Biggest Mystery in Aviation | What happened to MH370 Flight? | Dhruv Rathee

Key Concepts:

• MH370 disappearance
• Satellite Handshakes
• 7th Arc
• Search operations
• Theories: Pilot suicide, Hijacking, Hypoxia
• Richard Godfrey's radio wave analysis
• Drift Analysis

1. Initial Flight and Disappearance:

• Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12:42 AM on March 8, 2014, bound for Beijing, carrying 227 passengers, 10 flight attendants, and 2 pilots.
• The pilots were Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah (53, experienced) and First Officer Fariq Hamid (27, on a training flight).
• At 01:08 AM, the flight crossed the Malaysian coastline over the South China Sea, heading towards Vietnam.
• Captain Zaharie reported the plane was at 35,000 feet.
• The last communication from the plane was Captain Zaharie's "Good night. MAS 370" to Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control.
• The plane disappeared from radar at 01:21 AM, merely 30 seconds after entering Vietnamese airspace.
• Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control didn't immediately notice, assuming the plane was out of radar range.
• Vietnamese controllers tried to contact the plane but received no response.
• Emergency response began after a 4-hour delay.

2. Search Operations:

• Initial search operations focused on the South China Sea, involving 34 ships and 28 aircraft from 7 countries.
• Four days later, military radar data revealed the plane was last seen at 02:22 AM near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, flying westward above the Strait of Malacca, in the opposite direction of Beijing.
• Satellite data showed the plane attempted to communicate with a satellite seven times, resulting in "Satellite Handshakes."
• Scientists used the angle of the satellite's antenna to estimate the plane's location within a series of circles.
• The "7th Arc" was identified as the most likely crash location, 2,000 km west of Australia.
• Extensive surface and deep-sea search operations were conducted, costing $160 million, but yielded no results.
• In July 2015, a flaperon (broken part from the plane) was found on Réunion Island, east of Madagascar.
• In 2018, Ocean Infinity conducted a "no find, no fee" search operation, mapping the ocean floor in the 7th Arc area, discovering underwater volcanoes and cliffs, but failing to locate the plane.

3. Theories and Assumptions:

• Radar Disappearance: Possible causes included electrical failure, accident, technical failure, or intentional manual transponder shutdown.
• Pilot Suicide (Captain Zaharie Shah):
  • Accusation: Captain intentionally disabled communication and crashed the plane.
  • Arguments: 180° turn back to Malaysia, flight path along the border of Thailand and Malaysia to avoid radar, flight simulator path mirroring MH370's route.
  • Counter-arguments: Captain was experienced and respected, with no prior signs of suicidal tendencies or personal problems.
• Hijacking/Terror Attack:
  • Suspicion: Two Iranian passengers traveling with stolen passports.
  • Rejection: No evidence of terrorist intent; Interpol confirmed they were likely seeking asylum in Europe.
• Hypoxia (Oxygen Deficiency):
  • Theory: Passengers and crew fainted due to oxygen deficiency, leading to autopilot flight until fuel exhaustion.
  • Possible causes: Fire in the cockpit, accident causing oxygen shortage, or hijackers inducing oxygen deficiency.
  • Example: Pilots turned back due to malfunctions, an accident caused hypoxia, the plane flew on autopilot, and crashed in the Indian Ocean.
• Other less likely theories: Alien abduction, US military involvement, Russian President Putin's knowledge.

4. Richard Godfrey's Analysis:

• In 2022, retired aerospace engineer Richard Godfrey claimed to have found the plane using radio wave technology.
• He combined data from British Inmarsat Satellite, figures from Boeing, Australian oceanographers, and new WSPRnet, amateur radio wave technology.
• He used reflections of radio waves to predict the plane's path, building a computer program to recognize flight paths through weak signals.
• Godfrey pinpointed the plane's location on the 7th Arc, 4 km underwater, with an accuracy of 40 nautical miles.
• He proposed a new search operation within a 40-nautical-mile radius.
• Criticism: Some question the accuracy of Godfrey's methodology.

5. Drift Analysis:

• A drift analysis, considering ocean currents, supports Godfrey's analysis.
• Debris found on Madagascar and surrounding islands aligns with the predicted drift pattern.
• 27 pieces of the plane have been found on various islands.

6. Conclusion:

The disappearance of MH370 remains a significant aviation mystery. While numerous search operations and theories have emerged, Richard Godfrey's radio wave analysis offers a potential breakthrough, supported by drift analysis and recovered debris. A new, targeted search operation based on his findings could potentially uncover the truth about what happened to MH370.