded it a US$410 million contract to provide satellite communication services to the U.S. Army Blue Force Tracker network.
Despite Inmarsat’s valuable data, aviation journalist Jeff Wise has raised concerns about the plane’s electrical systems, which were re-engaged only after the plane made a hard left turn to deviate from its original flight path. Wise has suggested that an antagonistic actor aboard the plane deliberately engaged the plane’s electrical systems under a hatch located between the cockpit and first class to create a false record of the plane’s movement. While Wise has not explicitly accused the U.S. government of involvement, the possibility of government interference cannot be dismissed.
Who is Blaine Gibson?
Blaine Gibson, an American plane wreck hunter, has spent years searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. He travelled extensively across Asia and Africa, determined to uncover any clues that may have been missed during the official investigation. Despite facing criticism and skepticism, Gibson’s persistence paid off when he discovered several pieces of debris that were later confirmed to be from the missing aircraft.
Gibson’s search led him to Myanmar and the Maldives, where he followed up on leads from witnesses who claimed to have seen a plane with markings similar to those of Flight 370. In Mozambique, he found a triangular-shaped piece of material with a honeycomb core that he believed was part of the plane’s tail. His discoveries attracted the attention of French journalist Florence De Changy, who investigated the missing plane and uncovered several intriguing theories.
Despite Gibson’s success in finding debris, the official search for MH370 proved fruitless for years. Australian search teams scoured the waters of the southern Indian Ocean, while oceanographer Dr Charita Pattiaratchi advised Gibson to search in Madagascar and Mozambique instead. However, it was only when the Malaysian government allowed a private search company, Ocean Infinity, to launch a new search in the southern Indian Ocean that more progress was made. Unfortunately, the search was eventually called off after 138 days of finding nothing.
While Gibson’s discoveries were highly likely to be from the missing plane, there was only one piece – the flaperon – that was confirmed to be from Flight 370. De Changy discovered that the flaperon was missing its ID plate, leading her to speculate that it was deliberately removed. She also raised questions about the lack of radar images from the countries over which the plane flew, and the absence of interceptions or alerts despite the plane flying over a major air base.
While many doubted his story, Jeff Wise connected Gibson to his Russian theory, citing his past Russian connections, and Ghyslain was skeptical of his ability to find many missing pieces in such a short time.
There have been allegations by Jeff Wise that Blaine Alan Gibson, the American plane wreck hunter who single-handedly found several pieces of the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, could be a Russian spy due to his fluency in Russian and his past business dealings with Russian counterparts. However, it is also possible that Gibson was working for the U.S. government, as his business connections in Russia could have been utilised to shift the blame to the Russian government in case any evidence was discovered.
It should be noted that there is no concrete evidence to support either claim, and such accusations should be treated with caution until proven otherwise.
Cargo Manifest Discrepancies
The lithium-ion batteries carried by the aircraft weighed over 200 kg, while the cargo manifest released listed the “consolidated” consignment at 2.453 tonnes. Although about two tonnes, equivalent to 2,453 kg of cargo, was declared as consolidated under one master airway bill, this bill comprised five house Airway Bill (AWB), two of which contained lithium-ion batteries amounting to a total tonnage volume of 221 kg. The balance three house AWB, amounting to 2,232 kg, were declared as radio accessories and chargers. This information had not been disclosed earlier and was not stated in the cargo manifest, as reported by the local media Star.
The Controversy Surrounding the Batteries
According to Malaysian company NNR Global Logistics, the batteries formed only a small part of a “consolidated” shipment weighing 2.453 tonnes. Although the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) said the batteries weighed 221 kg, a company spokesman said they weighed less than 200kg. However, he did not disclose what the remaining 2.253 tonnes of cargo was, citing ongoing investigations and legal restrictions.
Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya announced on 24th March4 that 200kg of lithium-ion batteries were on board the plane and that they were packed safely. The preliminary report released by Malaysian authorities on the missing Boeing 777-200 showed that NNR Global shipped 133 pieces of one item weighing 1.99 tonnes and 67 pieces of another item weighing 463kg for a total weight of 2.453 tonnes. However, the number of batteries or their weight was not specified. The manifest came with an instruction that it should be handled with care and that flammability hazards exist. The manifest showed that the batteries were from NNR Global.
NNR Global is located at the Dis3plex Free Commercial Zone at the Airfreight Forwarders Warehousing Cargo Complex, less than 100 metres from the Penang International Airport, and is guarded by the police, with only those with passes allowed entry. The package was meant for NNR Global Logistics (Beijing) Co Ltd, but a company named JHJ International Transportation Co Ltd, Beijing Branch, was to collect the cargo on its behalf.
