1 00:00:02,417 --> 00:00:06,542 - Malaysia 370, contact Ho Chi Minh 120.9. Good night. 2 00:00:07,875 --> 00:00:10,167 Tonight, one of the most 3 00:00:10,292 --> 00:00:13,250 chilling aviation mysteries in modern day. 4 00:00:13,375 --> 00:00:16,500 239 people vanish over the Indian Ocean... 5 00:00:19,375 --> 00:00:20,375 Without a trace. 6 00:00:20,500 --> 00:00:22,250 - With not enough oxygen feeding the brain, 7 00:00:22,375 --> 00:00:24,292 people can't do the simplest things, 8 00:00:24,375 --> 00:00:26,125 let alone something as complicated 9 00:00:26,208 --> 00:00:28,958 as piloting a commercial aircraft. 10 00:00:29,083 --> 00:00:31,083 Now we'll uncover the top theories 11 00:00:31,208 --> 00:00:35,042 surrounding the world's most infamous missing aircraft. 12 00:00:35,167 --> 00:00:37,208 - The officials and most of the media 13 00:00:37,375 --> 00:00:39,417 convinced themselves that the satellite data 14 00:00:39,542 --> 00:00:42,167 could only mean one thing, that the plane went south. 15 00:00:42,292 --> 00:00:44,375 But they were wrong. 16 00:00:44,500 --> 00:00:47,333 - Was it potentially a murder-suicide? 17 00:00:47,500 --> 00:00:50,042 There's 227 passengers up there. 18 00:00:50,167 --> 00:00:53,000 Any of them could be responsible. 19 00:00:53,083 --> 00:00:56,292 Can new clues bring us closer to answers? 20 00:00:56,375 --> 00:00:58,208 - If the plane isn't flying itself, 21 00:00:58,375 --> 00:00:59,875 was it something more sinister? 22 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,583 Because planes don't just disappear. 23 00:01:02,708 --> 00:01:06,750 What really happened to Malaysia Flight 370? 24 00:01:24,708 --> 00:01:30,292 March 8, 2014, Kuala Lumpur International Airport. 25 00:01:30,375 --> 00:01:34,000 Malaysia Flight 370 sits on the runway 26 00:01:34,125 --> 00:01:37,042 awaiting clearance for takeoff. 27 00:01:37,208 --> 00:01:38,250 - The cabin has been secured, 28 00:01:38,375 --> 00:01:39,958 tray tables and seat backs 29 00:01:40,042 --> 00:01:42,167 are in their upright and locked position. 30 00:01:42,250 --> 00:01:43,500 And the flight attendants are ready 31 00:01:43,583 --> 00:01:46,417 for what they hope will be a routine flight. 32 00:01:46,542 --> 00:01:49,083 On board, we have 239 people, 33 00:01:49,208 --> 00:01:51,250 227 passengers. 34 00:01:51,375 --> 00:01:53,375 We have 12 crew members. 35 00:01:53,500 --> 00:01:56,167 The 12 crew members are all Malaysian citizens. 36 00:01:56,250 --> 00:01:59,208 And up front, we have Captain Shah. 37 00:01:59,375 --> 00:02:01,500 They're headed to Beijing International Airport. 38 00:02:01,583 --> 00:02:04,167 It's a routine flight. They make it twice a day. 39 00:02:04,250 --> 00:02:06,125 March 8th is no exception. 40 00:02:07,417 --> 00:02:09,000 - This flight was a flight 41 00:02:09,167 --> 00:02:11,042 that Zaharie Shah, the captain of the flight, 42 00:02:11,167 --> 00:02:13,417 was quite familiar with. 43 00:02:13,542 --> 00:02:15,917 - Normally, the flight takes about six hours, 44 00:02:16,042 --> 00:02:17,583 flying over a handful of countries 45 00:02:17,708 --> 00:02:19,833 and international waters. 46 00:02:19,917 --> 00:02:21,833 - At- 40 a.m., 47 00:02:21,958 --> 00:02:26,500 MH370 is cleared for takeoff. 48 00:02:38,292 --> 00:02:40,417 - Recordings of the radio chatter back and forth 49 00:02:40,542 --> 00:02:42,417 between the aircraft and the tower shows 50 00:02:42,542 --> 00:02:44,542 that everything is routine, 51 00:02:44,667 --> 00:02:46,333 mundane even. 52 00:02:46,458 --> 00:02:47,958 - At- 06, 53 00:02:48,042 --> 00:02:52,125 the plane's computer sends an automated position report. 54 00:02:52,250 --> 00:02:55,000 - The transponders are continuously communicating 55 00:02:55,167 --> 00:02:56,500 with air traffic control, 56 00:02:56,625 --> 00:02:59,375 relaying information about the flight status. 57 00:02:59,500 --> 00:03:02,667 These messages show up on what's called secondary radar. 58 00:03:02,792 --> 00:03:05,500 - At this point, Malaysia 370 is flying 59 00:03:05,667 --> 00:03:09,667 on course and has 96,000 pounds of fuel remaining. 60 00:03:09,833 --> 00:03:13,417 That's enough fuel for another six to seven hours of flight. 61 00:03:14,792 --> 00:03:17,333 A few minutes later, at- 19, 62 00:03:17,500 --> 00:03:20,000 Captain Shah radios air traffic control 63 00:03:20,125 --> 00:03:22,333 as he transitions from Malaysian 64 00:03:22,417 --> 00:03:24,875 to Vietnamese airspace. 65 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,667 - Air traffic control in Kuala Lumpur radios MH370 66 00:03:28,792 --> 00:03:34,167 and says, "Contact Ho Chi Minh on 120.9. Good night." 67 00:03:34,250 --> 00:03:36,500 That means it's time for MH370 68 00:03:36,625 --> 00:03:38,958 to call the Vietnamese controllers 69 00:03:39,042 --> 00:03:40,833 on the frequency given. 70 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,333 - Captain Zaharie then says, "Good night, Malaysia 370." 71 00:03:44,500 --> 00:03:46,500 So everything seems fine. 72 00:03:46,625 --> 00:03:47,958 The next thing that should happen 73 00:03:48,083 --> 00:03:50,208 is that air traffic controllers in Ho Chi Minh City 74 00:03:50,375 --> 00:03:52,583 should hear from Malaysia 370. 75 00:03:52,708 --> 00:03:55,833 But that's not what happens. 76 00:03:55,958 --> 00:03:59,000 - The Vietnamese air traffic controller at Ho Chi Minh 77 00:03:59,125 --> 00:04:02,583 never hear from that flight at the scheduled time. 78 00:04:02,708 --> 00:04:04,458 And all of a sudden, the flight transponders 79 00:04:04,542 --> 00:04:06,750 aren't responding at all, and they disappear 80 00:04:06,875 --> 00:04:09,458 from the air traffic controller screen. 81 00:04:09,583 --> 00:04:11,667 Just 38 minutes into the flight, 82 00:04:11,750 --> 00:04:16,500 Malaysia 370 simply disappears from radar. 83 00:04:16,583 --> 00:04:20,042 - It's really inexplicable that this aircraft, 84 00:04:20,167 --> 00:04:21,917 which had been flying and transmitting 85 00:04:22,042 --> 00:04:23,750 the secondary data all along, 86 00:04:23,875 --> 00:04:26,958 would at this point of transition just disappear. 87 00:04:27,042 --> 00:04:28,833 The transponder was turned off, 88 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,333 and the power was in some way stopped to the transponder. 89 00:04:32,458 --> 00:04:34,917 We don't know why it happened. 90 00:04:35,042 --> 00:04:37,542 - In modern aviation, air traffic controllers know 91 00:04:37,667 --> 00:04:40,833 exactly where their airplanes are through secondary radars 92 00:04:40,958 --> 00:04:44,167 and precisely scheduled communications. 93 00:04:44,292 --> 00:04:46,417 - So this is something that doesn't happen. 94 00:04:46,542 --> 00:04:48,500 Planes don't just vanish. 95 00:04:48,625 --> 00:04:50,833 Alarm bells immediately ring, 96 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,167 and Vietnamese air controllers desperately attempt 97 00:04:54,250 --> 00:04:56,292 to contact the aircraft. 98 00:04:56,375 --> 00:04:57,833 - It's just not the case that an airliner 99 00:04:57,917 --> 00:05:00,250 would be flying through some nation's airspace 100 00:05:00,375 --> 00:05:02,917 without the controllers knowing who it is, 101 00:05:03,042 --> 00:05:04,833 where it is, and why it's there. 102 00:05:04,958 --> 00:05:06,375 That's the way it works. 103 00:05:06,500 --> 00:05:08,083 Doesn't happen otherwise. 104 00:05:08,208 --> 00:05:11,083 - They tried to contact the cockpit 105 00:05:11,208 --> 00:05:13,958 through the satellite phone several times, 106 00:05:14,042 --> 00:05:16,500 but there was no answer. 