The plane vanished into the Indian Ocean 8 years ago. Officials on the ground know more about the biggest mystery in aviation than they are willing to admit.
On March 8, 2014, at 12:42 A.M., a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER took off from Kuala Lumpur and headed toward Beijing, ascending to its allotted cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. Malaysia Airlines is abbreviated as ‘MH’ and 370 was the flight number. The jet was piloted by Fariq Hamid, the First Officer. He was 27 years old at the time. This was his final training flight; he would shortly be fully qualified. His instructor was the pilot in command, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, who at 53, was one of Malaysia Airlines' most senior captains. There were 10 Malaysian flight attendants in the cabin. They were responsible for 227 people, including 5 children. The majority of the passengers were Chinese; the rest came from Indonesia, Australia, India, France, the United States of America, Iran, Ukraine, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Russia, and Taiwan, in decreasing order.
Captain Zaharie handled the radios in the cockpit that night, while First Officer Fariq piloted the jet. At 1:08 A.M., the aircraft passed the Malaysian shoreline and began its journey over the South China Sea toward Vietnam. 11 minutes later, as the plane approached a waypoint near the border with Vietnam, the controller at Kuala Lumpur Centre radioed, "Malaysian three-seven-zero, contact Ho Chi Minh one-two-zero-decimal-nine. Good night." "Good night," Zaharie replied, "Three-seven-zero Malaysian." He did not receive a reply, but the transmission otherwise sounded normal. It was the last the world heard from MH370. The Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre in Kuala Lumpur should have been notified within an hour of the disappearance. It still hadn't happened by 2:30 A.M. At 6:32 A.M., an emergency response was finally launched after 4 hours.
The plane should have landed in Beijing at that point. The initial focus of the search was in the South China Sea, between Malaysia and Vietnam. It was a collaborative international effort involving 34 ships and 28 aircraft from 7 different countries. Nonetheless, MH370 was nowhere in sight.
The mystery surrounding MH370 has been the subject of ongoing investigation and, at times, feverish public speculation.The idea that a sophisticated machine, complete with modern instruments and redundant communications, could simply vanish appears inconceivable. It is difficult to permanently delete an email, and living off the grid is nearly impossible even when done on purpose. A Boeing 777 is designed to have constant electronic access. The plane's disappearance has sparked a slew of theories. Many are ridiculous. All are given life by the fact that commercial aeroplanes do not simply vanish in this day and age. This one did, and more than eight years later, it is still unclear exactly where it is.
Bibliography:
LEMMINO. "The Vanishing of Flight 370" YouTube. 14 Apr, 2019. Video. 30 Jul, 2022. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd2KEHvK-q8>
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