 KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — The “unprecedented mystery” that is missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 remains no closer to an answer as days now approach weeks. Initially suspected to be an air crash, the Boeing 777-200ER with 239 people on board has simply vanished without a trace after it deviated from its Beijing-bound flight path through what authorities conclude was “deliberate action.” These are some of the possible hypotheses for the plane’s continued disappearance. 1.MH370 was seized by terrorists One proposed explanation was that the jumbo jetliner was taken over by a terrorist group to be repurposed for some nefarious use later on. Those who subscribe to this idea claim that the 777 was landed in one of the many unmarked airfields dotting Southeast Asia and is now being camouflaged. The catch: An operation of this undertaking would require a military-like scale and precision that is not likely available to any known terrorist groups. Also, while many airfields might accommodate an emergency landing by the 777, none of the size necessary for it to take off is unknown to authorities. 2.MH370 was destroyed by a massive explosion In the initial days of investigation, authorities included the possibility that MH370 “disintegrated” mid-air to explain the complete lack of debris. With air disasters typically leaving large fields of debris, some suggested that the inability of search and rescue teams to find even a single part of MH370 to suggest that the plane was obliterated by high explosives. The catch: The amount of explosives needed to completely destroy a plane the size of MH370 would have been massive and virtually impossible to bring onto the plane undetected. It would also have been completely unnecessary if the intent was simply to crash the aircraft. 3. MH370 masqueraded as a Singapore Airlines flight One aviation observer suggested that MH370 could have attempted to mask itself behind a Singapore Airlines, SIA68, as it flew towards Spain. Pointing out that with its transponders disabled, ground controllers would not be able to discern MH370 from the Singapore plane as it entered Indian airspace en route to Spain. The catch: Such a ruse was unnecessary to escape detection by commercial (secondary) radar, which operates on an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) co-operative system. Once the transponder on MH370 was turned off, it would have been invisible. Military or active radar would have detected two signatures at different altitudes even if MH370 could have precisely mirrored SIA68’s flight pattern. 4.MH370 suffered a massive cabin decompression Radar data indicates that MH370 climbed up to 45,000ft — above the rated operational ceiling of the Boeing 777-200ER — as it flew across peninsular Malaysia. Speculation exists that the plane was flown to that altitude and depressurised to cause hypoxia among those not involved in the “deliberate action” to reroute the plane. There is a possibility that the person attempting this may have succumbed to the same exposure and the plane then continued flying on a pre-programmed route until it ran out of fuel. The catch: While exposure to rarefied air at 45,000 ft would be quickly fatal, the plane carries an emergency supply of oxygen that would allow pilots to recover in the event of sudden decompression. 5.MH370 caught fire and was attempting to land In the most innocent of the many hypotheses, a pilot suggested that the events of MH370 indicated a possible fire onboard MH370 — either electrical or from an overheated front tyre. A fire in the electrical system would move the crew to trip the circuit breakers onboard to isolate faulty lines, aviator Chris Goodfellow proposed, which would explain the deactivation of the transponders and ACARS. Goodfellow believed the pilots were attempting to land in Langkawi to avoid the Titiwangsa Mountains in the event the plane lost altitude, but succumbed to smoke asphyxiation before they were successful. The catch: The pilots never indicated any distress, including in the final transmission of “All right, good night” just minutes before the plane turned around from its flight path to Beijing. MMail
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