Published September 2, 2023 at 9:04 p.m. Modified on September 2, 2023 at 9:05 p.m.
March 8, 2014, 12:41 a.m. local time. Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 departs Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. On board: 227 passengers, two pilots and ten cabin crew. The plane must fly over South Vietnam before entering Chinese airspace. But about forty minutes after takeoff, the plane took a course almost opposite to its flight plan. Communication with air traffic control quickly stopped, the radars lost him and his transponder – which regularly transmits flight parameters – stopped transmitting. The plane then sends a few short automatic messages via satellite, the last one at 8:19 a.m., when it should have landed in Beijing. Then there is silence.
Very quickly, the search focused on an arc off Australia’s west coast describing the possible positions of the aircraft during its final satellite message. They mobilize many aircraft, ships and satellites, searching for possible floating debris or acoustic signals from the black box, but also many aviation and scientific experts. The largest and most expensive research effort in the history of aviation, which will only be discontinued in 2017. What happened that could explain a trip not in accordance with the flight plan and the unexpected shutdown of all communications systems? ? These questions still concern the relatives of the 239 missing people.
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