MYSTERY SOLVED?
MH370 final report reveals doomed jet was deliberately turned around and may have been hijacked
THE final report into vanished flight MH370 has revealed that the doomed jet was deliberately turned off course and may have been hijacked by a "third party."
A 495 page report by the Malaysian government shows the aircraft, which went missing on March 8, 2014, was under manual control when it deviated before plunging into the Indian Ocean killing 239 people.
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One of the theories is that Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah deliberately downed the plane, which was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, in an act of murder-suicide.
However today’s report by the official safety investigation team has not assigned blame to any individuals and has not been able to determine why the plane changed course and eventually crashed - leaving the mystery unsolved.
The Malaysian government will only re-open their investigation if new evidence emerges.
Chief investigator Dr Kok Soo Chon told reporters that his team believe the Malaysian Airlines plane was under manual control and was intentionally downed.
He said: ";We cannot establish if the aircraft was flown by anyone other than the pilot."
“We can also not exclude the possibility that there’s unlawful interference by a third party", reports .
SIX BOMBSHELL FINDINGS FROM THE FINAL REPORT ON MISSING MH370
- Document shows the doomed aircraft was deliberately turned off course and plunged into Indian Ocean
- Chief investigator Dr Kok Soo Chon says team cannot rule out ‘third party’ hijacking the aircraft
- Investigators have concluded that the autopilot on the plane had ‘to be disengaged’
- Dr Kok said there is 'no evidence' that control of the jet was taken over by remote hackers
- The team were satisfied with the background, training and mental health of the pilot
- The report does not determine why the commercial airliner changed course and eventually crashed
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Speaking about why the aircraft deviated thousands of miles from its course, he said: “The autopilot has to be disengaged,” reports .
He continued: “It has to be on manual. We have carried out seven simulator tests, flight simulators, three at high and four at low speed and we found the turn was made indeed under a manual, not autopilot.”
Dr Kok said the investigators examined the history of the pilot and the first officer and were satisfied with their background, training and mental health.
A 2017 report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau showed that pilot Zaharie had used his own flight simulator six weeks before the crash to fly a route which was "initially similar" to the one taken by MH370.
However, Malaysian authorities concluded that the flight simulations were game-related and that there was was no unusual activities on the simulator.
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The final report today said that the co-pilot's flight simulator was seized from his home but that nothing suspicious was found on it.
Kok said his team “couldn’t find any flaws with the aircraft” and that “everything seemed OK” with it.
He added that the cause of the disappearance cannot be determined until the plane and its black boxes are found, saying "the answer can only be conclusive if the wreckage is found."
The report said there was no sign the plane was evading radar detection or that it was taken over by remote control.
No irregularities were found in the on-board cargo, which included items like lithium batteries and about 2,500 kgs of mangosteen which is a tropical fruit.
The independent investigation report highlighted shortcomings in the government's response.
Dr Kok said the probe showed lapses by air traffic control, including a failure to swiftly initiate an emergency response and monitor radar continuously, relying too much on information from Malaysia Airlines and not getting in touch with the military for help.
Family members of those on board the missing MH370 flight, believe there's nothing new in the final report into the tragedy
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The plane is presumed to have crashed in the far southern Indian Ocean.
However, the report said there was insufficient information to determine if the aircraft broke up in the air or during impact with the ocean.
Scattered pieces of debris that washed ashore on African beaches and Indian Ocean islands indicated a distant remote stretch of the ocean where the plane likely crashed.
But a government search by Australia, Malaysia and China failed to pinpoint a location.
And a second, private search by US company Ocean Infinity that finished at the end of May also found no sign of the wreckage.
Hard copies of the long-awaited and unedited report were distributed to families of those on-board the flight earlier today.
Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the team also briefed relatives of the victims on the report at the transport ministry.
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However, next of kin looked distraught after receiving the report while insisting the document offered them “no closure”, reports.
