Theories behind MH370 disappearance

Missing plane

Ever since Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared over the South China Sea on its journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing various theories have been put out as to what happened to the plane. Here we look at some of those theories about the mystery of flight MH370.

Ever since Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared over the South China Sea on its journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing various theories have been put out as to what happened to the plane. Here we look at some of those theories about the mystery of flight MH370.

Fire on board

One of the most recent theories on the disappearance came from former pilot Chris Goodfellow, who said the sudden change in direction and loss of communication was a result of a fire on board the plane. The fire damaged the communications and the change in direction was made to head to Langkawi the nearest runway that the plane could land on, but the plane ran out of fuel and crashed before getting there.

Pilot hijack

Pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah has been touted as a hijacker who switched off the communications and took the plane off on his own course. Malaysian police are investigating Shah who has been labelled a "political fanatic" and police are also looking into a flight simulator found on his home computer.

Pilot suicide

Some claim that the pilots deliberately crashed the plane into the ocean. Two girls, pictured here with co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid on the right, claimed to have spent all of a previous flight in the cockpit with Hamid, which is strictly forbidden by the airline, raising questions about his reputation. The final communication from the plane was Hamid saying, "All right, good night".

Hijack

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak said at a press conference one week after the disappearance that the movement of the aircraft was consistent with a "deliberate action" by someone diverting the plane from its flight path. He added that a searching in the South China Sea would be suspended, increasing speculation that the plane was hijacked.

Cyber hijack

Was MH370 the first flight to be "cyber hijacked"? An anti-terrorist expert in the UK claimed it would be possible to hack into the plane's flight management system and change its speed, altitude and direction. Dr Sally Leivesley added hackers could also land or crash the plane.

Bomb on board

Officials have said that the only cargo on board flight MH370 was a four-ton consignment of fruit. This has led to people claiming that it would have been easy to hide a bomb in this cargo and police are now investigating whether a bomb caused the disappearance.

Meteor strike

The fact that flight MH370 seemingly disappeared without a trace has caused all manner of speculation regarding an instant catastrophe. One possible explanation out forward is the plane was hit by a large meteor causing it to disintegrate immediately.

Freescale espionage

Freescale Semiconductor makes powerful microchips and had released a new electronic warfare gadget for military radar systems a week before MH370's disappearance. The company had 20 "very important people" on the flight triggering industrial espionage and "cloaking technology" theories.

Shot down

Whether it was part of a terrorist plot, Freescale espionage or action by North Korea, some people have claimed the reason communications were suddenly lost and that no wreckage has been found is because of a large explosion as a result of a missile strike.