MH370: Nobody was at control at the end of its flight - ATSB new chief
Suganthi Suparmaniam
July 28, 2016 13:09 MYT
July 28, 2016 13:09 MYT
MH370 plunged into the ocean at almost 400km/hr said Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) new chief commissioner Greg Hood.
In an interview with AirlineRatings.com, he said the dramatic descent from about 5,400ft (1,200m) a minute to up to 20,000ft (6,700m) a minute suggests that no one was in control of the aircraft.
Last week, the New York magazine cited a secret FBI document showing the jet's captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah used his elaborate home-built flight simulator to chart a route similar to the one believed taken by the doomed plane just weeks before it disappeared.
The revelation reignited speculation that the unsolved mystery could have been a murder or suicide.
However, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had off the report, saying it was a matter for Malaysia and did not shed light on the plane's location.
Hood said the FBI report was nothing new and added that they have known about it for two years as it was widely reported in the media at the time.
“It potentially shows planning and possibly intent, but it does not tell us where the aircraft is,” Hood was quoted by the portal.
Flight MH370 with 239 people aboard disappeared during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
On Jan 29 last year, DCA director-general Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman representing the Malaysian government announced the loss of flight MH370 as an accident under international aviation regulations, and all 239 passengers and crew on board were deemed to have lost their lives.
It was reported that Malaysia, China and Australia would suspend but not terminate the search for MH370 upon completion of the priority 120,000 sq kilometre search area.
To date, more than 110,000 sq km had been searched.