Day 22 — What we know

Day 20 — Many theories but few facts

More than two weeks passed between the recognition of the aircraft’s disappearance and the satellite data analysis that seems to have ended the disproportion of theory to knowledge.

Between the few hard facts that this tragedy admitted, there was much theorizing and speculating about what happened, and where the airplane went.

3/8 CNN Search intensifies for Malaysian airliner and 239 people, rescue ships head to sea

“It [Flight MH370] has disappeared from radar. We know the nationalities of the people on board.

3/9 The Guardian Malaysia Airlines: object found by Vietnam navy thought to be part of missing plane

“No wreckage has been found of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which went missing early on Saturday morning.At a press conference on Sunday morning, Malaysia’s transport minister, Hishamuddin Hussein, revealed that the identities of four passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight are under investigation.He also said that radar showed the plane may have turned back in mid-air.

3/10 The Guardian Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: officials widen search area

“Search area widened Official says men on stolen passports looked like ‘Balotelli’ Hijacking not being ruled out. Oil slick and yellow object prove to be false alarms

3/11 Wired How It’s Possible to Lose an Airplane in 2014

“It is still possible–although rare–for an airliner to seemingly vanish. “The simple hard truth is it’s very difficult to find things in the water,” said retired Col. J. Joseph, a former Marine Corps pilot and aviation consultant.

3/12 AOL Last words from missing plane were routine

“The last message from the cockpit of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight was routine. “All right, good night,” was the signoff transmitted to air traffic controllers five days ago. Then the Boeing 777 vanished as it cruised over the South China Sea toward Vietnam, and nothing has been seen or heard of the jetliner since.

3/13 CNN Search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane expands to Indian Ocean

“New information, U.S. officials told CNN, indicates the missing airplane could have flown for several hours beyond the last transponder reading. Malaysian authorities believe they have several “pings” from the airliner’s service data system, known as ACARS, transmitted to satellites in the four to five hours after the last transponder signal, suggesting the plane flew to the Indian Ocean, a senior U.S. official told CNN.

3/14 Huffington Post Malaysia Airlines Missing Plane: Radar Data Suggests Jet Flew Deliberately Toward Andaman Islands, Sources Say

“An investigation into the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner is focusing more on a suspicion of foul play, as evidence suggests it was diverted hundreds of miles off course, sources familiar with the Malaysian probe said.

3/15 New York Times Malaysia Officials Open Criminal Inquiry Into Missing Jet

“The search for Flight 370 turned into a criminal investigation on Saturday, after Malaysia declared that the plane had been deliberately diverted and then flown for as long as seven hours toward an unknown point far from its scheduled route of Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

3/16 India Today Final words from Malaysian jet came after systems shutdown

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The final words from the missing Malaysian jetliner’s cockpit gave no indication anything was wrong even though one of the plane’s communications systems had already been disabled, officials said Sunday, adding to suspicions that one or both of the pilots were involved in the disappearance.

3/17 Reuters Malaysian airplane investigators look at suicide as possible motive

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The co-pilot of a missing Malaysian jetliner spoke the last words heard from the cockpit, the airline’s chief executive said on Monday, as investigators consider suicide by the captain or first officer as one possible explanation for the disappearance.

3/18 CNN New evidence in Flight 370 search explains plane’s path

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New information from the Thai government bolsters the belief that missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 took a sharp westward turn after communication was lost.And it looks like that turn was no accident.A law enforcement official told CNN Tuesday that the aircraft’s first turn to the west was almost certainly programmed by somebody in the cockpit.

3/19 New York Times Newly Detected Objects Draw Searchers for Malaysian Plane

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The Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, announced on Thursday that satellite imagery had detected objects that might be connected to the missing Malaysia Airlines jet that vanished on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.

3/20 CBS News Possible Debris Near Australia Is ‘Best Lead’ Yet In Search For Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

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A freighter used searchlights early Friday to scan rough seas in one of the remotest places on Earth after satellite images detected possible pieces from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane in the southern Indian Ocean.

3/21 New York Times Nations Start to Collaborate in the Search

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The expansion of the multinational operation in the remote stretch of deep ocean illustrated how the increasingly bleak search for the jet was prompting some Asian nations to set aside regional tensions.

3/22 CNN China has new images showing object in southern Indian Ocean

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China announced that it has satellite images of a large object floating in the search area for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, but Australian-led search teams in the southern Indian Ocean found no sign of it Saturday.

3/23 New York Times A Routine Flight, Till Both Routine and Flight Vanish

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More than two weeks after Flight 370 disappeared, unbridled speculation surrounds the unfolding global drama. So much is uncertain about what happened on the plane, and so much of what has been disclosed by Malaysian authorities has been contradicted, that hardly any theory of its fate can be easily dismissed.

