NewsLaunch or intentional crash? - MH370 is a mystery

Launch or intentional crash? – MH370 is a mystery

The disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 is one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history. Even when the search is over, experts put the pieces of the puzzle together – and new theories emerge.

Kuala Lumpur – Almost 3,000 days have passed since flight MH370 en route from Malaysia to China suddenly disappeared from radar screens in the middle of the night. Eight years of wild speculation, but without any concrete answers.

Relatives and friends of the 239 people on board continue to wait to get clarity about this dark chapter in aviation history and to say goodbye to their loved ones. So far in vain. After all, there are new theses before the anniversary on Tuesday. The theories, put forward in a book and a documentary recently broadcast by Sky News Australia, have one thing in common: they are disturbing.

a review

The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 is en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. On March 8, 2014, at 1:21 a.m., it disappeared from radar screens. Why remains a mystery. The last words from the experienced captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah from the cockpit: “Good night, Malaysian Three Seven Zero.” A satellite then receives so-called ping signals from the machine for seven hours. It takes about that long for the tank to be empty.

Later, some debris from the aircraft washed ashore on coasts along the Indian Ocean. However, there is no trace of the fuselage of the plane, the occupants and the flight recorder. Malaysia, China and Australia launched a two-year underwater search that ended in January 2017 with no results. A search by the US company “Ocean Infinity” also yielded no results. However, it is still assumed that the Boeing crashed into the sea and is now lying on the ground somewhere at a great depth.

Various Theories

Various attempts to explain the mystery of the MH370 have been circulating on the Internet for years. There is speculation about a kidnapping, the suicide of a pilot, a fire with toxic gases on board that rendered everyone unconscious. There is also a persistent rumor that the plane could have been shot down by the military on purpose or by mistake. Evidence in all cases: none.

A book by the French journalist Florence de Changy now brings the US military and a spy device into play. In January, Ullstein published her captivating report “Disappeared – What Really Happened to Flight MH370?” in German. The Asia-Pacific correspondent for the newspaper “Le Monde” traveled to China and the Maldives for the research and spoke to relatives, eyewitnesses and diplomatic circles in Malaysia and the USA, among others.

Their conclusion: A third party could have intervened – because of possible high-quality espionage technology of American origin in the cargo of the machine. “A device that the Chinese desperately wanted to get their hands on,” she writes. When the US noticed the theft and found out that the valuable device was already on its way to Beijing, they saw red.

The US military may have accompanied the plane with interceptors and eventually shot it down, the author concludes. She probably fell into the sea north of Vietnam. Whether it was a “gross mistake” or a “last ditch attempt to prevent the plane and its special cargo from falling into the hands of the Chinese” remains open. But she also does not rule out a shooting down by China “in this highly sensitive region”.

documentary

In Australia, meanwhile, the new documentary “MH370: The Final Search” was presented by Sky News presenter and investigative journalist Peter Stefanovic at the end of January. In it, aviation experts say a 22-minute circular loop in the Boeing’s flight path, discovered last year, could hold the key to solving the mystery.

There was no reason for Captain Shah to be circling off the coast of Sumatra unless there were “possible negotiations” between him and someone else during that time, aviation author and former pilot Mike Glynn says in the documentary. “My theory has always been that the captain is responsible.” Glynn believes the pilot may have caused the crash out of anger at a condemnation of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim the day before, to whom he is said to be distantly related. However, other experts question this motive.

Meanwhile, Peter Stefanovic is convinced that thanks to the new findings and modern technologies, the search area can be limited to a few hundred square kilometers of ocean. “Do you think MH370 will ever be found?” a Sky News Australia presenter asked Stefanovic in an interview. “I think so,” he replies. “But what it takes is money, interest and the will of the Malaysian government.” They have always emphasized that if there is “new and credible information” they will resume the search. Stefanovic thinks that this point has now come. dpa

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