MH370: Netflix show on missing airplane rehashes theories on mysterious disappearance

Exactly nine years after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing, a Netflix documentary on the bizarre incident has rehashed theories on its disappearance.

On March 8, 2014, the Boeing 777 jet with 239 people aboard vanished from radar while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, making it one of the biggest aviation mysteries in history.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Netflix released a three-part documentary series titled ‘MH370: The Plane That Disappeared,’ on March 8.

Catherine Gang, whose husband Li Zhi was onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, holds a banner as she walks outside Yonghegong Lama Temple. (File photo: Reuters)

In the show, several assumptions were made to try to explain the plane’s disappearance, none of which have been definitely proven.

1. The Pilot:

The first episode of the Netflix docuseries, called ‘The Pilot,’ analyzes the theory that Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah deliberately crashed the plane in a murder-suicide plot.

The narrative is based on the fact that Zaharie’s home flight simulator had mapped a similar path over the Indian Ocean that satellite data indicated the MH370 took the night it disappeared.

A front page picture of Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370, is seen at a stand as a man buys newspapers in Dengkil, near Kuala Lumpur International Airport March 17, 2014. (File photo: Reuters)

The theory also focused on the captain’s connection to Malaysian opposition politician Anwar Ibrahim, which claims he could have downed the flight as a political move.

However, the Netflix documentary goes on to say that Zaharie never left a note or message to explain a possible motive.

2. The Hijack:

The second episode, titled ‘The Hijack,’ explores the theory that the plane may have been hijacked after it took an unplanned u-turn. After the MH370 flight disappeared from civilian air traffic control radar, it continued to appear on military radar.

The plane was recorded passing the last checkpoint within Malaysian airspace at around 1:21 a.m. local time, and was expected to enter Vietnamese airspace moments later. However, all the plane’s communications systems were turned off.

A map showing possible track of Malaysia Airlines MH370 shown to relatives of passengers aboard the missing plane. (Reuters)

Military radar revealed that the plane took a sudden 180-degree turn and started flying back towards the Malay peninsula – a move that could only have been done by someone with extensive aviation knowledge.

The episode analyzes the theory by American aviation expert Jeff Wise who claims that Russian operatives hijacked the plane via the electronic bay – accessible from the first-class cabin – to distract from the Crimean War.

3. The Intercept

The third episode, titled ‘The Intercept,’ brings forth the narrative by French journalist Florence de Changy who claims that MH370 was shot down by the US military over the South China Sea.

The theory states that the plane had been carrying huge amounts of electronics, which China was reportedly eager to acquire.

The US military is said to have been conducting training in the South China Sea and had two radar-blocking planes nearby at the same time the plane took off.

Speculations say that the pilot was ordered to land the plane but had ignored instructions, which lead to the US shooting down the plane either through a missile strike or midair collision.

Other theories

Numerous other theories exist that attempt to explain how and why the MH370 flight disappeared, including a mechanical failure, a technical malfunction, a fire, and human error.

Several searches, involving more than a dozen countries, have been unsuccessful.

On March 5, 2023, the families of those on board the Malaysia Airlines flight called on the Malaysian government to allow US seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity to launch a new search for the missing plane.

“Ocean Infinity, over the last 12 months have made real progress working with many people to further understand… the events in 2014,” the family members said in a statement.

“Ultimately, this has greatly improved their chances of conducting a successful search.”

Debris believed to be from the MH370 aircraft recently washed up along the African coast and on islands in the Indian Ocean.

However, the government ended its final search for the missing plane in 2017 after the $135.36 million underwater hunt was unfruitful.

Read more:

Malaysia ready to back firms in finding missing flight MH370

MH370, 4 years on: Malaysia says search to end in June

Report on MH370 finds ‘initially similar’ route on pilot’s flight simulator