The essential record of the batteries in the shipment aboard Flight 370 begins the day before departure, 7th March, 2014. According to a report by the government of Malaysia, the “fresh” single cells making up the batteries were manufactured at a Motorola Solutions plant in Bayan Lepas, an industrial centre 215 miles northwest of Kuala Lumpur. On 7th March, batteries for mobile phones were assembled by combining two of the small single cells for each phone. On 8th March, the assembled batteries were trucked to Kuala Lumpur and loaded along with the rest of the cargo of the 777.
The batteries did not undergo safety checks after assembly, although they were “inspected physically”, and the shipment was not designated as “dangerous goods” because the packaging met the current lax international guidelines for the shipment of the batteries by air.
The aviation industry has been grappling with the issue of the safety of lithium-ion batteries for some time. In 2013, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a safety alert warning airlines about the dangers of shipping lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes. The alert followed several incidents where lithium-ion batteries had overheated and caused fires.
In 2016, the FAA banned the shipment of lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) followed suit, issuing a new regulation banning the shipment of lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes.
Motorola Solutions
Motorola Solutions is a company that specialises in manufacturing two-way radios and public safety radio systems for first responders and law enforcement. The company also provides software packages for command centres, mapping, and drone surveillance. Additionally, it manufactures body cameras under the Watchguard Video brand for law enforcement and products geared towards private business and security surveillance under the Avigilon brand.
On 3rd August, 2020, Motorola Solutions acquired the Californian-based video security brand, Pelco, for US$110 million in cash.
Motorola Solutions began trading as a separate independent company on 4th January, 2011, under the NYSE symbol MSI. In April 2011, Motorola Solutions completed the sale of its cellular infrastructure business to Nokia Siemens Networks for US$975 million in cash. As part of the transaction, approximately 6,900 employees were transferred to Nokia Siemens Networks.
In 2011, Chinese telecommunications company Huawei and Motorola Solutions settled their intellectual property disputes. The Chinese company sued Motorola, alleging that the sale of its cellular infrastructure business to Nokia Siemens would lead to the transfer of Huawei trade secrets to a major rival. The two companies have since agreed to settle all litigation between them, and Motorola is now allowed to pass commercial agreements and confidential information originating from Huawei to Nokia Siemens for a fee.
Meanwhile, Motorola Mobility LLC, marketed as Motorola, is an American consumer electronics manufacturer primarily producing smartphones and other mobile devices running Android. It is a subsidiary of the Chinese multinational technology company Lenovo. Motorola Mobility was formed on 4th January, 2011, after a split of Motorola into two separate companies, with Motorola Mobility assuming the company’s consumer-oriented product lines, including its mobile phone business, cable modems, and pay television set-top boxes. On 30th October, 2014, Google sold off Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for approximately US$2.91 billion, including US$1.41 billion paid at close: US $660 million in cash and US$750 million in Lenovo ordinary shares. The remaining US$1.5 billion was paid in the form of a three-year promissory note. After the purchase, Google maintained ownership of the vast majority of the Motorola Mobility patent portfolio, including current patent applications and invention disclosures, while Lenovo received a license to the portfolio of patents and other intellectual property. Additionally, Lenovo received over 2,000 patent assets, as well as the Motorola Mobility brand and trademark portfolio.
Lithium-ion batteries have become increasingly popular in military applications due to their high energy density, lightweight design, and long life. Many countries, including China, have been investing heavily in developing and adopting new technologies for their military, and lithium batteries are one such technology that is widely used in various military applications. Meanwhile, lithium batteries are found in nearly every weapon system used by the U.S. Department of Defence, particularly for portable equipment.
The fact that the batteries on board MH370 did not undergo normal security screening raises concerns. There were wild theories which also suggested that the batteries bound for Beijing were for military purposes, which the U.S. might want to intercept and destroy.
It is worth noting that Bloomberg reported in 2019 that Huawei has been accused of collaborating with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on projects spanning artificial intelligence to radio communications. The U.S. has also accused Huawei of building “back doors” in its routers, switches, and other gear, which could allow China to spy on U.S. communications. Huawei has in return denied any such collaboration or partnership with PLA-affiliated institutions.
Is the U.S. involved?
An independent investigation conducted by French journalists and investigators suggests that the US military may have played a role in the incident.
The Cargo Mystery
According to French journalist Florence de Changy, who spent years investigating the MH370 incident, the cargo carried by the plane included 2.5 tons of unscanned electronic devices, including highly sensitive US technology related to surveillance, stealth, and drone technology. The cargo was delivered “under escort” and may have been the reason behind the plane’s mysterious disappearance. Experts alleged that the technology could have been stolen and destined for China, which may have led to the US military’s intervention.
