The Malaysian government has issued a new report on infamous flight MH370 which seems to answer some questions about the case, yet the ultimate cause of the incident remains a maddening mystery. Generating the most headlines from the comprehensive study is that investigators largely absolved both the pilot and co-pilot of any wrongdoing. Although they concede that there's still a slight possibility that one of the men could have been responsible, a multifaceted look at their lives and actions prior to the flight left the strong impression that they were not behind the disappearance of the airliner.
However, the report also indicated that the plane's deviation from its flight path could not have been done via autopilot and had to be performed manually by someone aboard the plane. The investigation found this was also the case with the airliner's communication system as well. Since the study was able to conclude that the plane's disappearance was not due to mechanical failure or dangerous cargo causing a fire, authorities were left one worrisome source for the strange event.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the lead investigator lamented that, "no matter what we do," the team behind the study cannot rule out "unlawful interference" by some kind of third party. In fact, that appears to be the most likely scenario, since it accounts for all of the factors laid out in the report. Yet no one is quite sure who the perpetrator may have been, especially since, unlike other airline disasters, this particular case saw no terrorist groups declare that they were responsible for the tragedy.
As one can imagine, the report has been met with consternation from the families of those aboard MH370 who yearn to know what became of their loved ones who went missing. Many accused the Malaysian government of bungling the investigation from the start and expressed dismay that the report is likely to be the final official word about the case because all searches for the lost airliner have ceased. And so unless an independent group can locate MH370 or some new insights about the incident come to light, the world will be left to wonder about the weird event for quite some time.
Coast Insiders can explore the MH370 case by checking out Richard Belzer's 3/10/2015 appearance on the program to discuss Someone is Hiding Something, the book he co-authored with George Noory about the case. Not a Coast Insider yet? Sign up today.