107 00:05:16,625 --> 00:05:18,708 Then it was clear to them that the aircraft 108 00:05:18,875 --> 00:05:20,250 crashed into the sea. 109 00:05:25,958 --> 00:05:27,583 - How could this happen so suddenly? 110 00:05:27,708 --> 00:05:29,375 Why was there no warning from the pilot? 111 00:05:29,500 --> 00:05:31,500 No Mayday, nothing. 112 00:05:31,625 --> 00:05:34,667 This kicks off what will eventually become 113 00:05:34,792 --> 00:05:38,167 the most expensive search in aviation history. 114 00:05:38,292 --> 00:05:40,417 Everyone, dozens of governments, 115 00:05:40,542 --> 00:05:41,750 hundreds of families, 116 00:05:41,875 --> 00:05:45,750 all want to know what happened to MH370. 117 00:05:52,333 --> 00:05:54,292 - By- 30 a.m., 118 00:05:54,417 --> 00:05:58,000 a massive search and rescue mission is underway. 119 00:05:58,125 --> 00:06:01,875 - They gathered 26 countries to help with the search 120 00:06:02,042 --> 00:06:04,417 by sending 50 ships 121 00:06:04,542 --> 00:06:06,833 and about 60 aircraft. 122 00:06:06,958 --> 00:06:09,500 They're looking for anything on the water, 123 00:06:09,625 --> 00:06:12,167 wreckage, oil slick. 124 00:06:12,292 --> 00:06:14,917 The search starts naturally 125 00:06:15,042 --> 00:06:17,792 where the last transmission from the aircraft occurred, 126 00:06:17,917 --> 00:06:21,750 and last radar trace was found. 127 00:06:21,875 --> 00:06:24,250 It was right on the border between the Gulf of Thailand 128 00:06:24,375 --> 00:06:26,667 and South China Sea. 129 00:06:26,750 --> 00:06:29,167 - So they do find some oil slick. 130 00:06:29,292 --> 00:06:31,958 They test it to see if it's aviation fuel, 131 00:06:32,042 --> 00:06:33,917 but it's not. 132 00:06:34,042 --> 00:06:35,667 - They look at satellite imagery, 133 00:06:35,833 --> 00:06:37,625 they see what they think is debris, 134 00:06:37,708 --> 00:06:39,417 but they physically go out there, 135 00:06:39,542 --> 00:06:41,208 and there's nothing there. 136 00:06:41,333 --> 00:06:45,292 - If the aircraft had crashed in that area initially, 137 00:06:45,417 --> 00:06:49,583 there'd be debris and oil slick and plastic 138 00:06:49,708 --> 00:06:52,250 and stuff all over the China Sea. 139 00:06:52,375 --> 00:06:56,583 Makes no sense that there's no sign of this airplane anywhere. 140 00:06:56,708 --> 00:06:58,708 After two days of searching, 141 00:06:58,833 --> 00:07:01,667 investigators turn to military radar records. 142 00:07:03,208 --> 00:07:06,333 - Radar on military bases are constantly tracking 143 00:07:06,458 --> 00:07:08,958 to see if there's anything in range. 144 00:07:09,042 --> 00:07:12,708 Malaysia Flight 370 would have been in radar range 145 00:07:12,833 --> 00:07:16,542 for bases in Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam, 146 00:07:16,667 --> 00:07:19,500 so their radar records track the plane as well. 147 00:07:19,583 --> 00:07:21,667 And they do it slightly differently. 148 00:07:21,750 --> 00:07:24,708 Civilians rely on secondary radar, 149 00:07:24,833 --> 00:07:27,708 which requires a signal from the airplane's transponder. 150 00:07:27,875 --> 00:07:29,333 - And that's what they've been using 151 00:07:29,458 --> 00:07:32,167 to search for MH370 so far. 152 00:07:32,333 --> 00:07:35,917 But the military uses what's called primary radar. 153 00:07:36,042 --> 00:07:39,167 Primary radar doesn't require a special signal 154 00:07:39,250 --> 00:07:40,458 from an airplane. 155 00:07:40,542 --> 00:07:42,833 It sends out radio waves 156 00:07:42,958 --> 00:07:44,583 where it bounces off any objects 157 00:07:44,708 --> 00:07:46,375 that might be in the sky, 158 00:07:46,500 --> 00:07:48,500 and it reflects that radio signal back. 159 00:07:48,625 --> 00:07:50,667 - It's kind of like echolocation, 160 00:07:50,792 --> 00:07:53,833 like a bat would use, but on a large scale. 161 00:07:53,958 --> 00:07:56,750 A Boeing 777 has two transponders, 162 00:07:56,875 --> 00:07:59,375 specifically in case one fails, 163 00:07:59,542 --> 00:08:01,958 the other one is still gonna be fine. 164 00:08:02,042 --> 00:08:05,667 So when MH370 vanishes from all the radar, 165 00:08:05,792 --> 00:08:09,500 that means both transponders are dead at the same time. 166 00:08:09,667 --> 00:08:11,750 - After the transponder is turned off, 167 00:08:11,875 --> 00:08:15,500 the secondary radar can't see the airplane anymore. 168 00:08:15,583 --> 00:08:18,292 But guess what, the primary radar can still 169 00:08:18,375 --> 00:08:20,833 see the airplane and continues to track it. 170 00:08:20,958 --> 00:08:23,417 It shows the airplane keeps flying. 171 00:08:23,542 --> 00:08:25,417 - Not only does it keep flying, 172 00:08:25,542 --> 00:08:27,625 it makes drastic course changes 173 00:08:27,708 --> 00:08:31,000 just as it's supposed to cross into Vietnamese airspace. 174 00:08:33,042 --> 00:08:36,208 So MH370 turns a little bit to the east, 175 00:08:36,375 --> 00:08:38,292 then kind of loops back around. 176 00:08:38,417 --> 00:08:40,125 It's almost like it's turning back-- 177 00:08:40,208 --> 00:08:41,792 back towards Malaysia. 178 00:08:41,875 --> 00:08:45,458 Then MH370 approaches the Isle of Penang 179 00:08:45,542 --> 00:08:48,000 and flies near the Strait of Malacca. 180 00:08:48,125 --> 00:08:50,667 Military radar tracks MH370 181 00:08:50,750 --> 00:08:54,667 for another 230 miles into the Andaman Sea 182 00:08:54,792 --> 00:08:58,500 until the aircraft finally goes out of range. 183 00:08:58,625 --> 00:08:59,750 - So in other words, 184 00:08:59,875 --> 00:09:01,792 they're looking in the wrong place. 185 00:09:01,875 --> 00:09:04,875 The searchers move their search to the Andaman Sea. 186 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:07,000 But once again, there's nothing there. 187 00:09:07,125 --> 00:09:08,875 So the investigators are closer, 188 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:10,708 but they're clearly not close enough. 189 00:09:12,375 --> 00:09:15,083 Keep in mind, military radar doesn't pinpoint 190 00:09:15,208 --> 00:09:16,958 where this airplane stops flying. 191 00:09:17,083 --> 00:09:19,292 As far as we know, it's still in the air 192 00:09:19,417 --> 00:09:22,250 all the way until it goes out of range. 193 00:09:22,375 --> 00:09:23,375 - After that, it could have gone 194 00:09:23,500 --> 00:09:25,958 in a lot of different directions. 195 00:09:26,042 --> 00:09:29,375 The radar records raise an important question, 196 00:09:29,500 --> 00:09:32,917 why does the plane fly off course? 197 00:09:39,042 --> 00:09:41,583 Before Malaysia Flight 370 vanishes 198 00:09:41,708 --> 00:09:45,708 on March 8, 2014, investigators are shocked 199 00:09:45,833 --> 00:09:49,833 to learn that the plane deviated from its route. 200 00:09:49,917 --> 00:09:53,000 - The MH370 planned flight path would have had it flying 201 00:09:53,167 --> 00:09:56,208 over the South China Sea towards Beijing. 202 00:09:56,333 --> 00:09:59,250 But the radar tracking shows it made a series of turns 203 00:09:59,375 --> 00:10:01,417 going towards the west. 204 00:10:01,542 --> 00:10:04,583 And it just keeps flying until it goes out of radar range. 205 00:10:06,375 --> 00:10:09,792 - Once investigators realized the airplane kept flying, 206 00:10:09,917 --> 00:10:12,333 every possible theory was out there. 207 00:10:12,458 --> 00:10:15,500 Was it a bomb? Was it terrorism? 208 00:10:15,583 --> 00:10:17,333 Was it a crime? 209 00:10:17,458 --> 00:10:18,792 Was it something more sinister? 210 00:10:18,917 --> 00:10:21,167 Because planes don't just disappear. 211 00:10:22,750 --> 00:10:24,125 The Internet went crazy, 212 00:10:24,208 --> 00:10:27,375 and so did every global government agency. 