The Alleged U.S. Involvement
Ghyslain Wattrelos, a French engineer who lost his wife and two teenage children in the MH370 tragedy, claims that a U.S. intelligence officer with connections to secret services informed him that “the Americans know full well what happened” to the plane. Wattrelos believes that two American Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes with “phenomenal jamming capabilities” were monitoring the area when the plane vanished from radar. He further added that these planes could have perfectly tracked MH370’s movements and whereabouts, including the location where it crashed.
The U.S. military’s possible intervention could have been to prevent the sensitive U.S. technology from falling into the wrong hands. The French journalist Florence de Changy theorises that the AWACS planes intercepted MH370 and used their jamming capabilities to make the plane disappear from the traffic controller’s radar. She also suggests that the AWACS may have ordered Captain Zaharie to land, which he refused to do, leading to the scramble of fighter jets to take out the plane.
The FBI’s Role
Further speculation arises concerning the FBI’s involvement in the incident. It was discovered that the captain of the plane, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, had rehearsed the plane’s fatal flight on a simulator at his home. Ghyslain Wattrelos claims that the FBI had received the flight simulator data at the time of the plane’s disappearance and never raised the alarm. This lack of action raises suspicions of the FBI’s potential involvement in the incident, and the U.S. government’s possible knowledge of the plane’s fate.
Tomnod satellite image of debris in South China Sea
A volunteer researcher claims to have found the wreckage of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 years ago, but her discovery was reportedly ignored. Cyndi Hendry, who volunteered to assist in the search for the aircraft, believed that she located debris from the plane in the South China Sea just days after its disappearance. However, her findings were dismissed as the search operation was focused on the Indian Ocean.
Hendry, who used satellite images from her former employer Tomnod to search for the wreckage, said that she found what she believed to be evidence of the plane’s debris. She claimed to have discovered the letter ‘M’ on a piece of wreckage, which matched the lettering that would have been on the missing aircraft.
Despite Hendry’s claims, some experts have questioned the validity of her findings. They argue that the debris she discovered may not have been from the missing flight, as no wreckage from MH370 has been found in the South China Sea. They also suggest that the debris could have been from another source, such as military activity in the area.
Several experts have cast doubt on the validity of a Tomnod satellite image that was analysed by Cyndi Hendry, which depicted debris in the South China Sea. The image was not sufficient evidence to prove that the debris belonged to the missing flight MH370, as no debris from the aircraft has yet been discovered in the South China Sea.
It has been reported that the United States military was conducting drills in the South China Sea at the time when the image was captured. This has led some individuals to speculate that in the event that the plane had been shot down by military aircraft and crashed in the region earlier than anticipated, the United States military might have conducted a ‘clean-up’ operation in the area as the Inmarsat records have shown the plane in a different location which created a diversion.
Despite this speculation, it remains unclear as to what exactly occurred to the missing aircraft.
Credit: Netflix
Oil rig worker who claimed to have witnessed the plane catch fire
Meanwhile, a man named Mike McKay has claimed to have witnessed the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 catch fire, potentially providing the last terrifying glimpse of the ill-fated aircraft. McKay, a New Zealander, works as an oil rig worker on the Sona-Mercur rig situated in the Gulf of Thailand, approximately 186 miles southeast of Vung Tau, a Vietnamese coastal town outside of Ho Chi Minh City.
Reportedly, McKay was convinced that he had seen the plane erupt in flames and subsequently sent an email to his employer requesting them to inform the authorities. In the email, he stated, “Gentlemen, I believe I saw the Malaysian Airlines flight come down. The timing is right. I tried to contact Malaysian and Vietnamese officials days ago, but I do not know if the message has been received. I am on the oil ring Songa-Mercur off the coast of Vung Tau. The surface location of the observation is Lat 08 22’ 30.20” N Lat 108 42.22.26” E. I observed (the plane?) burning at high altitude at a compass bearing of 265* to 275*.”
McKay’s location on the Songa-Mercur rig is close to where a Chinese satellite detected a potential crash site. On March 12, McKay further claimed in an email to his employer that he had observed the flames in the sky, which rapidly extinguished. “From when I first saw the burning (plane) until the flames went out (still at high altitude) was 10-15 seconds. There was no lateral movement, so it was either coming toward our location, stationary, or going away from our location. The general position of the observation was perpendicular/southwest of the normal flight paths.”
Vietnamese officials dispatched planes to search the region mentioned by McKay in response to his complaint. However, the search by an aircraft sent by the Vietnamese navy yielded no results. Le Minh Thanh, a Vietnamese naval official, informed the media that the jet searched the region indicated by McKay, but nothing was found.
Are Russian operatives responsible instead?
