1 00:00:01,067 --> 00:00:04,069 [ indistinct radio chatter ] 2 00:00:08,742 --> 00:00:11,910 [ chatter continues ] 3 00:00:11,978 --> 00:00:14,346 [ engine roars ] 4 00:00:26,159 --> 00:00:28,160 [ chatter continues ] 5 00:00:29,562 --> 00:00:33,032 man: maybe 65. 65 miles out. 6 00:00:33,133 --> 00:00:35,834 could be a light or... 7 00:00:39,773 --> 00:00:41,774 [ indistinct radio chatter ] 8 00:00:54,387 --> 00:00:55,954 breaking news. 9 00:00:56,056 --> 00:00:57,389 breaking news out of the far east. 10 00:00:57,490 --> 00:00:59,625 a boeing 777 is missing. 11 00:00:59,692 --> 00:01:02,928 here to bring you the latest on that missing airliner 12 00:01:03,029 --> 00:01:04,663 that took off from kuala lumpur. 13 00:01:04,764 --> 00:01:07,533 it was expected to land at 6:30 a.m. local time. 14 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,102 now it's almost 9:00 in the morning in beijing right now. 15 00:01:10,203 --> 00:01:12,071 that means that plane is 2 1/2 hours late. 16 00:01:12,138 --> 00:01:15,707 narrator: malaysia flight 370 departed kuala lumpur 17 00:01:15,775 --> 00:01:21,180 after midnight on march 8, 2014 and then vanished into thin air. 18 00:01:21,281 --> 00:01:23,148 [ plane engine humming ] 19 00:01:23,216 --> 00:01:27,553 since then, planes, ships, submarines, and drones 20 00:01:27,654 --> 00:01:29,021 from 26 countries 21 00:01:29,122 --> 00:01:31,390 have engaged in the largest aviation search 22 00:01:31,491 --> 00:01:33,759 in human history, 23 00:01:33,860 --> 00:01:37,830 all desperately looking for the missing boeing 777 24 00:01:37,931 --> 00:01:41,600 and the 239 lost souls on board. 25 00:01:41,668 --> 00:01:43,302 the harrowing search has turned up 26 00:01:43,403 --> 00:01:46,271 no evidence of debris or passengers, 27 00:01:46,372 --> 00:01:48,073 making this ghost flight 28 00:01:48,174 --> 00:01:51,577 one of the world's greatest unsolved mysteries. 29 00:01:53,379 --> 00:01:56,815 [ indistinct conversations ] 30 00:01:56,916 --> 00:01:59,952 the family members and friends of the people on board 31 00:02:00,019 --> 00:02:03,455 are longing for answers about where the plane is 32 00:02:03,556 --> 00:02:05,824 and if there's any possibility 33 00:02:05,925 --> 00:02:07,593 that their loved ones are still alive. 34 00:02:07,660 --> 00:02:09,161 [ crying ] 35 00:02:09,262 --> 00:02:13,632 initially, you tend to want to start to grieve, 36 00:02:13,733 --> 00:02:16,034 to start the grieving process. 37 00:02:16,102 --> 00:02:20,172 but i have no idea what happened to the plane. 38 00:02:28,014 --> 00:02:29,815 [ sniffles ] 39 00:02:34,921 --> 00:02:39,625 philip has been my daily companion for 2 1/2 years, 40 00:02:39,726 --> 00:02:43,795 and it leaves a real gap in my life. 41 00:02:43,897 --> 00:02:46,031 the position of the family members 42 00:02:46,099 --> 00:02:50,903 and my personal position is that we must push to find this plane. 43 00:02:51,004 --> 00:02:55,174 it is not an acceptable solution to just close the search down. 44 00:02:55,275 --> 00:02:58,177 we've got to know what happened. 45 00:02:58,278 --> 00:03:01,747 narrator: there are still so many unanswered questions 46 00:03:01,814 --> 00:03:03,715 and theories to explore. 47 00:03:03,816 --> 00:03:05,350 but first, the undisputed facts 48 00:03:05,451 --> 00:03:08,253 about what happened on that fateful day. 49 00:03:13,193 --> 00:03:14,927 [ indistinct announcement over p.a. system ] 50 00:03:14,994 --> 00:03:16,929 passengers boarded what should have been 51 00:03:16,996 --> 00:03:20,999 a routine friday night red-eye on a boeing 777, 52 00:03:21,100 --> 00:03:26,572 one of the safest planes ever built for transoceanic flight. 