213 00:10:27,500 --> 00:10:30,875 To some, there's an obvious explanation. 214 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,667 - But right away, we know that the aircraft continues flying 215 00:10:34,792 --> 00:10:36,750 after the transponders go offline. 216 00:10:36,875 --> 00:10:39,458 The aircraft continues on its path 217 00:10:39,542 --> 00:10:41,583 and drops off of military radar. 218 00:10:41,708 --> 00:10:43,500 We know that because it's recorded 219 00:10:43,583 --> 00:10:47,167 on the military radar until22 a.m. 220 00:10:47,292 --> 00:10:50,667 Take this radar information and combine it with the fact 221 00:10:50,792 --> 00:10:53,917 that the transponder was cut off just prior 222 00:10:54,042 --> 00:10:57,333 to the aircraft veering off course. 223 00:10:57,417 --> 00:10:59,000 Combine that with the fact 224 00:10:59,125 --> 00:11:01,917 that there is no emergency distress call made, 225 00:11:02,042 --> 00:11:05,875 and it creates a truly terrifying possibility. 226 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:09,042 - Was it potentially a murder-suicide? 227 00:11:12,417 --> 00:11:14,167 Early in the investigation, 228 00:11:14,292 --> 00:11:16,375 they thought they should look very deep 229 00:11:16,542 --> 00:11:19,125 into the two men in the cockpit, 230 00:11:19,250 --> 00:11:21,958 which is natural with this type of investigation. 231 00:11:22,083 --> 00:11:24,708 The question is, would anything motivate 232 00:11:24,875 --> 00:11:27,792 these two men to bring that aircraft down? 233 00:11:27,875 --> 00:11:31,958 - In the cockpit, we have Captain Zaharie Shah 234 00:11:32,083 --> 00:11:36,000 and First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid. 235 00:11:36,125 --> 00:11:39,792 Fariq is not fully qualified yet on the 777. 236 00:11:39,917 --> 00:11:44,667 However, this is his last flight to qualify on the 777. 237 00:11:44,792 --> 00:11:46,083 This is a big deal, 238 00:11:46,208 --> 00:11:49,667 the realization of a lot of hard work. 239 00:11:49,750 --> 00:11:51,667 He's been with the airline for seven years. 240 00:11:51,792 --> 00:11:53,458 He's 27 years old. 241 00:11:53,583 --> 00:11:55,000 He's getting married soon. 242 00:11:55,125 --> 00:11:57,792 He has a long career in front of him. 243 00:11:57,917 --> 00:11:59,833 And as a result of that, 244 00:11:59,917 --> 00:12:02,500 the investigative bodies rule him out pretty quickly. 245 00:12:02,625 --> 00:12:04,167 They don't think he did it. 246 00:12:04,250 --> 00:12:08,000 Leaving only one other suspect in the cockpit. 247 00:12:09,583 --> 00:12:13,667 - People who subscribe to the murder-suicide theory 248 00:12:13,792 --> 00:12:16,875 believe that the captain, Zaharie Shah, 249 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,500 deviated from the flight plan and intentionally crashed 250 00:12:20,667 --> 00:12:22,875 that airplane into the Indian Ocean, 251 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:25,042 sadly taking everyone with him. 252 00:12:25,208 --> 00:12:28,333 Investigators dig deeper into Captain Shah. 253 00:12:28,458 --> 00:12:32,250 And a search of his home turns up a disturbing clue. 254 00:12:32,375 --> 00:12:35,667 - Zaharie Shah had a very sophisticated simulator, 255 00:12:35,792 --> 00:12:39,167 a actual 777 simulator in his house. 256 00:12:39,292 --> 00:12:42,875 - When the investigative bodies pull the data from it, 257 00:12:43,042 --> 00:12:46,167 it shows a variety of flight paths. 258 00:12:46,333 --> 00:12:49,583 We see that they run out over the Indian Ocean, 259 00:12:49,708 --> 00:12:51,458 they just stop. 260 00:12:51,542 --> 00:12:53,417 And ultimately, 261 00:12:53,542 --> 00:12:56,833 this is the path that MH370 takes. 262 00:12:56,958 --> 00:13:01,000 It seems as though Captain Shah had rehearsed this. 263 00:13:01,125 --> 00:13:04,208 So the flight path is somewhat telling in itself. 264 00:13:04,375 --> 00:13:07,000 Captain Shah is from the Island of Penang. 265 00:13:07,125 --> 00:13:11,708 - The final maneuver recorded by the military radar 266 00:13:11,833 --> 00:13:14,833 was northwest of Penang, very close to it. 267 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,917 It was a clear night, perfect visibility. 268 00:13:18,042 --> 00:13:21,833 And this turn gives him a perfect view, 269 00:13:21,917 --> 00:13:24,708 a final view of his home in Penang. 270 00:13:27,125 --> 00:13:30,500 Some people believe that when you finally decide 271 00:13:30,625 --> 00:13:32,625 to commit suicide, 272 00:13:32,708 --> 00:13:35,833 that person has a level of serenity. 273 00:13:35,958 --> 00:13:40,250 So some people believe that this final turn 274 00:13:40,375 --> 00:13:43,833 towards Penang was him 275 00:13:43,958 --> 00:13:46,333 waving goodbye to his home. 276 00:13:49,042 --> 00:13:50,667 While all of this evidence paints 277 00:13:50,750 --> 00:13:52,917 a damning picture for the pilot, 278 00:13:53,042 --> 00:13:55,333 it is not enough to close the case. 279 00:13:57,042 --> 00:14:01,708 - So officially, MH370 is not ruled suicide by pilot, 280 00:14:01,875 --> 00:14:04,333 because there's no suicide note, 281 00:14:04,458 --> 00:14:06,500 and they determined it's impossible 282 00:14:06,625 --> 00:14:08,792 to know what's in his mind. 283 00:14:08,917 --> 00:14:10,583 If the plane wasn't brought down 284 00:14:10,708 --> 00:14:12,708 by the pilot or copilot, 285 00:14:12,833 --> 00:14:16,042 could it be someone else on the inside? 286 00:14:16,208 --> 00:14:19,667 Investigators turn their attention to the crew. 287 00:14:21,375 --> 00:14:24,458 - There's always another possibility 288 00:14:24,542 --> 00:14:26,875 that one of the cabin crew 289 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,708 was trained and familiar with the aircraft 290 00:14:30,833 --> 00:14:33,000 and how to get into the cockpit. 291 00:14:33,125 --> 00:14:36,708 So the investigators looked into 292 00:14:36,833 --> 00:14:39,125 every one of these crew members. 293 00:14:39,208 --> 00:14:43,875 170 interviews, looked into their bank accounts, 294 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:47,917 social media accounts, their love life, 295 00:14:48,042 --> 00:14:50,875 everything that they could possibly look into, 296 00:14:51,042 --> 00:14:53,708 and they didn't find anything. 297 00:14:53,833 --> 00:14:57,417 Ultimately, there is no substantial evidence 298 00:14:57,542 --> 00:15:01,833 to tie the pilot or crew members to any wrongdoing. 299 00:15:01,958 --> 00:15:03,958 - There's absolutely no proof 300 00:15:04,042 --> 00:15:06,292 that this was a murder-suicide. 301 00:15:06,375 --> 00:15:10,833 But authorities have this nagging problem. 302 00:15:10,958 --> 00:15:13,000 Why is there no distress call? 303 00:15:13,167 --> 00:15:14,125 What could have happened? 304 00:15:18,375 --> 00:15:20,333 Months after disappearing, 305 00:15:20,500 --> 00:15:22,458 the public is desperate for investigators 306 00:15:22,542 --> 00:15:24,750 to find Flight 370. 307 00:15:24,875 --> 00:15:26,417 But with so little evidence, 308 00:15:26,542 --> 00:15:28,625 they had their work cut out for them. 309 00:15:30,625 --> 00:15:31,792 - One of the most common things 310 00:15:31,917 --> 00:15:33,167 that investigators can use 311 00:15:33,292 --> 00:15:35,792 to determine the cause of the crash is radio chatter. 312 00:15:37,333 --> 00:15:40,375 - 402's radar contact at 18 miles. 313 00:15:40,500 --> 00:15:43,500 speed 250. Final bearing is 230. 