3/24 NPR Analysis Shows Flight 370 ‘Ended’ In Indian Ocean, Malaysia Says

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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak said Monday that new analysis of the flight path of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 showed that it “ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”Speaking at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, Razak said the U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch and the U.K.-based satellite company Inmarsat had used a first-of-its-kind analysis to determine the fate of the Boeing 777 and the 239 passengers and crew aboard.”Based on their new analysis, Inmarsat and the AAIB have concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth,” the prime minister said.”This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites,” Razak added. “It is therefore that with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that with this new data, Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”

Day 19 — The mysteriuos partial ping

Investigators revealed that eight minutes after the last complete transmission from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, there was a "partial ping" from the missing aircraft that could help investigators unravel what happened to the missing jet before it stopped flying.

The final partial transmission from the missing Boeing , which disappeared from civilian radar on March 8, "originates with the aircraft for reasons not understood," said Chris McLaughlin, senior vice president of Inmarsat PLC, which operates the satellite.

The company is investigating the partial ping - or digital handshake between the jet and the satellite - as "a failed login" to its satellite network or as "potential attempt by the system [aboard the aircraft] to reset itself," Mr. McLaughlin said.

The partial ping could have several possible explanations, he added, but that human interaction with the satellite communications system had been ruled out.

"We're not looking at this [partial ping] as someone trying to turn on the system and communicate," he said.

The partial ping is the latest in a series of clues that have presented new questions for investigators as they try to piece together what happened to the missing aircraft and the 239 people aboard.

Day 18 — Passengers

The 227 passengers and 12 crew onboard came from 14 different countries. The majority, 154, were Chinese while other passengers were from America, France, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Russia, the Netherlands, India, Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan and Indonesia. Seven of the passengers were children. The oldest passenger was 76.

Day 17 — Southern corridor

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that, based on satellite data analysis from UK company Inmarsat, Malayia Airlines flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean, and no one on board survived.

In a press statement this afternoon, Mr Razak said: "Inmarsat, the UK company that provided the satellite data which indicated the northern and southern corridors, has been performing further calculations on the data. Using a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort, they have been able to shed more light on MH370’s flight path. Based on their new analysis, Inmarsat and the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) have concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor, and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth. This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites. It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean."

Day 16 — Thai satellite images

Thailand has spotted 300 floating objects in the southern Indian Ocean during a satellite search for the missing Malaysian airliner, its space agency said Thursday. The objects, ranging from two to 15 meters (6.5 to 50 feet) in size, were scattered over an area about 2,700 kilometres southwest of Perth.

Day 10 — Doppler effect

Chris McLaughlin, senior vice president of external affairs at Inmarsat told Sky News : "Effectually we looked at the Doppler effect, which is the change in frequency, due to the movement of a satellite in its orbit. What that then gave us was a predicted path for the northerly route and a predicted path the southerly route." "They've tested it off against a number of other aircraft known flights and come to the conclusion that only the southern route was possible."

"We refined that with the signals we got from other (777) aircraft and that then gives you a very, very good fit." "Previous aircraft provided a pattern and that pattern to the south is virtually what we got in our suggested estimates." "So the fit is very, very strong."

McLaughlin said the company was relying on a 1990s satellite over the Indian Ocean that wasn't GPS equipped. But scientists could work out the approximate direction of travel "plus or minus 100 miles to a track line". "All we can do is to say we believe it is in this general location, but we can not give you the final few feet and inches of where it landed. It's just not that sort of system."

The new calculated southern tracks for a ground speed of 400 and 450 knots ground speed.

Day 8 — Satellite pings

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak reveals at a press conference that actions taken on board Flight MH370 were deliberate – including the disabling of the aircraft's communications system shortly before the plane reached the east coast of Malaysia as well as the flight's divergence from its planned route.

The last confirmed signal between the plane and the Inmarsat satellite came at 8:11 a.m. Malaysian time — about 7 1/2 hours after takeoff. Analysis of the plane's last communication with satellites places the aircraft in one of two "corridors" – a northern one from northern Thailand through to the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and a southern one from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean, Najib said.

Day 7 — Indian Ocean

Several "pings" from the aircraft were picked up by satellites for up to four hours after going off radar, according to a NBC News report citing sources. The pings would indicate the plane was able to communicate. But the data would be unlikely to include exact location or direction.

Investigators are increasingly certain the jet turned back across the Malay Peninsula after losing communication. International search expands westwards towards Indian Ocean.