53 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:29,508 malaysian flight mh370 was a boeing 777. 54 00:03:29,609 --> 00:03:33,178 this particular brand of 777 was designed from the outset 55 00:03:33,279 --> 00:03:37,516 to carry roughly 200, 250 passengers over long distances, 56 00:03:37,617 --> 00:03:39,318 over water, and over land. 57 00:03:39,419 --> 00:03:42,888 and in fact, it was designed, even though it had two engines, 58 00:03:42,989 --> 00:03:44,289 to be more reliable 59 00:03:44,357 --> 00:03:46,858 than earlier-model aircraft with three or four engines. 60 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,528 the flight from kuala lumpur to beijing 61 00:03:49,629 --> 00:03:51,496 was planned to be 6 1/2 hours, 62 00:03:51,598 --> 00:03:55,200 so the aircraft had about 8, 8 1/2 hours' fuel on board. 63 00:03:55,268 --> 00:03:57,035 [ indistinct radio chatter ] 64 00:04:02,709 --> 00:04:06,578 flight 370 left from runway 32 right. 65 00:04:06,679 --> 00:04:08,146 it was flying northeast, 66 00:04:08,248 --> 00:04:10,449 heading towards vietnam airspace. 67 00:04:10,516 --> 00:04:14,620 the airspeed was 471 knots, or 542 miles an hour, 68 00:04:14,721 --> 00:04:16,555 which is exactly what it should be going. 69 00:04:16,623 --> 00:04:17,956 the altitude was exactly right. 70 00:04:18,057 --> 00:04:22,794 for a 777, it was about as normal as you can be. 71 00:04:22,895 --> 00:04:25,597 narrator: passengers settled in for a long flight, 72 00:04:25,698 --> 00:04:28,233 and nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary 73 00:04:28,334 --> 00:04:31,270 as the pilot reported that all systems were normal 74 00:04:31,337 --> 00:04:33,505 through the plane's a.c.a.r.s. system. 75 00:04:33,606 --> 00:04:35,340 a.c.a.r.s. is actually an acronym. 76 00:04:35,441 --> 00:04:36,975 it stands for 77 00:04:37,076 --> 00:04:40,579 aircraft communications and reporting system 78 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:42,648 where the pilots can communicate back, 79 00:04:42,749 --> 00:04:45,317 and the plane can communicate back with their base. 80 00:04:45,418 --> 00:04:47,486 this is really texting for pilots. 81 00:04:47,587 --> 00:04:48,854 it's done differently. 82 00:04:48,955 --> 00:04:51,023 we're not using a cellular network 83 00:04:51,124 --> 00:04:52,524 like we do on our phones. 84 00:04:52,592 --> 00:04:55,127 we're using the communication radios on the airplane 85 00:04:55,228 --> 00:04:56,194 to send that data. 86 00:04:56,296 --> 00:04:58,263 basically, it's just back-and-forth, 87 00:04:58,331 --> 00:04:59,431 receiving weather. 88 00:04:59,499 --> 00:05:01,300 but in the background, there's other functions. 89 00:05:01,401 --> 00:05:04,102 it's also reporting information, totally automated, 90 00:05:04,203 --> 00:05:08,106 seeing what the airplane is doing to stay in touch with it. 91 00:05:13,780 --> 00:05:17,649 370, 130, 250. 92 00:05:17,750 --> 00:05:19,384 good night. malaysia 370. 93 00:05:22,955 --> 00:05:24,623 at 1:21 a.m., 94 00:05:24,691 --> 00:05:27,092 something occurred with the transponder. 95 00:05:27,193 --> 00:05:29,328 the transponder, for whatever reason, 96 00:05:29,395 --> 00:05:30,662 stopped transmitting. 