MH370 pilot deliberately crashed plane, say aviation experts

AUSTRALIA — A panel of aviation experts have suggested that Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 was deliberately flown off-course and crashed.

CBS reports that the experts put together by 60 Minutes Australia believe the captain masterminded the plane's disappearance, in what is possibly an intricately planned mass murder-suicide.

According to Boeing 777 pilot and instructor Simon Hardy, the aircraft flew along the Thai-Malaysian border, criss-crossing into both countries' airspace to avoid detection.

Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah dipped the plane's wings left over his hometown of Penang, leading Hardy to suspect he looked out the window in an emotional goodbye. The plane then turned northwest before dropping off the range of military radar.

Crash investigator Larry Vance believes the captain depressurized the cabin at some point to disable passengers, which could explain the lack of any texts or emergency calls.

Satellite data had picked up faint signals from the plane's engines, showing it could have flown either north toward Kazakhstan, or south to the Indian Ocean. Calculations indicated the latter.

In searching for the missing plane, the Australian Transport and Safety Bureau worked under the assumption that it crashed into the ocean following an uncontrolled dive.

Hardy believes the pilot was controlling the aircraft until the end. He would have easily pulled out of the death dive and flown longer before impact, which would put the crash site outside the current search area.

While the experts present some compelling theories, the fact remains that four years on, the plane has yet to be found.

Without solid evidence from the wreckage, there's no way to definitively unravel the mysteries surrounding MH370.