314 00:15:43,625 --> 00:15:45,417 - When there's something unusual happening 315 00:15:45,542 --> 00:15:47,667 on the airplane, the flight crew usually 316 00:15:47,750 --> 00:15:49,667 gets on the radio about it. 317 00:15:49,750 --> 00:15:52,167 Whether there's an emergency, 318 00:15:52,292 --> 00:15:53,833 they see something out the window, 319 00:15:53,958 --> 00:15:55,708 or there's a passenger acting up, 320 00:15:55,833 --> 00:15:57,333 they usually radio about it. 321 00:15:57,458 --> 00:16:01,208 And in this case, there's no radio distress calls. 322 00:16:01,333 --> 00:16:03,833 We don't have that clue to help us. 323 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,208 Unless the lack of a distress call 324 00:16:06,375 --> 00:16:08,083 is the clue. 325 00:16:08,208 --> 00:16:09,958 - Based on what we know, 326 00:16:10,042 --> 00:16:12,333 I think the most logical explanation 327 00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:15,000 is that the airplane depressurized, 328 00:16:15,167 --> 00:16:17,167 causing everyone on board the aircraft 329 00:16:17,292 --> 00:16:20,833 to become unconscious and die from a lack of oxygen. 330 00:16:24,917 --> 00:16:27,667 The reason this airplane is flying off course 331 00:16:27,792 --> 00:16:29,958 and on an unusual path 332 00:16:30,042 --> 00:16:33,375 is because the pilot is not thinking clearly. 333 00:16:33,500 --> 00:16:35,458 - This theory says that a terrible accident 334 00:16:35,542 --> 00:16:38,167 happened on board, disabling the crew, 335 00:16:38,292 --> 00:16:40,667 and probably the passengers as well. 336 00:16:40,833 --> 00:16:42,667 So the problem with MH370 337 00:16:42,833 --> 00:16:44,000 could have actually started 338 00:16:44,083 --> 00:16:46,750 before it left the ground. 339 00:16:46,875 --> 00:16:48,458 Just before takeoff, 340 00:16:48,542 --> 00:16:51,833 maintenance logs show that work was performed 341 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:56,000 on MH370's oxygen system. 342 00:16:56,083 --> 00:16:59,125 - The pressurization system in a 777 handles 343 00:16:59,208 --> 00:17:01,792 all the air that everyone breathes on board. 344 00:17:01,917 --> 00:17:04,750 - And it also handles the cabin pressure. 345 00:17:04,875 --> 00:17:06,458 - At a high altitude, 346 00:17:06,583 --> 00:17:10,000 the pressure outside the aircraft is very low, 347 00:17:10,083 --> 00:17:12,125 too low to sustain life. 348 00:17:12,250 --> 00:17:15,000 Inside the aircraft, it's pressurized, 349 00:17:15,125 --> 00:17:16,458 and it's comfortable. 350 00:17:16,583 --> 00:17:19,292 So it's possible that a maintenance fault 351 00:17:19,417 --> 00:17:21,708 could have resulted from the work they did 352 00:17:21,833 --> 00:17:24,083 on the pressurization system, 353 00:17:24,208 --> 00:17:25,833 essentially causing the aircraft 354 00:17:25,917 --> 00:17:28,167 not to pressurize properly. 355 00:17:28,250 --> 00:17:30,042 It's not terribly uncommon, 356 00:17:30,167 --> 00:17:31,375 but if it does happen, 357 00:17:31,500 --> 00:17:33,792 someone has to pressurize the aircraft, 358 00:17:33,917 --> 00:17:36,375 typically using an emergency procedure. 359 00:17:36,542 --> 00:17:39,333 But what if they didn't? 360 00:17:41,208 --> 00:17:43,792 - The last communication with air traffic control 361 00:17:43,917 --> 00:17:45,833 was made by Captain Zaharie, 362 00:17:45,958 --> 00:17:47,708 "Good night, Malaysia 370." 363 00:17:47,833 --> 00:17:51,333 And that means that he was not flying the aircraft. 364 00:17:51,417 --> 00:17:54,083 On a commercial airliner, there are two pilots, 365 00:17:54,208 --> 00:17:55,875 one who is doing the flying, and the other 366 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:57,542 who's doing the monitoring. 367 00:17:57,667 --> 00:17:59,750 The pilot who is making the radio calls 368 00:17:59,875 --> 00:18:01,167 is not the pilot flying. 369 00:18:01,292 --> 00:18:02,708 That's just the way it works. 370 00:18:02,875 --> 00:18:04,083 Every radio call from the time 371 00:18:04,208 --> 00:18:06,458 that Malaysia Flight 370 took off 372 00:18:06,542 --> 00:18:09,667 was made by the first officer, Fariq Abdul Hamid. 373 00:18:09,792 --> 00:18:12,417 Captain Shah was handling the takeoff, 374 00:18:12,542 --> 00:18:15,125 getting out of Kuala Lumpur Airspace, 375 00:18:15,250 --> 00:18:17,667 sort of the more difficult parts of the flight. 376 00:18:17,792 --> 00:18:20,833 Captain Shah was a highly experienced airline captain. 377 00:18:20,958 --> 00:18:25,167 He had 18,000 flight hours, and he was only 53 years old. 378 00:18:25,333 --> 00:18:29,292 That's just 1,500 hours less than Captain Sully Sullenberger 379 00:18:29,375 --> 00:18:33,667 had when he famously landed his airliner in the Hudson River. 380 00:18:33,792 --> 00:18:35,417 After takeoff, we can assume 381 00:18:35,542 --> 00:18:37,417 that 38 minutes into the flight, 382 00:18:37,542 --> 00:18:39,917 when Captain Shah's voice is on the radio, 383 00:18:40,042 --> 00:18:43,708 he has handed control of the aircraft to the first officer. 384 00:18:43,875 --> 00:18:46,000 Remember, this was his last flight 385 00:18:46,125 --> 00:18:50,000 before becoming qualified on the aircraft. 386 00:18:50,083 --> 00:18:51,333 - Now we have the first officer, 387 00:18:51,458 --> 00:18:53,000 who's operating the aircraft 388 00:18:53,125 --> 00:18:55,250 for which he's not yet fully qualified. 389 00:18:55,375 --> 00:18:58,833 We have 227 passengers on board, 390 00:18:58,958 --> 00:19:02,250 12 crew members, and the aircraft is climbing. 391 00:19:02,375 --> 00:19:04,000 And we may have a maintenance problem, 392 00:19:04,083 --> 00:19:05,875 the pressurization issue. 393 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:07,833 This is a dangerous situation. 394 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:09,958 It can lead to hypoxia. 395 00:19:11,417 --> 00:19:13,500 Hypoxia is a lack of oxygen 396 00:19:13,625 --> 00:19:15,917 in the body tissue and brain, 397 00:19:16,042 --> 00:19:17,958 which can occur in any aircraft 398 00:19:18,083 --> 00:19:21,000 flying over 16,000 feet. 399 00:19:21,125 --> 00:19:23,167 - With not enough oxygen feeding the brain, 400 00:19:23,250 --> 00:19:25,708 people can't do the simplest things, 401 00:19:25,833 --> 00:19:28,000 let alone command an airliner. 402 00:19:28,125 --> 00:19:30,625 To be blunt, hypoxia makes you stupid, 403 00:19:30,708 --> 00:19:33,625 makes you unable to have rational thoughts. 404 00:19:33,708 --> 00:19:36,333 At a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, 405 00:19:36,458 --> 00:19:38,875 incapacitation due to hypoxia can occur 406 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:40,458 in less than a minute. 407 00:19:40,583 --> 00:19:43,583 The statistics indicate that, for pilots, 408 00:19:43,708 --> 00:19:45,375 the time of useful consciousness could be 409 00:19:45,500 --> 00:19:47,417 as low as 15 seconds. 410 00:19:49,542 --> 00:19:52,125 Gradual onset hypoxia has caused 411 00:19:52,208 --> 00:19:55,167 numerous airline crashes over the years. 412 00:19:55,250 --> 00:19:57,167 It's a deadly scenario 413 00:19:57,292 --> 00:20:00,000 with very little time to react. 414 00:20:00,083 --> 00:20:02,833 - There are a number of cases in which an airplane takes off, 415 00:20:02,958 --> 00:20:05,583 and the pilots have failed to pressurize the aircraft, 416 00:20:05,708 --> 00:20:08,167 or the aircraft simply doesn't pressurize. 417 00:20:09,958 --> 00:20:13,292 And because of the nature of hypoxia, there are cases 418 00:20:13,375 --> 00:20:16,417 in which pilots got a cabin altitude warning horn, 419 00:20:16,542 --> 00:20:19,250 a warning that the aircraft was not properly pressurized, 420 00:20:19,375 --> 00:20:22,167 and they may not respond to it correctly 421 00:20:22,292 --> 00:20:25,333 if their brains are already lacking oxygen. 