97 00:05:30,763 --> 00:05:34,366 curtis: either the transponders were deliberately turned off, 98 00:05:34,467 --> 00:05:36,668 or there was some other event happening 99 00:05:36,769 --> 00:05:39,037 that made the transponders no longer transmit 100 00:05:39,138 --> 00:05:41,273 their information to the outside world. 101 00:05:44,143 --> 00:05:45,877 once that transponder's turned off, 102 00:05:45,945 --> 00:05:48,914 air traffic control radars are no longer able to track it. 103 00:05:49,015 --> 00:05:51,016 military-type radars, however, 104 00:05:51,117 --> 00:05:54,086 are designed to track aircraft even without transponders. 105 00:05:54,187 --> 00:05:57,456 narrator: despite its loss of transponder signal, 106 00:05:57,557 --> 00:06:00,959 thai military radar continues tracking mh370 107 00:06:01,027 --> 00:06:04,730 for just over a minute before it disappears. 108 00:06:04,831 --> 00:06:07,499 eight minutes later at 1:29 a.m., 109 00:06:07,567 --> 00:06:10,769 a thai radar station in the southern surat thani province 110 00:06:10,837 --> 00:06:13,939 detects what it believes to be malaysia 370 111 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:15,907 heading in the opposite direction. 112 00:06:16,008 --> 00:06:20,545 the plane executed a turn, about a 150-degree turn. 113 00:06:20,646 --> 00:06:23,315 it turned back toward malaysia. 114 00:06:23,383 --> 00:06:27,252 thai air traffic control were able to see it heading on radar 115 00:06:27,353 --> 00:06:28,754 at a couple way points 116 00:06:28,855 --> 00:06:30,989 heading back over the straits of malacca. 117 00:06:47,206 --> 00:06:50,742 1:37 a.m., the next a.c.a.r.s. transmission was due, 118 00:06:50,843 --> 00:06:52,711 and that information never came. 119 00:06:52,812 --> 00:06:55,147 that a.c.a.r.s. transmission was not made. 120 00:06:55,248 --> 00:06:59,251 narrator: with no radio contact, no radar or transponder fix, 121 00:06:59,352 --> 00:07:01,586 and now no a.c.a.r.s. update, 122 00:07:01,654 --> 00:07:07,159 the plane is a complete phantom for 45 minutes of dead silence. 123 00:07:08,728 --> 00:07:10,729 [ indistinct radio chatter ] 124 00:07:13,466 --> 00:07:16,168 54 minutes after the last communications 125 00:07:16,269 --> 00:07:18,370 after the transponders stopped, 126 00:07:18,471 --> 00:07:20,272 mh370 was picked up 127 00:07:20,373 --> 00:07:22,507 by two different malaysian military radars. 128 00:07:22,608 --> 00:07:25,377 one of these radar stations was near penang 129 00:07:25,445 --> 00:07:26,611 on the west coast, 130 00:07:26,712 --> 00:07:29,448 and the other was k.b. on the northeast coast. 131 00:07:31,517 --> 00:07:34,986 the unidentified plane believed to be malaysia 370 132 00:07:35,087 --> 00:07:37,456 flew west over the peninsula 133 00:07:37,557 --> 00:07:40,225 and arrived and flew over the point vampi. 134 00:07:40,326 --> 00:07:44,496 it then turned and made a northeasterly sort of turn 135 00:07:44,597 --> 00:07:46,998 and went to the next way point, gival, 136 00:07:47,099 --> 00:07:48,366 where it passed over that, 137 00:07:48,468 --> 00:07:50,502 then passed over another way point 138 00:07:50,603 --> 00:07:52,938 before it finally disappeared. 139 00:07:53,005 --> 00:07:55,240 so the plane was behaving very strangely. 140 00:07:55,341 --> 00:07:58,310 the plane appears to have passed over 141 00:07:58,411 --> 00:08:00,812 established navigational way points. 