On 8 March 2014, MH370, a Boeing 777 carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, vanished from civilian radar less than an hour after take-off.
Initial communications suggested nothing unusual, but air traffic controllers soon realised the aircraft had veered dramatically off course. Military radar later revealed it had turned west, crossed the Malay Peninsula, and flown for hours before disappearing over the southern Indian Ocean.
Despite the largest and most expensive search in aviation history, only scattered debris, confirmed to be from MH370, has ever been recovered, leaving the fate of the flight shrouded in mystery.
1. Pilot Suicide / Murder–Suicide
Investigators once considered Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah the prime suspect if human intervention was involved. Reports cited his marital troubles, deleted flight simulator data showing a path into the southern Indian Ocean, and an absence of post–March 8 social plans.
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott later claimed in a Sky News documentary that Malaysian officials privately suspected suicide from the outset. Shah’s family has consistently denied this.
2. Alien Abduction
Another unlikely theory is that a meteor struck the aircraft, though the odds are astronomically low. Around the fourth anniversary, a bizarre twist emerged when a man received voicemails and texts in NATO phonetic code hinting at an alien abduction, along with suspicious visits to his home. Investigators later traced the calls to hotels in Port Blair and dismissed the incident as a likely hoax.
3. Hijacking to a Remote Runway
Some theories suggested MH370 was taken to an undisclosed island, possibly in the Indian Ocean, to land secretly. Diego Garcia, a US military base, featured heavily, with claims that the pilot had trained for short-runway landings in the region.
The FBI found “nothing suspicious” on his simulator, but the idea persists online.
4. Terrorist Attack
Early speculation linked the disappearance to militant activity, including an unverified letter from a “Chinese Martyrs Brigade.” No credible group ever claimed responsibility.
5. Military Shoot-Down
Theorists point to past cases of civilian airliners accidentally shot down. Some claim MH370 was downed during a joint military exercise, and the search was deliberately misdirected.
On 19 March 2014, news agency reporter Scott Mayerowitz of Associated Press described “Accidental Shootdown” as one of seven “leading, plausible theories”, but added that there was “no evidence that a government entity brought down Flight 370”
Witnesses in the Maldives reported seeing a low-flying jet resembling MH370 on the morning it disappeared.
6. Onboard Fire
Another possibility is that a sudden fire, electrical, cargo-related, or in the landing gear, forced a turn-back toward Penang or Langkawi.
Similar incidents have destroyed aircraft within minutes, but wreckage from MH370 showed no signs of fire damage.
7. Cyberattack on Flight Controls
The hypothesis of a cyberattack on Flight 370 has been suggested, notably by former UK government advisor Sally Leivesley. The adequacy of security on commercial flights is debated, though Boeing has rejected this possibility.
Company spokeswoman Gayla Keller stated they are “confident in the robust protection of all flight-critical systems” on the 777 and other Boeing aircraft against hacker access.
8. Vertical Entry into the Sea
Mathematician Goong Chen proposed that MH370 entered the ocean nose-first at high speed, reducing floating debris. This would explain the scarcity of wreckage despite large-scale searches.
9. Phone Call
A passenger’s daughter on MH370 received a call from her father’s phone while the plane was missing, raising hopes that passengers might be alive. However, analysts later clarified that the ringing was a standard network feature for waiting calls, not evidence of a functioning phone on the plane.
10. Black hole theory
Another, more far-fetched idea about MH370 involves a black hole swallowing the aircraft, a suggestion that gained notoriety when CNN’s Don Lemon floated the question on air. Experts quickly debunked it, noting that a black hole small enough to target the plane would still consume the entire planet.