422 00:20:25,458 --> 00:20:29,792 Could this have happened aboard MH370? 423 00:20:29,875 --> 00:20:31,208 - So at first it makes sense. 424 00:20:31,333 --> 00:20:33,042 There is a lack of a Mayday call. 425 00:20:33,208 --> 00:20:35,292 There's no call for help. 426 00:20:35,417 --> 00:20:37,458 But under hypoxic conditions, 427 00:20:37,542 --> 00:20:40,375 they might not even think they're in danger. 428 00:20:40,542 --> 00:20:44,625 - The erratic flight also speaks to a hypoxic event. 429 00:20:44,708 --> 00:20:48,000 The pilot turned the aircraft around, 430 00:20:48,125 --> 00:20:49,417 heading back to Kuala Lumpur 431 00:20:49,542 --> 00:20:51,458 as part of a response to the emergency. 432 00:20:51,542 --> 00:20:53,500 According to radar, 433 00:20:53,625 --> 00:20:55,917 the plane makes one last turn. 434 00:20:57,917 --> 00:21:01,000 - So the final move made by the first officer 435 00:21:01,083 --> 00:21:03,167 could have been to turn the aircraft 436 00:21:03,250 --> 00:21:04,917 toward the runway that he knows. 437 00:21:05,042 --> 00:21:08,708 That airport is Langkawi International, 438 00:21:08,833 --> 00:21:13,250 set on an island just west of the Malaysian peninsula. 439 00:21:13,375 --> 00:21:15,125 - This is where he did his flight training. 440 00:21:15,208 --> 00:21:16,750 He's familiar with the terrain. 441 00:21:16,875 --> 00:21:18,500 He knows that the runway is long enough 442 00:21:18,625 --> 00:21:21,375 to land a fully loaded 777. 443 00:21:21,500 --> 00:21:23,167 Instead of landing, 444 00:21:23,292 --> 00:21:27,667 the plane continues to fly for 230 miles. 445 00:21:27,833 --> 00:21:30,333 - So at this point, we think that both crew 446 00:21:30,500 --> 00:21:32,667 are incapacitated by hypoxia. 447 00:21:32,750 --> 00:21:36,167 They've passed out, and the autopilot takes over. 448 00:21:36,333 --> 00:21:39,000 - The aircraft is carrying 239 people, 449 00:21:39,167 --> 00:21:41,500 who are most likely dead, 450 00:21:41,583 --> 00:21:44,167 and they are flying until that airplane runs out of fuel. 451 00:21:47,208 --> 00:21:48,708 Not everyone is convinced 452 00:21:48,875 --> 00:21:50,458 the cabin depressurized. 453 00:21:50,583 --> 00:21:53,500 Could it be something more sinister? 454 00:21:58,000 --> 00:21:59,375 When Malaysia Flight 370 goes missing, 455 00:21:59,542 --> 00:22:02,000 investigators from nine countries join the search, 456 00:22:02,083 --> 00:22:03,833 including the United States. 457 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,542 Their biggest challenge is the lack of evidence, 458 00:22:06,708 --> 00:22:10,542 almost all of which lies on that missing airplane. 459 00:22:10,708 --> 00:22:12,583 But several months into their search, 460 00:22:12,708 --> 00:22:16,208 authorities get a treasure trove of new data, 461 00:22:16,333 --> 00:22:20,167 and it changes the course of the investigation. 462 00:22:20,292 --> 00:22:22,833 - They hear from a company called Inmarsat. 463 00:22:22,917 --> 00:22:26,167 They handle satellite data for commercial airlines. 464 00:22:26,250 --> 00:22:27,458 Things like satellite phones 465 00:22:27,583 --> 00:22:29,417 in the back of your seat to make calls, 466 00:22:29,542 --> 00:22:32,000 TV and entertainment systems, 467 00:22:32,083 --> 00:22:35,042 these systems are in constant communication back and forth 468 00:22:35,208 --> 00:22:36,583 with a satellite system. 469 00:22:36,708 --> 00:22:38,167 It's pretty much just checking in. 470 00:22:40,708 --> 00:22:43,667 Well, Inmarsat has records of this communication. 471 00:22:43,750 --> 00:22:46,375 First thing that happens is the airplane logs into 472 00:22:46,500 --> 00:22:48,750 the Inmarsat system at midnight Malaysia time, 473 00:22:48,875 --> 00:22:51,958 which is expected right before takeoff. 474 00:22:52,042 --> 00:22:55,208 Then the satellite system checks in with the airplane 475 00:22:55,333 --> 00:22:59,667 on an hourly basis using automatic pings. 476 00:22:59,792 --> 00:23:02,917 It checks in to see, hey, are you there? 477 00:23:03,042 --> 00:23:05,875 And we call that a handshake. 478 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,708 While the aircraft transponder is offline, 479 00:23:08,875 --> 00:23:12,250 the Inmarsat communication system keeps going. 480 00:23:12,375 --> 00:23:14,333 It takes months to analyze the data. 481 00:23:14,458 --> 00:23:16,333 And at the time, they didn't have the technology 482 00:23:16,417 --> 00:23:17,833 to make full sense of it. 483 00:23:17,958 --> 00:23:21,625 But then when they finally figure out the Inmarsat data, 484 00:23:21,708 --> 00:23:25,667 guess what, it shows something incredible. 485 00:23:25,792 --> 00:23:27,750 Previously, the last known contact 486 00:23:27,875 --> 00:23:30,333 of the airplane was22 a.m., 487 00:23:30,417 --> 00:23:33,375 when it disappears from military radar. 488 00:23:33,500 --> 00:23:35,833 And investigators assume that the plane crashed 489 00:23:35,917 --> 00:23:38,000 not too long after. 490 00:23:38,125 --> 00:23:41,167 The Inmarsat data shows seven automated pings 491 00:23:41,250 --> 00:23:43,708 after22 a.m., 492 00:23:43,833 --> 00:23:47,958 and those pings go all the way until19 a.m. 493 00:23:48,042 --> 00:23:49,958 If the plane continues flying 494 00:23:50,042 --> 00:23:52,083 for six more hours, 495 00:23:52,208 --> 00:23:55,000 where did it go? 496 00:23:55,083 --> 00:23:57,500 - So the technology at the time didn't allow them 497 00:23:57,625 --> 00:24:01,667 to get a specific location using the Inmarsat ping. 498 00:24:01,792 --> 00:24:03,917 All they know is that the plane 499 00:24:04,042 --> 00:24:07,333 is within range of a certain satellite. 500 00:24:07,500 --> 00:24:11,792 So they calculate that to cover a large area 501 00:24:11,875 --> 00:24:14,292 off the western coast of Australia, 502 00:24:14,417 --> 00:24:16,708 which is way farther south 503 00:24:16,875 --> 00:24:18,667 than anywhere they previously looked. 504 00:24:19,833 --> 00:24:22,917 This means that MH370 turned south 505 00:24:23,042 --> 00:24:25,167 and flew for six hours 506 00:24:25,250 --> 00:24:27,708 into the middle of nowhere. 507 00:24:27,833 --> 00:24:31,667 Some theorists say that it's not on autopilot. 508 00:24:31,833 --> 00:24:34,500 And why fly around for so long 509 00:24:34,583 --> 00:24:36,500 if you intend to kill yourself? 510 00:24:36,583 --> 00:24:38,958 So if the plane isn't flying itself, 511 00:24:39,042 --> 00:24:41,708 and the pilots are not committing suicide, 512 00:24:41,833 --> 00:24:44,667 that leaves one other option: 513 00:24:44,750 --> 00:24:47,375 a passenger took control of the aircraft. 514 00:24:50,375 --> 00:24:52,833 - There are 227 passengers on board. 515 00:24:52,917 --> 00:24:55,583 Any of them could be responsible. 516 00:24:55,708 --> 00:24:57,958 - In the world post September 11th, 517 00:24:58,083 --> 00:25:00,667 we look very carefully at who's on a plane. 518 00:25:01,792 --> 00:25:03,125 As they dig deeper, 519 00:25:03,250 --> 00:25:06,667 investigators realize not all of the passengers 520 00:25:06,792 --> 00:25:08,333 are who they claim to be. 521 00:25:09,875 --> 00:25:12,625 - So they checked everybody's info. 522 00:25:12,750 --> 00:25:15,375 And then there was this red flag. 523 00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:20,500 Two people had boarded using stolen passports, 524 00:25:20,625 --> 00:25:23,542 one Italian and one Australian. 525 00:25:23,667 --> 00:25:26,667 When these two guys checked in, for some reason, 526 00:25:26,750 --> 00:25:29,542 the passports were not discovered by Interpol. 