MH370 mysterious disappearance: Its last critical moments

It was 12.25am in Malaysia on March 8, 2014. The air traffic control (ATC) personnel at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport were greeted with ‘good morning’ from the voices echoing from the cockpit of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. The Boeing 777-200ER carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board was prepared for take-off. While waiting for commands from the ATC, a Frankfurt-bound Malaysia Airlines flight MH6 took off from the KLIA runway. Everything was going smoothly as scheduled and all passengers were hoping to land in Beijing at 6.30am. Flight MH370 took approximately 16 minutes after it received instruction to leave the terminal on to the taxiway followed by the departure railway. “32 Right, cleared for take-off MAS370. Thank you. Bye.” And these were the last words uttered from MH370 cockpit before the plane was elevated from Malaysian soil at 12.41am. The aircraft, captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53 and his co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27 were on duty working hand-in-hand sharing the cockpit space–– manoeuvring the flight and monitoring the intermittent radio communications. The flight rocketed to a height of 25,000 feet at 12.46 am and maintained its elevation 15-minutes later at 35,000 feet. When the clock ticked 1.07 am, the first transmission from ACARS -- a service that allows computers aboard the plane to “communicate” with computers on the ground sent vital information about the mechanical state of the flight at which the flight retained its altitude level. As the clock struck 1.19am, the ATC instructed MH370 to contact Ho Chi Minh City as the flight was approaching the Malaysian and Vietnamese border: “Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Ho Chi Minh 120 decimal nine. Good night”.

Within five seconds interval, MH370 responded: “Good night, Malaysian Three Seven Zero”.

At 1:21 am the flight went off the Malaysian airspace and at that time Vietnam should have received communication from the aircraft. As the clock showed 1.30am, flight MH370 was reported missing.

So what happened?

According to former MAS Hajj and Charter Department assistant general manager Datuk Captain Nik Ahmad Huzlan Nik Hussain the spoken words, ‘good night’ was nothing out of ordinary as it is a usual routine performed by pilots. He spoke to Astro AWANI during an exclusive interview at a flight simulator in Shah Alam, Selangor. He said that those words were indications to both parties at different ends identify each other. “The Kuala Lumpur ATC in its radar received the transponder signal identified flight MH370’s plate number, altitude and speed. At 1:19am, he said, the Kuala Lumpur ATC reminded the flight to check in with the air traffic control in Ho Chi Minh City to notify MH370 was entering its airspace. “After the ‘good night, either the pilot or co-pilot should have changed the radio frequency and immediately called the Vietnam ATC,” he explained. Nik Huzlan said the normal procedure would begin with a greeting followed by an introduction of the pilot in command followed by the flight’s altitude level. If Ho Chi Minch City ATC received a verification of the flight’s and pilot’s identity, MH370 would be given the go-ahead to continue with its scheduled journey. He said that the, ‘greetings’ take place every time a flight passes airspace border. Strangely, that was not the case on that historic day. Nik Huzlan added a delay in establishing communication with the ATC of a specified air zone is not something peculiar. Since there were no distress signs detected in communication from the MH370 cockpit a little delay in communicating with the Ho Chi Minh ATC would not be considered unusual. Only after exceeding a few minutes, as in the case of MH370, it would be classified as ‘out of the ordinary’.

The mysterious 90 seconds

“The most crucial moment is during the 90 seconds period from 1.19am to 1.21am. It is during this period that contact with Vietnam should have been established. One outlandish theory cited the aircraft experienced technical difficulties while the other suggested that there was fire in the cockpit resulting to a ‘red alert’ moment where passengers passed out and died. Another bizarre theory also suggested that the plane was hijacked. “If these conspiracy theories were proven true and never went up in smoke, why weren’t there any radio calls made from the crew? If there was an emergency, multiple channels were available,” said Nik Huzlan. Sitting in a simulator, Nik Huzlan showed Awani the radio signal communication activating mode in the cockpit control panel. Be it visible or hidden, the communication channel is on the control column (yoke) button. “All communication channels are within reach even without the pilot’s watch,” said Nik Huzlan, adding that Captain Zaharie boasts a staggering 35 years of experience under his belt in aviation and that no way he could have deliberately forgotten the location of these buttons. There have been reports citing that some of the communication channels were manually shut as there was to be a 1.37am ACARS transmission (sent every half an hour) which was not done. For Nik Huzlan, the loss of the communication channel remains a mystery. Even after taking into account all the possibilities and of passing out due to hypoxia, how could have the flight allegedly made several turns after that? The Malaysian government backed by Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) along with several investigators unanimously opined that “it was a deliberate act by someone with the expertise in handling the flight and air route.” “That means, if anyone wanted to make their way to the cockpit it would have to be from the Business Class because Economy Class passengers trying to enter the Business Class would not be permitted. “It’s very suspicious as the person would have put up a fight,” Nik Huzlan explained, reiterating that any efforts to invade would take time and there would have been many opportunities to trigger the emergency code. For the uninitiated, the crew members are also given a secret code to be sent among them or the pilots through intercom in case of an emergency threat or even a plane hijack situation.

Normal altitude level

Flight MH370 was flying at the height 35,000 feet which is deemed normal altitude. Flights would fly as high as possible as it would give advantage in saving fuel cost. That altitude is also to evade clouds. If cloud formations are present at an altitude of 35,000 feet, the flight can raise up to an altitude of 37,000 or 41, 000 for instance,” said Nik Huzlan. According to him, in a course of flight, the pilot would try to fly as high as possible. In terms of traffic, if there’s another flight at that particular coordinate then, the flight is restricted to that initial elevation.

Can a transponder be switched on and off?

A transponder can indeed be switched on and off manually and that can be done a few times depending on the location–– before an aircraft takes off or during a flight,” said Nik Huzlan. "A transponder should be turned off when the plane is at the airport. Imagine if dozens of other planes at the same place, later it will be an overload of radar signals, "he said. Nik Huzlan added, “When an aircraft is airborne, the transponder should not be turned off.”

Possibility of a hijack

According to Nik Huzlan, after the 9/11 tragedy in New York, cockpit doors were built sturdier and additional security features added. The procedure for entering the cockpit involves a security code known only by the flight crew. He added that the pilot can also monitor the movement outside the cockpit door via a closed circuit television (CCTV). In brief, the entry to the cockpit is not as easy as it used to be.

Is flight MH370 in Antarctica?

A documentary featured by an international publication recently mentioned about a new theory that flight MH370 was headed to Antarctica. Nik Huzlan however, did not completely deny the statement. "Based on the straight-line path and satellite data of course it was pointing to the South Indian Ocean and to Antarctica. It’s like we want to drive a car to Changlun in Kedah, but with a certain amount of fuel it can only get you to Tapah. "Assuming (the documentary) is only to bring up sensation, it doesn’t sound deceiving and it is not wrong, but the flight (ending in Antarctica) is not correct, "said Nik Huzlan.

Refuting the Diego Garcia theory

Possibilities of flight MH370 being hidden in the island of Diego Garcia where a military base operated by alleged world superpowers has been one of the most popular theories among conspirators. However, Nik Huzlan said the mystery surrounding Diego Garcia surfaced for the first time by the public relating to matters of intelligence. The aviation community in the world of aviation, it is a very common location. “In mid-2000, two MAS aircrafts flew there (Diego Garcia) to repatriate United States’ military members. I personally coordinated those flights, “he said.

Let’s not over analyse