2014-03-08
Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH370
Departure
Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Destination
Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing, China
Causation Breakdown
Recurrence Likelihood Today
Low
New ICAO tracking standards now require aircraft to transmit position at least every 15 minutes globally. Autonomous Distress Tracking is being phased in. Transponder tampering cannot be entirely prevented but tracking improvements limit how long an aircraft can go undetected.
Summary
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished in the early hours of March 8, 2014, with 239 people aboard. Despite an international search spanning millions of square kilometres of ocean, the aircraft's main wreckage has never been located. A small number of debris fragments washed ashore on Indian Ocean islands. The disappearance remains aviation's greatest unsolved mystery and directly drove new international rules on real-time aircraft tracking.
Cause & Investigation
Determined cause
Undetermined — presumed crashed in Indian Ocean
Flight 370 disappeared 38 minutes after takeoff when its transponder ceased. Military radar tracked the aircraft deviating westward over the Malay Peninsula. Satellite handshake data (Inmarsat arc analysis) indicated the plane flew south for hours before presumed fuel exhaustion over the remote southern Indian Ocean. Despite the most expensive search in aviation history, the main wreckage has never been found.
Investigation body
Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370.
Timeline & Safety Improvements
Flight MH370 disaster
Boeing 777-2H6ER operating for Malaysia Airlines. 239 fatalities, 0 survivors.
Formal investigation opened
Conducted by: Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370.
Cause determined: Undetermined — presumed crashed in Indian Ocean
Flight 370 disappeared 38 minutes after takeoff when its transponder ceased. Military radar tracked the aircraft deviating westward over the Malay Peninsula. Satellite handshake data (Inmarsat arc analysis) indicated the plane flew south for hours before presumed fuel exhaustion over the remote southern Indian Ocean. Despite the most expensive search in aviation history, the main wreckage has never been found.
Improvement implemented
ICAO adopted Resolution A39-9 mandating real-time global aircraft tracking at 15-minute intervals by 2021.
Improvement implemented
The aviation industry adopted GADSS (Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System) standards.
Improvement implemented
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) requirements were accelerated in multiple jurisdictions.
Improvement implemented
Flight recorder underwater locator beacon battery life was extended from 30 to 90 days.