MH370 pilot likely 'flew plane to the end' and ditched it at sea, top air crash investigator claims - as fresh search for the missing flight ramps up

  • Officials hunting for flight MH370 believe the pilot may have ditched the aircraft
  • US-based company Ocean Infinity took over the search for the missing flight 
  • Investigators say most likely scenario is pilot flew it to the end and dumped it
  • The company will resume search for MH370's ocean grave in a matter of weeks

By April Glover For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 10:04 EST, 15 December 2017 | Updated: 14:31 EST, 15 December 2017

Fresh updates on the hunt for the inexplicably missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 indicate the plane may have been ditched in an ocean grave after the pilot flew it to the end.

Australian authorities failed to locate the jet following several years of combing the sea for debris and finally called off the futile search in January.

But the families of lost passengers were thrown a lifeline in October when US-based company Ocean Infinity offered to takeover the search for free - and now investigators claim the pilot likely flew the aircraft to the end and ditched it.

Australian authorities failed to locate the jet following several years of combing the sea for debris and finally called off the futile search in January 

Australian authorities failed to locate the jet following several years of combing the sea for debris and finally called off the futile search in January 

Pictured is a large piece of aircraft debris discovered on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania, in June

Pictured is a large piece of aircraft debris discovered on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania, in June

According to reports in The Australian, lead air crash investigator Captain John Cox believes evidence from the recovered wing flaps suggests the doomed plane was dumped intentionally. 

'Based on that analysis I think it is likely, possibly highly likely, that there was an attempt to ditch the airplane,' Captain Cox said.

Ocean Infinity stepped in to take over the $200 million search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 for free amid claims experts pinpointed the crash site. 

The company struck a 'no find no fee' deal with the Malaysian Government and will receive $90 million only if it locates the wreckage.

According to reports in The Australian , lead air crash investigator Captain John Cox believes evidence from the recovered wing flaps suggests the doomed plane was dumped intentionally (Pictured is debris found on Saint-Andre beach)

According to reports in The Australian , lead air crash investigator Captain John Cox believes evidence from the recovered wing flaps suggests the doomed plane was dumped intentionally (Pictured is debris found on Saint-Andre beach)

Ocean Infinity stepped in to take over the $200 million search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 for free amid claims experts pinpointed the crash site (Stock image)

Ocean Infinity stepped in to take over the $200 million search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 for free amid claims experts pinpointed the crash site (Stock image)

New analysis of satellite images taken two weeks after MH370 disappeared identified three locations where the wreckage of the jet could be (pictured)

New analysis of satellite images taken two weeks after MH370 disappeared identified three locations where the wreckage of the jet could be (pictured)

The publication reports that the search will resume under Ocean Infinity's lead in a matter of weeks.

MH370 disappeared without a trace during a scheduled flight to Kuala Lumpar from Beijing on March 8, 2014, along with 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 15 nations.

The multinational search for the missing aircraft cost Australian, Malaysian and Chinese taxpayers $200 million but after three years officials are still no closer to learning what truly happened on that flight.

The images were initially discounted as outside the plane's likely path over the Indian Ocean, but brought back into the frame after a review of data
The images were initially discounted as outside the plane's likely path over the Indian Ocean, but brought back into the frame after a review of data

The images were initially discounted as outside the plane's likely path over the Indian Ocean, but brought back into the frame after a review of data

Pictured is an overview map of where the four images were taken, just outside of the initial search areas, which are shown shaded in

Pictured is an overview map of where the four images were taken, just outside of the initial search areas, which are shown shaded in

Ocean Infinity intends to send a vessel with advanced sonar scanning technology to a smaller, 25,000sqm space where authorities believe contains vital clues for finding the debris.

Captain Cox's suggestion of a ditched aircraft does not support the popular theories that the plane was destroyed in a 'death dive' or a 'ghost flight'.

Some 20 pieces of debris suspected or confirmed to be from the missing MH370 flight have washed ashore on coastlines throughout the Indian Ocean.

 

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