142 00:08:00,913 --> 00:08:02,113 it's very mysterious 143 00:08:02,181 --> 00:08:04,182 because that's really not how you have to fly a plane 144 00:08:04,250 --> 00:08:06,985 in today's modern gps world. 145 00:08:10,823 --> 00:08:13,158 for whatever reason in this period of time 146 00:08:13,259 --> 00:08:15,627 as it was hopscotching among the way points, 147 00:08:15,728 --> 00:08:19,231 there are reports that it was also varying widely in altitude. 148 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,135 the plane climbed as high as 45,000 feet. 149 00:08:24,237 --> 00:08:27,405 that's significant, because at 45,000 feet, 150 00:08:27,507 --> 00:08:30,742 if your passengers didn't have oxygen 151 00:08:30,810 --> 00:08:33,545 or if you de-pressurized, for whatever reason, the cabin, 152 00:08:33,613 --> 00:08:36,715 at 45,000 feet, it's very difficult to live. 153 00:08:39,719 --> 00:08:40,719 it then descended. 154 00:08:40,786 --> 00:08:44,089 it went down to 23,000 feet 155 00:08:44,156 --> 00:08:45,323 and then turned around 156 00:08:45,424 --> 00:08:48,560 and climbed back up to a little over 29,000 feet. 157 00:08:48,661 --> 00:08:51,730 narrator: by 2:40 a.m., two hours after takeoff, 158 00:08:51,797 --> 00:08:55,967 malaysian radar reports its last tracking of mh370. 159 00:08:56,068 --> 00:08:59,337 the flight is now completely invisible from ground radar. 160 00:08:59,438 --> 00:09:01,373 but the plane still appears to be flying 161 00:09:01,474 --> 00:09:03,708 as orbiting inmarsat satellites 162 00:09:03,776 --> 00:09:06,645 are able to detect handshakes with the plane. 163 00:09:06,746 --> 00:09:10,582 schiavo: after the airliner went missing from radar, 164 00:09:10,683 --> 00:09:12,384 inmarsat satellite data said 165 00:09:12,485 --> 00:09:15,053 that there were a series of these handshakes. 166 00:09:15,154 --> 00:09:17,022 curtis: the term "handshakes" been used 167 00:09:17,123 --> 00:09:19,925 to describe what was going on with the a.c.a.r.s. system 168 00:09:20,026 --> 00:09:22,294 after the transponders were turned off. 169 00:09:22,361 --> 00:09:24,129 think of a handshake as a sort of an echo. 170 00:09:24,230 --> 00:09:27,232 something is transmitted at one end, 171 00:09:27,333 --> 00:09:29,000 it's received at the other end, 172 00:09:29,101 --> 00:09:31,503 and some sort of reply is reflected back. 173 00:09:31,604 --> 00:09:33,838 but the signals didn't mean a whole lot. 174 00:09:33,940 --> 00:09:36,074 the signals were just literally a blip 175 00:09:36,142 --> 00:09:39,311 somewhere on some circles above the earth. 176 00:09:39,412 --> 00:09:42,581 and so based on that data, the plane was still intact, 177 00:09:42,682 --> 00:09:45,317 and it was still putting out these radio signals. 178 00:09:45,418 --> 00:09:46,785 it was still flying. 179 00:09:53,659 --> 00:09:55,660 [ indistinct conversations ] 180 00:09:56,862 --> 00:10:00,432 at 6:30 a.m., families and friends 181 00:10:00,499 --> 00:10:03,134 were waiting at the beijing airport 182 00:10:03,235 --> 00:10:05,804 to greet their loved ones. 183 00:10:05,905 --> 00:10:07,973 they didn't know that it had gone missing, 184 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:09,808 and malaysia hadn't informed them 185 00:10:09,909 --> 00:10:13,812 that they had instituted a search to find the plane. 186 00:10:24,023 --> 00:10:28,827 8:11 a.m. was the last complete handshake, 187 00:10:28,928 --> 00:10:30,662 and that was the last time 188 00:10:30,763 --> 00:10:34,199 that the plane sent this signal to the satellite 189 00:10:34,300 --> 00:10:37,369 and the satellite got the signal and acknowledged. 