Friday 21 April 2017

Flight MH370 all you need to know

MYSTERY REMAINS 

What happened to flight MH370 and where is the missing Malaysia Airlines plane? All you need to know

The whereabouts of the Boeing 777 has remained a mystery since 2014 and now the search to find it has been called off



The plane was lost with 239 people on board. File picture
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Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing on March 8, 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board


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Hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is called off

But, months after the hunt to find was called off - after almost three years - Australian scientists have said they believe it lies north of the former search zone.



Here is all you need to know:

Why was the search called off?

The missing aircraft, which was carrying 239 passengers and crew, vanished in March 2014 - with researchers saying they had been looking in the wrong place.

Despite experts never having found the body of any of its passengers, the hunt for MH370 was set to end after nearly three years.

On January 17 it was officially announced as over by officials in Australia.

Only 33 pieces of wreckage were found during the hunt, which saw investigators searching the deep sea areas near to the suspected crash site, and scanning the water by air.

News that the search teams have abandoned their mission saw a series of conspiracy theories resurface – so here are the key facts about the missing plane.

On the third anniversary of when MH370 went missing, the Australian government minister in charge of the suspended seabed search for the Malaysia Airlines jet told victims' families and friends at an anniversary church service that he remained hopeful that the plane would be found.

Darren Chester, minister for infrastructure and transport, said: “While to date we have been unsuccessful, we remain hopeful that at some stage in the future, there will be a breakthrough, the aircraft will be found, and we will be able to answer more of your questions.”

The Malaysian Government added: “We remain ever hopeful that we will be able to find the answers we seek when the credible evidence becomes available."

What happened on March 8, 2014?

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur carrying 239 people on board.

They 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.

The plane had recorded 7,525 take-offs and landings as well as 53,420 flight hours when it made its last journey.

The MH370 Boeing was seen for the last time on military radar at 2.14am, close to the south of Phuket island 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".
Half an hour later, the airline lost contact with the plane. It had been due to land at around 6.30am.

The search and rescue: What happened next?


Evidence from a military radar suggested the plane had suddenly changed course.

Dozens of rescue planes and ships moved their search efforts to the sea west of Malaysia before the country's Prime Minister Najib Razak claimed MH370 had been deliberately diverted by someone on board.

He added that they believed it had continued flying for more than six hours after losing contact with air control.

In the end, the search spanned to almost three million square mile - which is 1.5 per cent of the earth's surface.




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MH370: New items wash ashore on Reunion

A week after disappearing satellite images of possible debris appeared to suggest that the plane crashed in the Indian Ocean, south west of Australia.

But the search for the black box in this area was abandoned after nothing was found.

Now it seems that the search took place in the wrong location.

An international investigation revealed that the search area needs to be extended to an untouched 25,000 kilometre square area in the southern Indian Ocean.

In April 2017 report by Australia's national science body CSIRO supported the theory that the plane's wreckage was north of the original search area.

the report used data and analysis from ocean testing of an actual Boeing 777 flaperon.

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In total 1.5 per cent of the earth's surface has been searched for the missing plane

When was debris from the plane discovered?


On July 29, 2015 - more than a year after the plane's disappearance - debris was found by volunteers cleaning a beach in St Andre, Reunion.

A week later investigators confirmed the debris did belong to MH370, but it did not help to locate the plane as it had drifted in the water.

On October 7, 2017  it was announced thattwo wing flaps found in Mauritius came from missing flight.

Some shocked relatives found it difficult to believe that this was genuinely debris from the plane.

They said they think their loved ones are still alive and are being held at "an undisclosed location for unknown reasons."
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A map showing pieces of debris scattered from the Malaysia Airlines jet that went missing in 2014

What has MH370's debris revealed?


The wing flaps showed that the plane was not in a landing position when it plunged into the ocean, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said.

If the pilot was planning a controlled ditching of the plane, the wing flaps would have been configured for landing.

As this was not the case, a report by the bureau concluded that the aircraft appeared to be "out of control" during its final journey.



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Flight MH370 was not in a controlled descent when it plunged into the Indian Ocean

Chief search operator Peter Foley said: "You can never be 100%. We are very reluctant to express absolute certainty.

"You can draw your own conclusions as to whether that means someone was in control."

If someone had been controlling the plane it could have glided much further than thought - meaning rescuers could have been searching the wrong area.

More than 20 bits of debris suspected or confirmed to be from MH370 have washed ashore on coastlines throughout the Indian Ocean.

However, a deep sea sonar search for the main underwater wreckage found nothing.
This shows a trailing edge section of Boeing 777 left, outboard flap, originating from the Malaysian Airlines aircraft
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This shows a trailing edge section of Boeing 777 left, outboard flap, originating from the Malaysian Airlines aircraft

What are the theories about the fate of MH370?

1) Russian president Vladimir Putin was accused of being involved in the hijacking of MH370. by a US Science writer.
Jeff Wise claimed Putin "spoofed" the plane's navigation data so it could fly unnoticed into Baikonur Cosmodrome  so he could "hurt the West".
2) French ex-airline director Marc Dugain accused the US military of shooting down the plane because they feared it had been hijacked.
A book called Flight MH370 – The Mystery also suggested that it had been shot down accidentally by US-Thai joint jet fighters suring a military exercise and covered it up.
3) Malaysia police chief Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar suggested that the crash could have been suicide.
He said that someone on-board could have taken out a large life insurance package before getting on the plane, so they could treat their family or pay back money they owed.