527 00:25:29,667 --> 00:25:33,000 So we have two men on board this airplane 528 00:25:33,083 --> 00:25:35,708 that are trying to hide something, clearly, 529 00:25:35,833 --> 00:25:37,750 and we didn't know about it. 530 00:25:37,875 --> 00:25:39,292 We don't know who they are, 531 00:25:39,375 --> 00:25:41,500 fake names, fake passports. 532 00:25:41,625 --> 00:25:44,208 These guys could be anybody. 533 00:25:44,333 --> 00:25:47,458 So fortunately, it's not 1950. 534 00:25:47,542 --> 00:25:51,042 It's 2014, and there's large number 535 00:25:51,167 --> 00:25:52,792 of surveillance everywhere. 536 00:25:52,875 --> 00:25:55,958 We can trace these guys' steps. 537 00:25:56,042 --> 00:25:58,292 Police found out these are two friends 538 00:25:58,375 --> 00:26:00,208 using stolen passports. 539 00:26:00,333 --> 00:26:03,625 Turns out these two passports were stolen in Thailand 540 00:26:03,708 --> 00:26:05,625 about two years before. 541 00:26:05,750 --> 00:26:07,375 They bought a one-way ticket 542 00:26:07,500 --> 00:26:09,500 through a payphone in Thailand. 543 00:26:09,667 --> 00:26:12,208 From Thailand, they entered Malaysia 544 00:26:12,333 --> 00:26:14,667 using their real passport. 545 00:26:14,792 --> 00:26:16,583 So now we know who they are. 546 00:26:16,708 --> 00:26:18,542 The men have a valid reason 547 00:26:18,667 --> 00:26:20,375 to hide their identities. 548 00:26:20,542 --> 00:26:23,792 - These are two Iranian refugees, 549 00:26:23,875 --> 00:26:27,250 19 and 29, seeking asylum in Beijing. 550 00:26:27,375 --> 00:26:30,000 They don't have any knowledge about airplanes. 551 00:26:30,125 --> 00:26:33,083 So with those maneuvers that MH370 went through, 552 00:26:33,208 --> 00:26:34,708 whoever was doing it 553 00:26:34,875 --> 00:26:36,917 knew what they were doing in that cockpit. 554 00:26:37,042 --> 00:26:39,500 So it turns out these guys were not really suspects. 555 00:26:41,500 --> 00:26:44,708 Investigators also believe the culprit knows 556 00:26:44,833 --> 00:26:47,708 how to work the plane's internal systems, 557 00:26:47,875 --> 00:26:49,792 like the transponders. 558 00:26:49,875 --> 00:26:52,417 - There's a passenger on board who might fit the bill. 559 00:26:52,542 --> 00:26:54,833 He's a flight engineer from Switzerland. 560 00:26:56,375 --> 00:27:01,667 The Boeing 777-200 has access to the avionics bay, 561 00:27:01,792 --> 00:27:03,875 which is under the cockpit. 562 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,500 That's in the forward first class cabin. 563 00:27:07,583 --> 00:27:11,208 And it's a small lock to get there. 564 00:27:11,333 --> 00:27:12,833 This is where the flight computers are. 565 00:27:12,958 --> 00:27:14,417 This is where the pressurization 566 00:27:14,542 --> 00:27:15,833 and everything is. 567 00:27:15,917 --> 00:27:17,750 So if you could get access to this room, 568 00:27:17,875 --> 00:27:21,042 you could cause serious harm to an aircraft in flight. 569 00:27:21,208 --> 00:27:23,958 Would a flight engineer know about this? 570 00:27:24,042 --> 00:27:26,083 Possibly. 571 00:27:26,208 --> 00:27:29,500 But does the flight engineer have a motive? 572 00:27:29,625 --> 00:27:31,167 - When we look into this person, 573 00:27:31,250 --> 00:27:34,250 we find that he has a clean background. 574 00:27:34,375 --> 00:27:36,708 He works on a completely different type of aircraft. 575 00:27:36,833 --> 00:27:38,708 He works on corporate jets. 576 00:27:38,833 --> 00:27:40,875 He's probably not a suspect. 577 00:27:41,042 --> 00:27:44,750 With no evidence to implicate any passengers, 578 00:27:44,875 --> 00:27:47,625 the search goes cold for three years. 579 00:27:47,708 --> 00:27:49,667 - Remember that proving what happened 580 00:27:49,750 --> 00:27:51,333 is all about the evidence. 581 00:27:51,458 --> 00:27:56,208 And there is none until suddenly something washes up. 582 00:27:56,375 --> 00:27:58,208 - It's 2017, 583 00:27:58,333 --> 00:28:02,333 there's been almost no lead from the MH370. 584 00:28:02,458 --> 00:28:05,500 - But one day, somebody's walking on the beach 585 00:28:05,583 --> 00:28:07,458 and makes an incredible discovery. 586 00:28:07,542 --> 00:28:11,208 Over 6,500 miles from the Malaysian airport, 587 00:28:11,333 --> 00:28:14,292 wreckage appears on several remote islands. 588 00:28:15,875 --> 00:28:19,167 - So now, we finally have some hard evidence 589 00:28:19,333 --> 00:28:22,875 that we could look at that were the pieces of that airplane. 590 00:28:27,792 --> 00:28:29,042 For three years 591 00:28:29,167 --> 00:28:30,583 after Malaysia Flight 370 disappears, 592 00:28:30,708 --> 00:28:34,083 there's no sign of the actual aircraft, 593 00:28:34,208 --> 00:28:36,958 until 2017, 594 00:28:37,042 --> 00:28:40,583 when debris begin to surface. 595 00:28:40,708 --> 00:28:42,667 - So now we're getting some of these chunks 596 00:28:42,792 --> 00:28:45,250 that are washed ashore 597 00:28:45,375 --> 00:28:47,500 over the east coast of Africa, 598 00:28:47,625 --> 00:28:50,167 the Mozambique, and Réunion Island. 599 00:28:50,292 --> 00:28:53,708 In all, 33 pieces are found 600 00:28:53,875 --> 00:28:56,542 in six different countries. 601 00:28:56,708 --> 00:29:00,000 - They even found this big piece. 602 00:29:00,125 --> 00:29:03,792 It's a flaperon unique to the 777 603 00:29:03,875 --> 00:29:07,667 that had a serial number on it that matches MH370. 604 00:29:07,833 --> 00:29:09,833 So it's got to be from that airplane. 605 00:29:09,958 --> 00:29:13,042 The parts also hold an important clue. 606 00:29:13,208 --> 00:29:17,042 - There was some scorch marks on the debris. 607 00:29:17,167 --> 00:29:20,167 And that tells me that there may have been a fire. 608 00:29:24,083 --> 00:29:27,333 What we know for sure is that the transponder went off 609 00:29:27,458 --> 00:29:29,708 38 minutes into the flight. 610 00:29:29,833 --> 00:29:33,125 Maybe it is caused by the fire on board. 611 00:29:34,917 --> 00:29:36,583 - Fires happen for a variety of reasons, 612 00:29:36,708 --> 00:29:39,000 electrical, mechanical, 613 00:29:39,083 --> 00:29:40,875 maybe something in the cargo hold, 614 00:29:41,042 --> 00:29:43,042 or something in the cabin. 615 00:29:43,208 --> 00:29:46,667 - MH370 was carrying about 500 pounds 616 00:29:46,833 --> 00:29:50,417 of lithium-ion batteries in the forward cargo hold. 617 00:29:51,792 --> 00:29:53,917 And we know this is more than enough 618 00:29:54,042 --> 00:29:57,000 to possibly bring down an aircraft, 619 00:29:57,083 --> 00:29:58,667 as has happened before. 620 00:30:00,917 --> 00:30:03,250 On September 3, 2010, 621 00:30:03,375 --> 00:30:05,208 UPS Flight 6 takes off 622 00:30:05,375 --> 00:30:07,792 from Dubai International Airport. 623 00:30:07,875 --> 00:30:12,667 - This was a massive 747-400 freighter UPS, 624 00:30:12,750 --> 00:30:14,833 piloted by Captain Lampe 625 00:30:14,917 --> 00:30:17,750 and First Officer Matthew Bell. 626 00:30:17,875 --> 00:30:20,333 - 138 miles into that flight, 627 00:30:20,500 --> 00:30:22,167 the cockpit fills with smoke. 628 00:30:23,500 --> 00:30:25,208 At this point, it's chaos. 629 00:30:25,333 --> 00:30:28,292 It's not smoke like from a campfire. 630 00:30:28,417 --> 00:30:32,333 This is thick smoke, so thick you can't see through it. 631 00:30:32,458 --> 00:30:33,625 They had no chance. 632 00:30:35,292 --> 00:30:38,167 - First Officer Lampe disconnected the autopilot, 633 00:30:38,292 --> 00:30:43,000 perhaps trying to make a quick turn towards Dubai. 634 00:30:43,125 --> 00:30:45,625 And when he did that, he realized 635 00:30:45,708 --> 00:30:48,042 the primary flight control system 636 00:30:48,208 --> 00:30:50,667 had failed because of the fire, 637 00:30:50,750 --> 00:30:53,458 and now he couldn't quite fly it properly. 