190 00:10:37,470 --> 00:10:38,903 the plane was still flying. 191 00:10:39,005 --> 00:10:41,840 the engines were still turning. it was still intact. 192 00:10:41,941 --> 00:10:43,441 and that was 8:11. 193 00:10:47,213 --> 00:10:49,180 curtis: and roughly eight minutes later at 8:19, 194 00:10:49,281 --> 00:10:51,016 there was a partial handshake. 195 00:10:51,117 --> 00:10:52,350 that partial handshake, 196 00:10:52,451 --> 00:10:54,719 being much less than the 1-hour interval 197 00:10:54,820 --> 00:10:56,354 from the previous handshakes, 198 00:10:56,455 --> 00:10:59,124 is indicative of a non-normal situation going on. 199 00:10:59,191 --> 00:11:02,193 it suggests that the aircraft ran out of fuel 200 00:11:02,294 --> 00:11:03,762 at 8:19 in the morning. 201 00:11:03,829 --> 00:11:09,000 it is with deep sadness that i must inform you, 202 00:11:09,101 --> 00:11:15,640 flight mh370 ended. 203 00:11:15,741 --> 00:11:17,075 something happened. 204 00:11:17,176 --> 00:11:19,010 we don't know what happened. 205 00:11:19,111 --> 00:11:21,579 we need to find out what happened. 206 00:11:21,647 --> 00:11:24,582 there's nothing more disturbing than a ghost plane. 207 00:11:24,650 --> 00:11:28,253 narrator: what really happened to malaysia flight 370? 208 00:11:28,354 --> 00:11:32,190 could it have been an act of god 209 00:11:32,291 --> 00:11:33,725 or pilot suicide? 210 00:11:33,826 --> 00:11:36,628 darby: if i had to pick a suicide, i would pick the captain. 211 00:11:36,729 --> 00:11:38,496 narrator: was it part of a government cover-up? 212 00:11:38,564 --> 00:11:39,731 soucie: if the aircraft had landed there, 213 00:11:39,832 --> 00:11:41,599 the u.s. government would know about it. 214 00:11:41,701 --> 00:11:44,502 narrator: or a catastrophic mechanical failure? 215 00:11:44,603 --> 00:11:46,404 darby: what's unexplained is why the airplane 216 00:11:46,472 --> 00:11:48,039 would subsequently climb back out. 217 00:11:48,107 --> 00:11:49,107 oh! 218 00:11:49,175 --> 00:11:51,142 narrator: did fire bring the plane down? 219 00:11:51,243 --> 00:11:53,645 gadzinski: it can quickly consume an entire aircraft. 220 00:11:53,746 --> 00:11:56,381 narrator: or was it the most horrific act imaginable? 221 00:11:56,449 --> 00:11:58,016 yeffet: it was hijacked. 222 00:11:58,084 --> 00:12:00,985 can past ghost planes help us find the truth 223 00:12:01,087 --> 00:12:04,089 behind the disappearance of malaysia flight 370? 224 00:12:04,190 --> 00:12:06,257 bajc: the worst possible thing that could happen 225 00:12:06,358 --> 00:12:09,160 is we never find the plane at all. 226 00:12:10,262 --> 00:12:13,164 upon first meeting ju kun, we were like brothers. 227 00:12:13,265 --> 00:12:15,033 ju kun was a fight choreographer. 228 00:12:15,134 --> 00:12:20,405 he was a stunt coordinator. he was a father of two. 229 00:12:20,506 --> 00:12:22,841 he was also a stunt double for jet li -- 230 00:12:22,942 --> 00:12:25,677 "the mummy," "forbidden kingdom." 231 00:12:25,778 --> 00:12:28,246 it's really hard to find people that you can trust, 232 00:12:28,347 --> 00:12:29,247 especially in stunts. 233 00:12:29,348 --> 00:12:30,415 i mean, your lives -- 234 00:12:30,516 --> 00:12:32,283 people, you hold their lives in your hands. 235 00:12:32,384 --> 00:12:34,486 you're flying on a wire about 40 feet in the air 236 00:12:34,587 --> 00:12:37,155 and you have someone who's, you know, in control of that. 237 00:12:37,256 --> 00:12:38,423 and he's one of those. 