Day 6 — Sign from the sky and earth

Malaysian Transport Minister Seri Hishammuddin dismissed claims that the missing aircraft may have flown for about four hours past the time it disappeared off tracking systems. U.S. investigators suspect that the plane could have flown on for an additional distance of about 2,200 miles (3,500 km). Hishammuddin said their search efforts have always been focused on the South China Sea.

China's civil aviation chief said there was no proof that floating objects in the South China Sea captured in satellite images.

The black box - which is actually orange - is used to record any instruction sent to the aircraft as well as conversations on radio and between the crew. When a plane is lost, the black box pings at a certain frequency for about 30 days and it can be detected within around five or six miles. The box itself is designed to withstand the high impact of a plane crash, the pressures of the deep sea and the high and low temperatures of fire and ice.

Day 5 — Search, search and search

The area of search for the missing aircraft expands to 27,000 nautical square miles covering the South China Sea and Strait of Malacca, with a total of 12 countries participating in the operation. There are a total of 42 ships and 39 aircraft currently involved in the multi-national search. Vietnam says it is scaling back its search in Vietnamese waters for the missing plane.

Sighting of objects in South China Sea: A Chinese government agency releases satellite images of what could be debris from Flight MH370 were released by a Chinese government agency.

A letter appeared on social media, originally written by a worker aboard an oil rig in the South China Sea and send his bosses. The oil rig worker said he believed he may have witnessed a plane plunging toward the water while on fire, and according to the time and location he believed it to have been MH370

Day 4 — Turning back

Two senior Malaysian military officials say missing jet flew for an hour off its flight course and at a lower altitude after disappearing from civil aviation radar. The military had received signals from the plane near Pulau Perak island at 2:40 am.They look further into the possibility that the airplane turned back after flying over Kota Bharu on Malaysia's northeast coast. It's explaining why Malaysia expanded search area to include Strait of Malacca two days earlier.

Interpol identifies two Iranian men as the passengers traveling on stolen passports: Pouria Nourmohammadi (18), and Seyed Mohammed Reza Delavar (29). The two men swapped their passports in Kuala Lumpur, using stolen Italian and Austrian passports to board the airline. A friend of the two men said they were intending to migrate to Europe, but there has been no confirmation from officials on this yet.

Photos and videos emerge of a Malaysia Airlines co-pilot identified as first officer Fariq Ab Hamid entertaining woman inside the cockpit during a previous flight. The airline says it is "shocked" by the allegations and has not been able to confirm validity of the claims.

Day 3 — Small traces

Oil slick results: Malaysian authorities receive test results from the oil slick spotted off Vietnam's coast, which came back negative for jet fuel. The oil turns out to be fuel oil typically used in cargo ships.

Search area widened: Malaysia's civil aviation announces that the search area will double to 100 nautical miles to cover a larger area of the Gulf of Thailand between Malaysia and Vietnam. This came after several leads from the original 50 mile-radius search parameter proved erroneous.

The largest rescue flotilla in Chinese naval history - four warships and five civilian and commercial vessels - speeds overnight to waters between Malaysia and Vietnam. Ten Chinese satellites join the hunt.

Malaysia Airlines announces it will give 31,000 yuan to relatives of each passenger as a special condolence payment.

Day 2 — The lost plane

Malaysia Airlines confirms the MH370 flight lost contact with Subang air traffic control at 1.30am after it took off from Kuala Lumpur. Families waiting at Beijing airport are told passengers will not arrive.

Search radius widens to 50 nautical miles from 20 nautical miles of the last-known position of the plane. More countries join the search and rescue operation including China, U.S., Singapore and the Philippines.

The Malaysian search team found a "yellowish" oil slick about 10 miles (16km) long, some 20 nautical miles (37km) south of the last point of contact of MH370.

The crew from a Vietnamese jet reported seeing a “possible life raft” floating in the sea around 250 miles off the country’s southern coast, only for search and rescue helicopters to later find it was no more than “a moss-covered cap of cable reel”.

Interpol confirms two passengers had used stolen passports: one Austrian, one Italian. It was checking whether others aboard had used false identity documents. The passports stolen in Phuket, Thailand few months earlier.

Day 1 — Mysterious disappearance

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 departs at 12:41am Malaysian local time (GMT+8) on Saturday, and is due to land in Beijing at 6:30am on the same day. The flight was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members.

The flight loses contact with air traffic controllers about an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. The last-known position of the plane was 120 nautical miles off the east coast of the Malaysian town of Kota Bharu, Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said. The aircraft was flying in good weather conditions and disappeared without warning or a distress signal.

Malaysia and Vietnam mount a joint search and rescue mission for the missing flight.