Malaysia Airlines flight mysteriously diverted
Jet’s disappearance still stumps investigators
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared in March 2014, was deliberately diverted after communication with the jet halted, possibly by the “intervention of a third party,” according to a report Monday by an independent international team.
The 19-member team said the precise cause of the disappearance can’t be determined until the jet’s data and voice recorders are found. The report found no evidence of abnormal behavior or stress in the pilots.
“We are not of the opinion that it could be an event committed by the pilot,” chief investigator Kok Soo Chon Kok said. “We cannot rule out unlawful interference by a third party,” such as someone holding the pilots hostage.
Kok said it was up to police to investigate.
The Boeing 777-200 disappeared March 8, 2014, without a distress call. It was carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Radar tracked the jet turning back toward Malaysia, then lost track of it after standard communication equipment stopped signaling less than an hour into the flight.
Satellite tracking of communication signals suggested to experts that the jetliner flew for more than seven hours over the remote Indian Ocean before running out of fuel and crashing into the water.
More than 20 pieces of the jet have washed up on beaches in the Indian Ocean and Africa.
The main wreckage hasn’t been found after years of searches by the governments of Australia, Malaysia and China and a private search by the Texas company Ocean Infinity.