238 00:12:38,524 --> 00:12:40,391 i trust this guy. 239 00:12:40,493 --> 00:12:42,927 i trust this person with my life. 240 00:12:43,028 --> 00:12:45,597 ju kun and i were both working on a new production 241 00:12:45,698 --> 00:12:46,965 the day he was traveling. 242 00:12:47,066 --> 00:12:48,500 and he went to go see his kids, 243 00:12:48,601 --> 00:12:50,368 and that's the last time i saw him. 244 00:12:50,469 --> 00:12:53,371 what do i believe happened to the plane? 245 00:12:53,472 --> 00:12:55,173 i think it was hijacked. 246 00:12:55,274 --> 00:12:56,608 but i can hope 247 00:12:56,709 --> 00:13:01,045 that if it was hijacked, let's say, for a specific reason, 248 00:13:01,147 --> 00:13:04,082 maybe the people are still alive, 249 00:13:04,183 --> 00:13:08,653 being held prisoner somewhere, something for a reason unknown. 250 00:13:08,754 --> 00:13:11,890 but knowing the september scenario, 251 00:13:11,991 --> 00:13:13,725 it never ends well. 252 00:13:19,865 --> 00:13:22,567 narrator: it was the worst kind of wake-up call. 253 00:13:22,668 --> 00:13:25,236 september 11, 2001 brought home 254 00:13:25,337 --> 00:13:28,339 the real threat of weaponized airliners. 255 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:30,842 many believe a similar, devious plot 256 00:13:30,943 --> 00:13:34,245 is behind the disappearance of malaysia air 370. 257 00:13:34,346 --> 00:13:36,815 i have experience of so many years 258 00:13:36,916 --> 00:13:38,850 with aviation security around the world 259 00:13:38,951 --> 00:13:41,319 and not only in america or in israel. 260 00:13:41,420 --> 00:13:45,824 and it gives me the evidence -- signs, i would say, 261 00:13:45,925 --> 00:13:48,626 what happened to the malaysian aircraft, 262 00:13:48,727 --> 00:13:50,595 that it was hijacked. 263 00:13:52,932 --> 00:13:55,867 gadzinski: the airplane appears to be operated in a way 264 00:13:55,968 --> 00:13:58,570 that confounds a lot of safety investigators 265 00:13:58,671 --> 00:14:01,606 as to what a normal pilot would do in those situations. 266 00:14:01,707 --> 00:14:04,709 so in that case, the hijacking scenario 267 00:14:04,810 --> 00:14:07,912 does appear to be a plausible theory. 268 00:14:12,918 --> 00:14:16,521 yeffet: airports are the best targets for the terrorists, 269 00:14:16,622 --> 00:14:21,326 because when you hijack aircraft with hundreds of passengers, 270 00:14:21,427 --> 00:14:24,195 the entire world is screaming. 271 00:14:24,296 --> 00:14:26,497 if the enemy wants to attack, 272 00:14:26,599 --> 00:14:31,369 they're looking for the weakest airlines or countries with security. 273 00:14:31,470 --> 00:14:34,906 "where is the best target for me with no resistance? 274 00:14:35,007 --> 00:14:36,808 i want the easy target." 275 00:14:36,909 --> 00:14:38,209 malaysia is one of them. 276 00:14:38,310 --> 00:14:40,678 narrator: upon examination of the boarding passengers, 277 00:14:40,779 --> 00:14:45,216 the manifest included several people of particular interest. 278 00:14:45,317 --> 00:14:49,053 yeffet: two iranian guys went to kuala lumpur 279 00:14:49,154 --> 00:14:50,488 with stolen passports. 280 00:14:50,589 --> 00:14:51,723 and they paid cash. 281 00:14:51,824 --> 00:14:56,194 any airline in the world, this is a red flag. 282 00:14:56,295 --> 00:14:59,597 we believe that he is not likely 283 00:14:59,698 --> 00:15:02,800 to be a member of any terrorist group. 