A theory presented in the second episode of the Netflix series, “The Hijack,” suggests that Russian operatives were responsible for the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. American aviation journalist and long-time MH370 investigator, Jeff Wise, proposed the theory that Russian agents hijacked the plane through the electronic bay, which is accessible via a hatch in the first-class cabin, to distract from the Crimean war. Wise believes that after creating a distraction, a Russian agent gained access to the plane’s flight control system by plugging into its computer. The agent then disabled the plane’s visibility and took control of its direction, heading it northwest towards the deserts of central Kazakhstan.
However, experts have discredited Wise’s theory. Malaysian aviation analyst Sharuji Omar points out that while someone who gains access to the hatch can disable the transponder and communication systems, it is impossible to fly the aircraft from the avionics compartment. In addition, Wise’s colleagues at the Independent Group, a team of international experts investigating the disappearance of MH370, were certain that the plane turned south and not north, as Wise proposed. They also rejected the idea that the Inmarsat data used to locate the flight could be tampered with as easily as Wise suggested.
Wise’s theory faced significant backlash, and he was ultimately removed from the Independent Group. Inmarsat, the satellite company that provided the data used to track the flight, was also surprised by Wise’s suggestion since it was the first time the data had been used to locate a flight. Overall, the theory of Russian involvement in the disappearance of MH370 remains unproven.
Factual errors in the Netflix documentary
Meanwhile, British aerospace engineer Richard Godfrey has identified numerous factual errors in the recent Netflix documentary about the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Mr Godfrey, who has conducted pioneering research on the tracking of MH370 using WSPR technology, has outlined the ten most significant inaccuracies in the programme.
Among these, Mr Godfrey highlights the fact that Inmarsat satellite data is captured and distributed in real-time from the ground station and cannot be manipulated or fabricated in real-time in multiple databases. He also notes that the floating debris from MH370 has been confirmed in numerous cases by part numbers, stencil marks, and other evidence.
Mr Godfrey also refutes the programme’s suggestion that it is possible to fly the aircraft remotely from the Main Equipment Centre (MEC) or to enter the MEC undetected. He points out that the Satellite Data Unit is not housed in the MEC, but in an overhead locker in the aft cabin. Additionally, he notes that if the aircraft had flown to Kazakhstan, it would have been picked up by the military and civilian primary radar systems of several countries.
The documentary also raises suspicions about individuals who have found debris linked to MH370, including Blaine Gibson. Mr Godfrey asserts that Mr Gibson’s extensive travel history and language skills do not prove anything suspicious. Similarly, a Tomnod satellite image of debris in the South China Sea, analysed by Cyndi Hendry, is not proof that the debris was from MH370.
Finally, Mr Godfrey asserts that the detection of the co-pilot’s mobile phone and simultaneous detection of an aircraft without an active transponder by the civilian primary terminal area radar align with the radar trace of MH370 up until both transponders were switched off. According to available information, the mobile phone belonging to the copilot of MH370 was detected by a tower at the BBFARLIM2 base station in Bandar Baru Air Itam, Penang Island, at 17:52:27 UTC. Additionally, a civilian primary terminal area radar for Penang Airport and RMAF Butterworth Airbase detected an aircraft without an active transponder at the same time. The raw data from both the mobile phone detection and civilian radar have been obtained. The radar trace indicates that the aircraft turned back over Malaysia and corresponds with the radar trace of MH370 until both transponders were deactivated.
Mr Godfrey claims he has narrowed down the search area for the aircraft to just 115 square miles. He believes he has now pinpointed the wrecked aircraft’s location to 33.177°S 95.300°E. Marine robotics company Ocean Infinity announced at the 8th anniversary of the disappearance that they’ll start a fresh search early 2023, in conjunction with Mr Godfrey. Mr Godfrey thinks the wreckage may have been hidden beneath sediment that covered the craft after being moved around by volcanic activity underwater. The CEO of Ocean Infinity plans to meet with the Malaysian Minister for Transport and offer a “no find, no fee” deal.
The documentary has no doubt sparked a renewed interest in the conspiracy theories that have emerged since the disappearance of the aircraft. Some of these theories suggest that the Malaysian government and the airline were involved in a cover-up, while others propose that the plane was hijacked by a foreign government or that it was shot down by a military aircraft.
While these theories are intriguing, they lack concrete evidence and are often based on speculation and hearsay because if it is indeed a high-level cover-up, the authorities would have left no stone unturned to destroy all possible trails.
The official investigation, which was led by the Malaysian government and involved the participation of several international agencies, concluded that the aircraft most likely ended its flight in the southern Indian Ocean. The “factual conclusion” was based on satellite data and other evidence, including debris that was found on the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean.