A lengthy report has confirmed missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was likely flown manually when it turned around over Malaysia and has raised the specter of “unlawful interference” by someone other than the pilots.
But it fails to provide any evidence of a third party other than to say none of its checks showed anything amiss with Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and his first officer, Fariq Abdul Hamid.
The report otherwise appeared to contain little new and did not reach a conclusion about the disappearance of the Boeing 777 in 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board.
Observers and families were Monday picking their way through the document but there was already alarm and anger from families that it failed to shed new light.
READ MH370 final report is just the beginning of the search for the truth
The Malaysians noted there were no dissenting reports from the seven countries involved in the Annex 13 document and that the 1500-page extravaganza was unlikely to be the final report given the wreckage had not been found.
Chief investigator Kok Soo Chon emphasized that the report’s scope was strictly limited to safety under the Annex 13 and did not address either the search for the plane or security issues.
The report said that simulator trials had shown that changes to the aircraft’s flight path tracked by both civilian and military radar were likely made while the aircraft was under manual control.
The aircraft made a right turn and then a left and flew across the Malaysian Peninsular. This was followed by a right turn to the south of Penang Island to the north-west and an unrecorded turn towards the Southern Indian Ocean.
Investigators found a system malfunction could not be conclusively ruled out as a reason for the loss of communication systems and transponder but it was more likely due to the systems being manually turned off or the power interrupted “whether with intent or otherwise”.
But Kok stopped short of endorsing a popular theory among experts that one of the pilots, probably Captain Zaharie, disabled communications and hijacked the plane.
“We can confirm that the turn-back was made not under autopilot but it was made under manual control, Kok said, conceding investigators could not establish whether the aircraft was flown by anyone other than the pilots.
“But we can also not exclude the possibility that there’s unlawful interference by a third party,’’ he said.
The chief investigator also said there was no evidence of a rapid change in the altitude and speed of the aircraft that indicated MH370 was deliberately avoiding radar.
Investigators found no evidence to suggest Zaharie or his first officer had experienced any recent changes or difficulties in personal relationships or that there were conflicts or problems between them.
Although Zaharie had suffered a spinal injury during a gliding accident in 2007, there was no long-term medication, no evidence of mental or psychiatric treatment and no history of anxiety and instability.
“He has no conflict issues with friends or family and he had shown no signs of social isolation, self-neglect not abuse of alcohol or drug, nor change of habit or interest,’’ he said.
There was also no evidence of financial stress, with no unusual financial transactions and no recent purchase of additional insurance.
It was a similar situation for the first officer, who was flying with Zaharie for the first time.
In contrast to earlier reports, Kok said there was no evidence
He said there were 2700 waypoints stored in the flight simulator, including some in the search area, but investigators had been unable to confirm whether the waypoints were in one file or separate files.
Malaysian police could also not confirm whether there was any data related to altitude or maneuvers on a similar route to that flown by MH370.
“So in conclusion, the forensic report by the Royal Malaysian Police was there were no unusual activities other than game-related flight simulations,’’ Kok said.
The report did find problems with the way air traffic controllers in Kuala Lumpur handled the handover to their counterparts in Ho Chi Minh City and relied on incorrect information supplied by Malaysia Airlines flight operations.
Vietnamese controllers also failed to notify KL in a timely way that two-way communication was not established with MH370.
Other findings included:
- A reiteration that that right outboard flap was most likely in the retracted position and the right flaperon was at, or close to, the neutral position when they separated from the wing. This indicated the aircraft was not configured to land. The recovery of the cabin interior also suggested the plane had broken up but it was not clear whether this was in the air or when it hit the ocean.
- All four of the aircraft’s emergency locator transmitters (ELT) malfunctioned but it was not clear why.
- MH370 did not carry any cargo classified as dangerous goods. Two items of interest — lithium batteries and Mangosteens — had been carried by MAS previously and were packed and loaded according to standard operating procedures. But they were not examined by X-ray because there was no machine big enough.
- There had only been one major repair on the aircraft, to a right wing tip damaged when the aircraft clipped an Airbus A340, carried out by Boeing and approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration.
- A 2006 system patented by Boeing to take over an aircraft by remote control in emergencies had never been implemented on a commercial aircraft and had not been retrofitted by Malaysia Airlines. “So in short, there is no evidence to support the belief that MH370 was taken over by remote control,’’ Kok said.
- Aircraft maintenance records indicated the aircraft was well maintained other than for an expired battery in the underwater locator beacon. The route followed by the aircraft and the height at which it flew did not suggest any mechanical problems with the frame, control systems, fuel or engines.
- Two of the satellite handshakes used to track the aircraft in the Indian ocean were significant: one likely due to an interruption of power to the satellite communications system and the other a result of fuel exhaustion.
Kop said that due to “the significant lack of evidence” the investigators were unable to determine with any certainty the reasons the aircraft diverted from its flight plan.
“The lack of evidence includes the information recorded on the flight data recorder, the cockpit voice recorder and other recording devices on the aircraft that could indicate why the aircraft had flown to the Southern Indian Ocean,’’ Kok said. “In conclusion, the team is unable to determine the real cause of the disappearance of the MH370.’’
Investigators came up with 16 recommendations aimed at enhancing safety through better aircraft tracking and improved emergency location trackers.
There were also recommendations for improved procedures for Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic controllers as well as at Malaysia Airlines.