284 00:15:02,902 --> 00:15:05,870 narrator: while most investigations cleared the travelers 285 00:15:05,971 --> 00:15:09,207 holding the stolen passports of suspicion, 286 00:15:09,308 --> 00:15:12,477 it does highlight the holes in airport security. 287 00:15:14,914 --> 00:15:17,649 recently, there was an episode 288 00:15:17,750 --> 00:15:20,018 where a boy broke into an airport. 289 00:15:20,119 --> 00:15:21,452 he got over the fence at an airport 290 00:15:21,553 --> 00:15:23,121 and got into the wheel well of a jet 291 00:15:23,222 --> 00:15:24,923 that was headed for hawaii. 292 00:15:25,024 --> 00:15:27,292 soucie: how was he able to get across the runway 293 00:15:27,393 --> 00:15:29,127 to where the aircraft was, 294 00:15:29,228 --> 00:15:32,196 to get inside that thing without anyone noticing 295 00:15:32,298 --> 00:15:34,232 at a commercial international airport? 296 00:15:34,333 --> 00:15:38,136 soucie: since 9/11, there's been incredible advances in security. 297 00:15:38,237 --> 00:15:43,107 but i don't think it's possible to make the airways 100% secure. 298 00:15:48,347 --> 00:15:50,982 darby: malaysian airlines 370, the first part of this flight 299 00:15:51,083 --> 00:15:54,519 was a totally normal flight until it stopped communicating. 300 00:15:58,123 --> 00:16:00,858 nine radios, seven power sources. 301 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,095 it's just inconceivable that all of that could fail at once. 302 00:16:04,196 --> 00:16:06,998 so it appears to be at least some combination 303 00:16:07,099 --> 00:16:10,001 of the pilot or the person or the terrorist involved 304 00:16:10,102 --> 00:16:11,502 not wanting to communicate. 305 00:16:11,603 --> 00:16:13,338 gillespie: if you're flying 306 00:16:13,439 --> 00:16:16,307 and you decide you don't want to be seen on radar, 307 00:16:16,408 --> 00:16:19,210 there are ways to avoid being seen on radar. 308 00:16:19,311 --> 00:16:21,512 you turn off the transponder. 309 00:16:21,613 --> 00:16:23,881 the transponder would have had to be turned off, 310 00:16:23,983 --> 00:16:24,916 which was from the cockpit. 311 00:16:25,017 --> 00:16:25,950 some people have said 312 00:16:26,051 --> 00:16:27,585 that it has to be done from underneath. 313 00:16:27,686 --> 00:16:32,156 it doesn't. the transponder can be disabled from the cockpit. 314 00:16:32,257 --> 00:16:37,562 in my mind, the terrorists jump on him... 315 00:16:38,998 --> 00:16:40,765 they kill him, like we know, september 11th, 316 00:16:40,866 --> 00:16:43,468 what they did to all of the pilots. 317 00:16:43,569 --> 00:16:48,106 he just shut off the switch, and nobody will see you. 318 00:16:48,207 --> 00:16:51,709 they took the aircraft to a destination 319 00:16:51,810 --> 00:16:53,478 that they were told to take it. 320 00:17:00,319 --> 00:17:02,453 darby: when it turns back, looking at that from a pilot, 321 00:17:02,554 --> 00:17:04,522 i see a pilot returning to land. 322 00:17:04,623 --> 00:17:07,592 but when it goes northwest and eventually south, 323 00:17:07,693 --> 00:17:09,394 that's a whole different act. 324 00:17:09,495 --> 00:17:10,695 i mean, when i look at that as a pilot, 325 00:17:10,796 --> 00:17:12,563 when they begin to make those moves, 326 00:17:12,664 --> 00:17:14,632 then that's a hijacking, a criminal act. 327 00:17:14,733 --> 00:17:17,435 bunn: you know why i think the plane made that turn? 328 00:17:17,536 --> 00:17:19,737 one of the things we've thought about is a hijacking. 