MH370: Conspiracy Theories (Both Plausible And Ridiculous) Of How Malaysia Airlines Jet Vanished

WHEN Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared without a trace in March 2014 it quickly became one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

Conspiracy theorists went into overdrive, suggesting the passenger jet had been deliberately crashed, hijacked or even landed on a secret US airbase, among other more outlandish theories

Yesterday’s apparent discovery of a piece of the plane’s wing on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion – 3,500 miles from the doomed jet’s last known location – dispels some and sadly, for the families of the 239 people on board, confirms that it did not survive intact.

But we may still be a way from knowing what exactly happened to it from when it disappeared from radar.

Here are some of the theories:

Fire on board

One of the most widely held theories is that there was a fire that killed all on board but burned out before damaging the plane’s exterior.

This would explain why the aircraft, on auto-pilot, would fly such a long distance off course.

An aviation source said: ‘The plane would not have dropped like a stone, it would have glided down from 35,000ft for around 10-12 minutes after it had exhausted its fuel.

'It would have hit the water with a massive impact - as though the plane had landed on concrete. Nobody could have survived that.

'There would have been a huge explosion with the wings ripped off and the fuselage would probably have plummeted straight down.’

Downed by the pilot

David Learmount, a pilot who is operations and safety editor of Flight Global magazine is convinced the disappearance was 'a deliberate act by someone on board, probably the captain’.

No evidence suggests either captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah or co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid had such intentions.

Malaysian police have attempted to investigate whether any passengers or crew on the plane had personal or psychological problems that might shed light on the mystery.

Accidentally shot down

One of the more dramatic suggestions is that MH370 was shot down over the South China Sea during a joint military exercise between the US and Thailand.

The search for survivors was then covered up, according to Nigel Cawthorne in his book 'Flight MH370: The Mystery’.

'The drill was to involve mock warfare on land, in water and in the air, and would include live-fire exercises,’ Mr Cawthorne writes.

Relatives of the passengers have criticised the book as premature and insensitive.

Terrorist hijacking

This theory suggests that MH370 did not crash but was landed and prepared for use in a terrorist attack to coincide with anniversary of 9/11.

Christopher Green from a group called 'Alternative Media Television’ called it the 'largest flight conspiracy since the September 11 terrorist attack’.

He suggested terrorists or even a rogue state might have hijacked the plane and could now be 'retrofitting this plane, arming it with a nuclear bomb for a later attack that could literally destroy and blow up an entire American city’.

Though since 9/11/14 passed without incident, it loses a little credibility. Maybe September 11 of this year will tell us more.

A separate hijacking theory proposed by a Russian newspaper claimed MH370 was taken and flown to Afghanistan, where the crew and passengers are now being held captive.

A military source reportedly told the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper: 'Pilots are not guilty; the plane was hijacked by unknown terrorists … The plane is in Afghanistan not far from Kandahar near the border with Pakistan.’

Landed on remote island military base

One of the most common conspiracy theories in circulation immediately following MH370’s disappearance was that it had landed on Diego Garcia, the British-owned island in the Indian Ocean that is home to a major US military base.

The theory had to be denied by US officials, who said: 'There was no indication that MH370 flew anywhere near the Maldives or Diego Garcia. MH370 did not land in Diego Garcia.’

He Xin, a blogger from China – home to 153 of the missing passengers – continues to insists that at the heart of the mystery is a CIA special operation to gain control of some 'special person’ or 'special object’ on the plane.

He claims the plane was diverted to Diego Garcia, which explains why relatives say passengers’ mobile phones were ringing in the hours following disappearance.

MH370 was then dismantled inside before being burned and dumped in the sea, Mr He claims –

A suggestion that is backed up by zero proof.

The mysterious super-weapon

Mike Adams, a veteran conspiracy theorist who runs a website called the Natural News, made the slightly simplistic suggestion that the flight was downed by ’ by some entirely new, mysterious and powerful force’ capable of plucking 'airplanes out of the sky without leaving behind even a shred of evidence’.

He does admit: 'That thought is a lot more scary than the idea of an aircraft suffering a fatal mechanical failure.’

But this may be another one to discount on the grounds that it’s, well, a load of rubbish.

Pictures courtesy of Rex Features