IN the 18 days since the plane disappeared, many theories have been put forward as to what caused Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 to crash into the Southern Indian Ocean.
Several theories have been put forward about MH370 [GETTY]
Did one of the pilots commit suicide?
One theory is the plane was deliberately flown off course by one of the pilots on a “suicide mission.”
An
official source said because of the plane’s drastic change in course it
was unlikely to have been caused by a plane malfunction or on board
fire.
He said: “It just does not hinge together. [The
investigators] have gone through processes you do to get the plane where
it flew to for eight hours. They point to it being flown in a rational
way.”
“This has been a deliberate act by someone on board who had to have had the detailed knowledge to do what was done.
“Nothing is emerging that points to motive.”
Attention
has turned to 53-year-old pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmed Shah, whose
marriage to Faizah Khan, the mother of his three children, was
reportedly becoming more fractured.
Was there an on board emergency?
The
crew and passengers could have become incapacitated by a sudden
decompression, due to a drop in altitude caused by an on board
emergency.
An official close to the investigation revealed that the Boeing 777 plummeted more than 23,000ft after it changed course.
This
would explain why the plane flew on for several hours before plunging
into the sea when it ran out of fuel while all on board remained
unconscious.
US aviation analyst Mary Schiavo said: “It
explains so many pieces that didn’t fit together before. Now, if we
have a scenario where something happened, the plane made a dramatic turn
and dropped from 35,000ft to 12,000ft.
“This scenario
would fit what a pilot would do in the event of a catastrophic on-board
event, such as a rapid decompression, a fire, an explosion.
“That’s
what you would have to do, descend, get down and turn around and try to
get back to an airport that could accommodate an ailing plane.”
Did someone hijack the plane?
Some believe the plane was hijacked – either by a rogue crew member or one of the passengers.
American
intelligence agents are urging the Malaysian authorities to look into
the backgrounds of Captain Zaharie Ahmed Shah and his co-pilot Fariq
Abdul Hamid, 27.
One source said: “There seems to be nothing in the life of Fariq Hamid to suggest a motive for hijacking.
“The personal life of Zaharie Shah, however, is far more complex and is in the process of being unravelled.”
It has emerged was a supporter of a political opposition leader recently jailed in Malaysia.
Shah’s wife faces questioning in an investigation supported by the FBI as the search for the plane enters its third week.
Police
are also examining reports that he received a two-minute phone call
from a mystery woman shortly before MH370 took off, using a mobile
number obtained using a false identity.
The SIM card
was bought in Kuala Lumpur – despite it being a requirement in Malaysia
for people to fill out a form detailing their identity card or passport
number when purchasing one.
A flight simulator seized from the pilot’s home is still being examined
Two Iranian Asylum-seekers who bordered the plane on stolen passports have also come under scrutiny.
Pouria
Nour Mohammad Merhdad, 19, and Delavar Seyed Mohammad Erza, 29, are
believed to have purchased the stolen passports in Kuala Lumpur.
CCTV footage realised of them appeared to have been doctored, so they had different upper bodies and faces but different legs.
Malaysian
police admitted the video still of one man had been placed on top of
the other when they were photocopied and said: "It was not done with
malice or to mislead."
The plane came down in the Southern Indian Ocean. It is not known why [REUTERS]
Could an on board fire have incapacitated the the passengers and crew?
Some have put forward the possibility that a fire broke out on board the aircraft, and those on board were overcome by smoke.
Aviation
expert Chris Goodfellow believes speculation about the plane’s
communication systems being turned off may have been the result of
pilots reacting to an electrical fire.
He said: “For me the loss of transponders and communications makes perfect sense.
“There
was most likely a fire or electrical fire. In the case of fire the
first response is to pull all the main busses and restore circuits one
by one until you have isolated the bad one.
He said that despite heroic attempts by the pilots to land the plane, they were most likely beaten by smoke.
He
said: “What I think happened is that they were overcome by smoke and
the plane just continued on the heading, probably on George (autopilot)
until either fuel exhaustion or fire destroyed the control surfaces and
it crashed.
Did something happen in the cargo hold?
There has been speculation a bomb could have been hidden in crates of mangosteens the Boeing 777 was carrying.
A
source in Kuala Lumpur said it would not be difficult to “bury” some
kind of explosive material inside the fruit, particularly if it was in
the centre of a crate.
Once concealed, the device could
then be detonated by someone on board the plane when it was in the air
using a device such as a mobile phone.
Others have looked to a a cargo of lithium batteries on board the plane.
Malaysia
Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari had denied the aircraft was carrying any
dangerous items before it emerged it had been loaded with the batteries.
He
said the authorities were investigating the cargo, but did not regard
the batteries as hazardous - despite the law dictating they are classed
as such - because they were packaged according to safety regulations.
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