Many of the heartbroken relatives reportedly said some of the information contained in the report was incorrect.
Others reported that while there were no major surprises the report contained more details as to the extent in which Air Traffic Control allegedly “messed up”.
Captain Zaharie's friend Peter Chong, who is also a pilot, said in a Facebook post that he feels disappointment over the report and the lack of closure for the grieving relatives.
He wrote: "I feel sad for the Next of Kin (NOK) of MH370. After all the hype and expectations, the Report released brings forth nothing new.
"They are no where near to closure.
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"Just another round in the emotional rollercoaster ride.
"I am happy to note there is no blame apportioned to anyone.
"However, there is also no answers as to what happened to the flight."
Earlier, Mr Loke told reporters that “every word recorded by the investigation team (has been) tabled in this report”.
“It (was) tabled fully, without any editing, additions, or redactions,” he said.
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Flight MH370: Investigators study pilots' background
Grace Nathan, whose mother was on the flight, responded to the release of the report on Facebook. “Just because they call it a final report doesn’t mean it’s over for the next of kin,” she wrote today.
“The search must go on. There can be no final report until MH370 is found.”
On May 29, Malaysia called off a three-month search by Ocean Infinity, which spanned 43,243 sq miles in the southern Indian Ocean and ended with no significant findings.
WHICH ARE THE MAIN THEORIES OF MH370 DISSAPEARANCE?
- Pilot or co-pilot suicide: Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah may have intentionally downed the plan in an act of murder-suicide. The report shows the aircraft was deliberately turned off course but investigators say they found nothing irregular with Shah’s background, training and mental health. MH370 may have also been downed by the co-pilot. Fariq Abdul Hamid was on his first flight on a 777 as a fully approved first officer.
- Hijacking: Chief investigator says they cannot rule out a ‘third party’ hijacking the plane it. However, no terror group has claimed responsibility for the crash and there is no evidence that the aircraft was being controlled ‘remotely’. Also the report shows that none of the passengers had experience of flying a plane
- Fire or fumes: One theory is that transporting lithium-ion batteries could have caused the fire. These batteries, which are used in cell phones and laptops may have exploded or have been set alight. A haul of tropical fruit which was off-season could have reacted with the batteries – causing them to ignite or create hazardous fumes
- Hypoxia: Passengers and crew would have been incapacitated by an unknown hypoxia event – which is a deficiency of oxygen in the cabin. This theory claims that captain Zaharie would have been unconscious for hours.
What happened to flight MH370?
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur and was heading to Beijing with 239 people on board.
Passengers included Chinese calligraphers, a couple on their way home to their young sons after a long-delayed honeymoon and a construction worker who hadn't been home in a year.
But at 12.14am on March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines lost contact with MH370 close to Phuket island, Thailand, in the Strait of Malacca.
Before that, Malaysian authorities believe the last words heard from the plane, from either the pilot or co-pilot, was "Good night Malaysian three seven zero".
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Satellite "pings" from the aircraft suggest it continued flying for around seven hours when the fuel would have run out.
Experts have calculated the most likely crash site around 1,000 miles west of Perth, Australia.
But a huge search of the seabed failed to find any wreckage - and there are a number of alternative theories as to its fate.
Who were the pilot and co-pilot?
Malaysian captain Zaharie Amad Shah was flying MH370 when it disappeared.
Shah, born July 31, 1961, was described as a veteran pilot who joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981.
A father of three, passionate cook and keen fisherman, Shah lived with his wife in a luxury gated community where he was said to have built his own flight simulator.
In the wake of the plane's disappearance, rumours surfaced claiming his wife had moved out of their home.
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The co-pilot was Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, who was on his first flight on a 777 as a fully approved first officer.
He had flown five times before with a "check co-pilot" overseeing him.
But he had 2,763 hours experience flying other jets before moving to the larger aircraft.
Fariq was reportedly planning to marry his girlfriend.
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