General info
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) was a regular international passenger flight that disappeared on 8 March 2014 route from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport. The aircraft, last made contact with air traffic control in a 40 minutes after takeoff. Operated by Malaysia Airlines (MAS), the aircraft carried 12 crew members and 227 passengers from 15 nations.
On the same day of disappearance, a joint search and rescue operations were conducted in the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea. On 11 March, the search area was extended to the Strait of Malacca. On 12 March, authorities also began to search the Andaman Sea, northwest of the Strait of Malacca. Subsequently, new information led to the search area being expanded to include the Indian Ocean south of Sumatra, as well as significant tracts of land.
On 20 March, a series of satellite images showing potential aircraft debris in the southern Indian Ocean southwest of Australia prompted increased search activity in the area. Further debris was spotted in the vicinity by Australian and Chinese military aircraft on 24 March. Although the whereabouts of the plane were still not known, as of 24 March officials with both Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian government indicated that they believed the plane had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean with no survivors, based on analyses by the United Kingdom's Air Accidents Investigation Branch and satellite company Inmarsat.
On the same day of disappearance, a joint search and rescue operations were conducted in the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea. On 11 March, the search area was extended to the Strait of Malacca. On 12 March, authorities also began to search the Andaman Sea, northwest of the Strait of Malacca. Subsequently, new information led to the search area being expanded to include the Indian Ocean south of Sumatra, as well as significant tracts of land.
On 20 March, a series of satellite images showing potential aircraft debris in the southern Indian Ocean southwest of Australia prompted increased search activity in the area. Further debris was spotted in the vicinity by Australian and Chinese military aircraft on 24 March. Although the whereabouts of the plane were still not known, as of 24 March officials with both Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian government indicated that they believed the plane had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean with no survivors, based on analyses by the United Kingdom's Air Accidents Investigation Branch and satellite company Inmarsat.