638 00:30:53,583 --> 00:30:59,000 The captain got out of his seat to get a fire extinguisher, 639 00:30:59,083 --> 00:31:02,417 unfortunately succumbed by the fumes 640 00:31:02,542 --> 00:31:04,333 and smoke and fire immediately. 641 00:31:06,375 --> 00:31:08,417 Bell couldn't see his instruments, 642 00:31:08,542 --> 00:31:11,000 but he was given a heading 643 00:31:11,125 --> 00:31:14,333 towards Dubai Airport, Runway 12 Left. 644 00:31:15,667 --> 00:31:18,000 Sadly, he crashes few miles 645 00:31:18,125 --> 00:31:19,917 on the other side of the runway. 646 00:31:20,042 --> 00:31:21,333 Both pilots were killed. 647 00:31:23,250 --> 00:31:27,167 The subsequent investigation discovered that there was 648 00:31:27,292 --> 00:31:32,292 a pallet with 81,000 lithium-ion batteries 649 00:31:32,417 --> 00:31:33,917 on board that freighter. 650 00:31:34,042 --> 00:31:37,208 Lithium-ion batteries are extremely volatile, 651 00:31:37,375 --> 00:31:39,208 even the ones that you have in your phone, 652 00:31:39,333 --> 00:31:42,542 they have high amount of charge in them, 653 00:31:42,708 --> 00:31:44,125 but very thin walls. 654 00:31:44,208 --> 00:31:46,500 Because of the thin walls on these batteries, 655 00:31:46,583 --> 00:31:50,875 if one of them catches fire, it's very easy to propagate 656 00:31:51,042 --> 00:31:53,875 into the other batteries adjacent to it. 657 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:56,833 In rare cases, lithium-ion batteries 658 00:31:56,917 --> 00:32:00,833 actually combust, almost like a mini explosion. 659 00:32:02,458 --> 00:32:04,125 The FAA has recorded 660 00:32:04,250 --> 00:32:08,333 340 airplane incidents involving lithium batteries. 661 00:32:08,417 --> 00:32:11,792 In 2019, regulations were put in place 662 00:32:11,875 --> 00:32:13,917 to safeguard passenger planes. 663 00:32:14,042 --> 00:32:17,708 - It is now prohibited to carry lithium-ion batteries 664 00:32:17,875 --> 00:32:19,500 in passenger airliners 665 00:32:19,583 --> 00:32:22,167 and in the cargo compartment of an airliner, 666 00:32:22,333 --> 00:32:25,375 and very limited amount on freighters. 667 00:32:25,500 --> 00:32:29,042 But that was years after pieces of MH370 668 00:32:29,167 --> 00:32:32,250 began to wash up on remote shores. 669 00:32:32,375 --> 00:32:36,917 - So in the case of MH370, you have some charred wreckage, 670 00:32:37,042 --> 00:32:39,417 you also have a large amount of fuel 671 00:32:39,542 --> 00:32:42,292 in the form of lithium batteries on board. 672 00:32:42,375 --> 00:32:45,417 What about the unusual flight path 673 00:32:45,542 --> 00:32:47,333 and erratic maneuvers? 674 00:32:47,458 --> 00:32:49,750 - A lot of people are questioning 675 00:32:49,875 --> 00:32:51,250 that sharp left turn. 676 00:32:51,375 --> 00:32:54,083 That can also be explained by the fire. 677 00:32:54,208 --> 00:32:56,417 We're trained that, in case of a fire, 678 00:32:56,542 --> 00:33:00,500 what you do is you immediately get off the airway. 679 00:33:00,667 --> 00:33:04,292 - And at first, that's what it appears that MH370 does. 680 00:33:04,417 --> 00:33:07,625 - Your next step is to find an airport to land. 681 00:33:07,708 --> 00:33:10,458 Some of these sporadic turns could be possibly 682 00:33:10,542 --> 00:33:12,833 trying to figure out where are they going 683 00:33:12,917 --> 00:33:17,250 to land this airplane as soon as possible? 684 00:33:17,375 --> 00:33:19,583 You have to either put out this fire 685 00:33:19,708 --> 00:33:22,792 or get that airplane on the ground as fast as you can. 686 00:33:25,417 --> 00:33:29,500 Usually, they say it's between 12 to 14 minutes 687 00:33:29,625 --> 00:33:33,417 to get that airplane from altitude down to the ground. 688 00:33:33,542 --> 00:33:38,292 And airplane that is designed to basically glide, 689 00:33:38,375 --> 00:33:43,167 it is very hard to get it on the ground that quickly, 690 00:33:43,292 --> 00:33:46,500 unless if you literally nosedive. 691 00:33:49,375 --> 00:33:52,667 People always ask why there was no Mayday call, 692 00:33:52,792 --> 00:33:55,208 why they didn't call on a radio. 693 00:33:55,333 --> 00:33:59,042 - Well, first of all, the aircraft may not have been 694 00:33:59,167 --> 00:34:02,042 capable at that point of calling for help. 695 00:34:02,167 --> 00:34:04,000 The radios or the communication systems 696 00:34:04,125 --> 00:34:05,750 could have been knocked out. 697 00:34:05,875 --> 00:34:08,333 Additionally, you need to understand 698 00:34:08,458 --> 00:34:12,000 what it's like to fly in a cockpit or a cabin 699 00:34:12,125 --> 00:34:14,500 that is full of dense smoke. 700 00:34:14,625 --> 00:34:18,542 - If your car is on fire or your truck or your boat, 701 00:34:18,708 --> 00:34:20,583 you can step out and jump out. 702 00:34:20,708 --> 00:34:23,542 Unfortunately, you can't do that on an aircraft. 703 00:34:23,667 --> 00:34:26,417 There's no help. Fire department is not coming. 704 00:34:28,125 --> 00:34:29,833 - The crew is on their own. 705 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:31,333 So what they would be doing 706 00:34:31,458 --> 00:34:33,667 is working to put out the fire. 707 00:34:35,542 --> 00:34:40,042 - 777 has a very sophisticated onboard fire detection 708 00:34:40,167 --> 00:34:42,042 and fire suppression system. 709 00:34:42,208 --> 00:34:44,875 But unfortunately, it was not designed 710 00:34:45,042 --> 00:34:47,458 to fight a lithium-ion battery. 711 00:34:48,583 --> 00:34:51,875 So when there's nothing else to do, 712 00:34:52,042 --> 00:34:55,333 the other choice is to climb the aircraft 713 00:34:55,500 --> 00:34:59,167 and starve the fire of the oxygen. 714 00:34:59,292 --> 00:35:02,250 But the problem with that is the fire needs 715 00:35:02,375 --> 00:35:05,917 oxygen to breathe, and so do the folks in the back. 716 00:35:06,042 --> 00:35:07,458 It's a gamble. 717 00:35:09,250 --> 00:35:11,917 Would the fire run out of oxygen first 718 00:35:12,042 --> 00:35:13,042 or the people? 719 00:35:13,167 --> 00:35:14,375 If you don't climb, 720 00:35:14,500 --> 00:35:16,542 everyone is gonna burn alive. 721 00:35:16,708 --> 00:35:19,375 It's very possible that everybody was dead 722 00:35:19,542 --> 00:35:22,833 long before it crashed into the water. 723 00:35:22,958 --> 00:35:26,333 And perhaps that was the autopilot flying the airplane, 724 00:35:26,458 --> 00:35:30,542 and no one was in control till eventually it runs out of fuel. 725 00:35:30,667 --> 00:35:33,667 But this evidence doesn't close the case 726 00:35:33,833 --> 00:35:36,667 on Malaysia Flight 370. 727 00:35:36,792 --> 00:35:39,167 - We have only a few pieces 728 00:35:39,250 --> 00:35:42,167 of this airplane that weighs almost a million pounds. 729 00:35:42,250 --> 00:35:44,583 So we can make educated guesses, 730 00:35:44,708 --> 00:35:48,125 we can keep digging, we can make assumptions. 731 00:35:48,250 --> 00:35:51,167 But the truth is we don't have an answer. 732 00:35:51,292 --> 00:35:54,208 In fact, some experts are highly skeptical 733 00:35:54,375 --> 00:35:56,875 about this physical evidence. 734 00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:58,708 - Some people look at patterns 735 00:35:58,833 --> 00:36:01,083 and the incredible amount of time that passed 736 00:36:01,208 --> 00:36:03,500 before the wreckage washed up, 737 00:36:03,583 --> 00:36:06,375 and they wonder, "Could this evidence have been planted?" 738 00:36:10,208 --> 00:36:13,333 On January 17, 2017, 739 00:36:13,500 --> 00:36:16,625 the official search for Malaysia Flight 370 740 00:36:16,708 --> 00:36:18,167 is suspended. 