Malaysia greenlights renewed search for Flight MH370: A relook at what exactly happened on that fateful day

Flight MH370 search resumes after a decade of disappearance.

‘Good night, Malaysia, Three Seven Zero’ these were the last words of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 before the flight disappeared into thin air. The Malaysian government on Thursday has given final approval for a marine robotics company to renew the search for the missing airlines to uncover details on what exactly unfolded on that fateful day.

The Malaysian cabinet has approved the terms of a “no-find, no-fee” agreement with Texas-based Ocean Infinity to restart the seabed search in a new 15,000-square-kilometer (5,800-square-mile) area of the ocean. According to the agreement, Ocean Infinity will receive $70 million only if wreckage is found.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke stated that the government is committed to providing closure for the families of the MH370 passengers. He previously mentioned that this search would last 18 months.

With the government greenlighting the process for a significant finding, we attempt a comprehensive relook at what happened to  Flight MH370:

On March 8, 2014, Flight 370 took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, scheduled to reach Beijing. It never made it. The flight had 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board, and authorities have found no trace of them.

The plane was last tracked by military radar as it made a turn over the Andaman Sea before it vanished. Satellite data suggested the plane continued flying for hours, possibly until it ran out of fuel.

The flight disappeared from radar less than 40 minutes after takeoff. Over the years, theories about the plane's mysterious disappearance have only grown more complex. Did Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah commit suicide, or was the plane hijacked? Let’s explore some of the theories that have emerged.

The plane crash

Over the years, pieces of debris believed to be from MH370 have washed up along the Indian Ocean, with the first piece found on Réunion Island in 2015.

Other pieces were discovered in places like Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar. By December 2016, 33 pieces had been found, but only three were confirmed to belong to MH370, suggesting the plane likely crashed into the Indian Ocean.

A 2018 Malaysian government report stated that no malfunctions or defects in the aircraft were found that could explain its disappearance.

Pilot committed 'murder-suicide'?

One theory, explored in the Netflix documentary MH370: The Plane That Disappeared, suggests that pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah may have deliberately diverted MH370 in a murder-suicide plot.

His flight simulator showed a similar route, fueling this idea. However, the official investigation found no signs of foul play by the pilot, stating that his background, training, and mental health were all thoroughly checked.

Exploring the mysterious cargo angle:

Another theory suggests that the plane was shot down because of the mysterious cargo it was carrying. Official documents released by the airline nearly two months after the incident showed that the flight carried 2,453 kg of lithium-ion batteries.

The airline later issued a statement acknowledging that the batteries were only a small part of the total shipment. The remaining 2.2 tonnes of cargo were identified as "radio accessories and chargers."

The role of US military?

Marc Dugain, former director of Proteus Airlines, proposed that the U.S. military shot down MH370 to prevent it from crashing near the American military base on Diego Garcia. Dugain suggests this was then covered up.

Is the hijacking conjecture true?

In the official government report, the theory of third-party involvement was considered, pointing out that the plane made a manual turnback. However, the report emphasized that no terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the disappearance.

Another theory suggests that MH370 was hijacked by Russian operatives to divert attention from Russia's occupation of Crimea. This theory gained traction after another Malaysian Airlines flight was downed by a Russian missile in 2014.