Rogue pilots did not bring down MH370

Two years after MH370 went missing, key questions remain unanswered: Where is the plane and what happened in the cockpit on March 8, 2014? Amid the conspiracy theories, there are two main views on what might have happened. The first suggests that the captain hijacked the plane and flew all 238 other people on board to their deaths by crashing in the Indian Ocean. The second view, which I subscribe to, is that there was some form of mechanical fault. Under that scenario, the pilots tried to get back to safety, but became incapacitated and the plane flew on; or that the pilots are heroes, and knowing they were doomed, set a course to avoid ground casualties and died after the plane crashed.

The simple answer as to which is true: We don’t know. The pilot theory blames Captain Zaharie Shah. I don’t agree. Pilot suicide is incredibly rare. The most recent was the crash of Germanwings 9525 in March 2015, where the first officer, Andreas Lubitz locked the captain out of the cock- pit and sent the plane crashing into the French Alps.

Whether premeditated or not, the deranged mind doesn’t spend hours plotting flight plans, working out ways to disconnect communications, and then try to avoid military radars. No, they take over the aircraft and crash the plane.

With pilot suicide cases, we tend to find out the reasons quickly. With Germanwings, we found out the psychological and medical issues suffered by Lubitz. He had been doctor shopping in the weeks before the crash and was researching online suicide methods.

With MH370, we have no real evidence. We have rumours, gossip and a few circumstantial facts. Let us not forget Captain Zaharie was a pilot with Malaysian airlines since 1981. He was a captain on the 777 for more than 15 years. He was an exceptionally experienced pilot who was paired with 27-year-old first officer Fariq Ab Hamid. Hamid was transitioning to the 777 fleet and was engaged to be married to a pilot.

The Factual Report on the plane’s dis- appearance dismisses these accusations. It says, “the captain’s ability to handle stress at work and home was good”. The Malaysians might want to put the “best face on” to protect the reputation of their country’s pilots. But we have to take the report at face value. In the absence of evidence, alternative theories have flourished. Like how the captain circled his home island of Penang for “one last look,” or how the plane flew at different altitudes and routes to avoid radar.

There was no circling of Penang and there was no major change in altitude — the Malaysian radar turned out to be wrong. These theories were debunked by the Australian Transport Security Bureau. The plane was spotted by Thai radar and the Malaysian military, which ignored it because it wasn’t relevant. A rogue pilot couldn’t have banked on the failure of an oblivious radar operator.

The fact is there is no evidence to say the pilots did this.