Flight 370’s fate remains elusive

Plane disappeared in March 2014 on journey to China.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in March 2014, and no trace of it has been found. The location of the missing Boeing 777 passenger jet remains a mystery to searchers and continued heartache for the families of the passengers and crew, who vanished with the plane and are presumed dead.

Here’s a synopsis of events: Where it was going

On the morning of March 8, 2014, the Beijing-bound plane departed Kuala Lumpur around 12:20 a.m. with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The plane’s planned flight path would have taken it north over the Gulf of Thailand and Vietnam, with an arrival in Beijing around 6:30 a.m. Who was on board

More than 150 passengers were from China, 38 from Malaysia and three from the United States. Other passengers were from Indonesia, Australia, France, New Zealand, Ukraine, Canada, Russia, Taiwan, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria, officials said. Last contact

Around 1 a.m., the plane let off a final ACARS transmission signal, which allows computers aboard the plane to communicate with control towers on the ground. According to officials, the last communication MH370 had with air traffic control came around 1:20 a.m. Shortly after that, officials with the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam said, the plane failed to check in as scheduled with air traffic controllers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Changed flight path

Based on military radar, it is believed the plane changed course immediately after the communications systems were deactivated. It banked west from its northern path and headed back toward Malaysia and out over the Indian Ocean. U.S. investigators suspect MH370 remained in the air for up to four hours before crashing into the Indian Ocean. Theories

■ Possible electrical failure or a fire in the cockpit.

■ Terrorism was also considered, especially because two Iranian men had used stolen passports to board the plane, but it was later ruled out.

■ Pilot error. The search

Search teams began by looking for the plane in the Indian Ocean about 1,600 miles off the coast of Perth, Australia. Pings thought to be from the plane’s black box recorders were being picked up in the area, and a fleet of ships and aircraft were dispatched. Satellites located debris and some oil slicks were seen in the water, though nothing was recovered.