741 00:36:18,250 --> 00:36:21,833 Despite a sweep of 46,000 square miles 742 00:36:21,958 --> 00:36:24,042 of the Indian Ocean seabed, 743 00:36:24,208 --> 00:36:26,667 the rest of the plane isn't found. 744 00:36:26,792 --> 00:36:29,000 - So the official search, 745 00:36:29,083 --> 00:36:31,708 which took hundreds of millions of dollars 746 00:36:31,833 --> 00:36:35,167 and years to conduct, 747 00:36:35,250 --> 00:36:37,375 came up empty. 748 00:36:37,542 --> 00:36:39,500 According to some theorists, 749 00:36:39,625 --> 00:36:42,167 the search might have been in the wrong area. 750 00:36:42,292 --> 00:36:44,667 - The officials and most of the media 751 00:36:44,792 --> 00:36:46,833 convinced themselves that the satellite data 752 00:36:46,958 --> 00:36:49,833 could only mean one thing, that the plane went south. 753 00:36:49,958 --> 00:36:51,250 But they were wrong. 754 00:36:51,375 --> 00:36:54,417 There's another possible interpretation of the data. 755 00:36:54,542 --> 00:36:56,083 The reason that search officials thought 756 00:36:56,208 --> 00:36:59,333 that the plane must have gone to the southern Indian Ocean 757 00:36:59,500 --> 00:37:02,750 was because of satellite metadata. 758 00:37:04,708 --> 00:37:08,458 MH370 remained visible to ground base radar systems 759 00:37:08,583 --> 00:37:11,667 until about30 in the morning. 760 00:37:11,792 --> 00:37:15,167 After that, until19 in the morning, 761 00:37:15,292 --> 00:37:18,958 the only clues are these satellite data pings. 762 00:37:19,042 --> 00:37:21,500 - They're able to calculate the distance of the plane 763 00:37:21,583 --> 00:37:23,583 from the satellite using these pings 764 00:37:23,708 --> 00:37:26,417 and how it travels through time and space. 765 00:37:26,542 --> 00:37:29,500 - The time delay between the satellite sending its signal 766 00:37:29,625 --> 00:37:32,333 and the plane replying allows you to calculate 767 00:37:32,458 --> 00:37:35,000 how far away the plane is from the satellite. 768 00:37:35,167 --> 00:37:38,500 But that only tells you one part of the story. 769 00:37:39,917 --> 00:37:42,333 - The problem with those pings is it's really challenging 770 00:37:42,458 --> 00:37:45,542 to identify where the airplane exactly flew. 771 00:37:45,667 --> 00:37:47,458 In fact, at the time of the crash, 772 00:37:47,583 --> 00:37:49,750 we didn't have the technology to fully analyze 773 00:37:49,875 --> 00:37:52,458 the data that was provided by Inmarsat. 774 00:37:52,583 --> 00:37:54,375 - And then we have an airplane that's on the move. 775 00:37:54,500 --> 00:37:56,208 We don't know how fast it's going, 776 00:37:56,333 --> 00:37:58,375 and we don't know how high it is. 777 00:37:58,500 --> 00:38:01,667 These calculations have to be within milliseconds 778 00:38:01,750 --> 00:38:05,375 or you could be off thousands of miles. 779 00:38:05,542 --> 00:38:07,542 - Once they did their calculations, 780 00:38:07,667 --> 00:38:10,167 they came to the conclusion that this data 781 00:38:10,333 --> 00:38:11,667 meant unequivocally that the plane could 782 00:38:11,833 --> 00:38:15,458 only have gone to the southern Indian Ocean. 783 00:38:15,542 --> 00:38:18,583 But there's another possible route. 784 00:38:20,500 --> 00:38:22,708 - It's taken years to figure out the math here, 785 00:38:22,833 --> 00:38:27,375 but the data also aligns with a northern arc. 786 00:38:27,500 --> 00:38:29,500 Following the northern arc, 787 00:38:29,583 --> 00:38:31,833 the aircraft would have passed through northern Thailand 788 00:38:31,958 --> 00:38:33,417 and then Central Asia. 789 00:38:33,542 --> 00:38:35,917 - If the plane did fly along the northern route, 790 00:38:36,042 --> 00:38:40,625 the final ping puts it over central Kazakhstan. 791 00:38:40,750 --> 00:38:44,250 If MH370 went to Kazakhstan, 792 00:38:44,375 --> 00:38:47,000 it opens up a frightening possibility. 793 00:38:52,875 --> 00:38:56,542 - This theory says that terrorists hijack the aircraft, 794 00:38:56,708 --> 00:38:59,667 take it to Kazakhstan, kill the passengers, 795 00:38:59,750 --> 00:39:02,042 and then they could have refueled 796 00:39:02,208 --> 00:39:06,083 and continued to anywhere within Russia. 797 00:39:06,208 --> 00:39:07,958 - If the plane went north, 798 00:39:08,083 --> 00:39:10,917 it could have landed safely. 799 00:39:11,042 --> 00:39:14,708 It takes a lot of runway to land a big plane like the 777. 800 00:39:14,833 --> 00:39:16,875 And there aren't a lot of long runways 801 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:20,125 in the remote central part of Kazakhstan. 802 00:39:20,250 --> 00:39:24,500 But it turns out that there is a runway not too far away 803 00:39:24,583 --> 00:39:27,833 that is a suitable runway for a 777 to land on. 804 00:39:27,917 --> 00:39:30,667 - The place is called Yubileyniy runway, 805 00:39:30,833 --> 00:39:34,500 and it's part of the former Soviet military base. 806 00:39:34,667 --> 00:39:36,500 The big question is, 807 00:39:36,625 --> 00:39:41,042 did anyone on the plane have ties to Russia? 808 00:39:41,167 --> 00:39:43,833 - In first class, there's a Russian national 809 00:39:43,917 --> 00:39:45,167 named Nikolai Brodskii, 810 00:39:45,292 --> 00:39:50,083 and he's sitting about 15 feet from an unlocked hatch, 811 00:39:50,208 --> 00:39:52,750 which contains the electronic brain 812 00:39:52,875 --> 00:39:56,125 that controls all of the flight surfaces of the plane 813 00:39:56,250 --> 00:39:58,583 and all the communications with the ground. 814 00:39:58,708 --> 00:40:03,750 And in economy class, you have two Soviet Army veterans 815 00:40:03,875 --> 00:40:07,750 sitting directly under the box that makes the satellite ping. 816 00:40:07,875 --> 00:40:10,333 It's entirely possible that somebody took control 817 00:40:10,458 --> 00:40:13,042 of the plane, killed everyone on board, 818 00:40:13,167 --> 00:40:15,917 flew off into perfect safety, 819 00:40:16,042 --> 00:40:19,458 refueled, went and hid the plane somewhere, 820 00:40:19,542 --> 00:40:21,625 and got away scot-free. 821 00:40:21,708 --> 00:40:25,583 But if MH370 didn't crash, 822 00:40:25,708 --> 00:40:27,833 where did the debris come from? 823 00:40:27,958 --> 00:40:31,042 - Some theorists say pieces were taken off the aircraft, 824 00:40:31,208 --> 00:40:35,667 thrown into the Indian Ocean to throw off investigators. 825 00:40:35,792 --> 00:40:37,667 - The idea that these pieces might have been planted 826 00:40:37,792 --> 00:40:42,958 by perpetrators would explain why no debris was spotted 827 00:40:43,042 --> 00:40:45,000 from the aerial searches over the area 828 00:40:45,167 --> 00:40:47,833 where the plane was presumed to be missing for months. 829 00:40:47,917 --> 00:40:52,083 Was MH370 an accident or was it a crime? 830 00:40:52,208 --> 00:40:53,125 A perfect crime. 831 00:40:57,417 --> 00:40:58,667 Despite the end 832 00:40:58,792 --> 00:41:01,417 of the official investigation in 2018, 833 00:41:01,542 --> 00:41:04,333 there remain countless private citizens 834 00:41:04,458 --> 00:41:06,958 dedicated to solving this mystery. 835 00:41:07,042 --> 00:41:10,542 Around the world, scientists, journalists, nonprofits, 836 00:41:10,667 --> 00:41:12,333 even major corporations 837 00:41:12,458 --> 00:41:14,250 continue to hunt for answers 838 00:41:14,375 --> 00:41:16,083 about what really happened 839 00:41:16,208 --> 00:41:17,792 to Malaysia Flight 370, 840 00:41:17,875 --> 00:41:20,625 answers that will hopefully bring closure 841 00:41:20,750 --> 00:41:23,625 to the families of those on board. 842 00:41:23,708 --> 00:41:25,125 I'm Laurence Fishburne. 843 00:41:25,208 --> 00:41:26,417 Thank you for watching 844 00:41:26,542 --> 00:41:29,667 "History's Greatest Mysteries."