329 00:17:19,838 --> 00:17:23,007 it seems to me that someone got into the cockpit 330 00:17:23,108 --> 00:17:25,443 and might have wanted 331 00:17:25,544 --> 00:17:28,746 to take the airplane to some destination. 332 00:17:28,847 --> 00:17:31,682 but the problem is, why didn't that succeed? 333 00:17:31,784 --> 00:17:34,719 [ alarms blaring ] 334 00:17:34,820 --> 00:17:38,389 is it possible that the hijackers killed the pilots 335 00:17:38,490 --> 00:17:40,258 and didn't know how to operate the plane? 336 00:17:48,967 --> 00:17:51,035 one of the theories, when there was a report, 337 00:17:51,136 --> 00:17:53,604 that the plane climbed to 45,000 feet. 338 00:17:53,705 --> 00:17:56,541 if they had a hijacker in the cockpit, 339 00:17:56,642 --> 00:18:00,812 if they climbed the plane to a high altitude... 340 00:18:00,913 --> 00:18:03,014 and turned off two switches 341 00:18:03,115 --> 00:18:06,017 that turn off the pressurization to the cabin... 342 00:18:06,118 --> 00:18:08,519 darby: the hijacker could control the cabin, 343 00:18:08,620 --> 00:18:10,788 turn off the pressurization. 344 00:18:10,889 --> 00:18:12,223 it wouldn't take but a few minutes 345 00:18:12,324 --> 00:18:14,759 for the cabin to go above a safe altitude 346 00:18:14,860 --> 00:18:15,927 for people to begin 347 00:18:16,028 --> 00:18:17,862 to lose their consciousness and go to sleep. 348 00:18:17,963 --> 00:18:19,497 gadzinski: for somebody in the cockpit 349 00:18:19,598 --> 00:18:21,599 to induce a sudden loss of cabin pressure 350 00:18:21,700 --> 00:18:23,601 to incapacitate the crew, 351 00:18:23,702 --> 00:18:26,237 they would need to have some kind of an oxygen system 352 00:18:26,338 --> 00:18:28,206 for them to use at the time. 353 00:18:28,307 --> 00:18:30,508 now, there is that oxygen capability 354 00:18:30,609 --> 00:18:32,743 in the aircraft, the cockpit itself, 355 00:18:32,845 --> 00:18:34,846 because both pilots have 356 00:18:34,947 --> 00:18:37,849 an emergency oxygen system that they can use. 357 00:18:37,950 --> 00:18:44,489 if you do that at 35,000 feet, you might incapacitate the crew. 358 00:18:45,824 --> 00:18:48,059 three decades leading up to 9/11, 359 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:50,561 the majority of terrorist-related hijackings 360 00:18:50,662 --> 00:18:56,000 were motivated by terrorists wanting to negotiate for ransom 361 00:18:56,101 --> 00:18:59,337 or for release of imprisoned terrorists 362 00:18:59,438 --> 00:19:02,240 in other places around the world. 363 00:19:02,341 --> 00:19:05,476 on 9/11, we had a new kind of terrorist hijacking 364 00:19:05,577 --> 00:19:08,045 where landing the plane wasn't part of the plan. 365 00:19:08,147 --> 00:19:11,415 narrator: the majority of hijackings leave grief-stricken passengers 366 00:19:11,517 --> 00:19:13,484 at the mercy of their captors. 367 00:19:13,585 --> 00:19:15,486 but one scenario in the recent past 368 00:19:15,587 --> 00:19:19,790 sheds light on how the passengers in a hostage situation 369 00:19:19,892 --> 00:19:22,627 may have taken matters into their own hands. 370 00:19:24,530 --> 00:19:25,596 forest: flight 93, 371 00:19:25,697 --> 00:19:27,965 todd beamer and the other passengers realized 372 00:19:28,066 --> 00:19:29,834 this was probably not going to be a hijacking 373 00:19:29,935 --> 00:19:31,402 where they land the plane 374 00:19:31,503 --> 00:19:33,437 and negotiate for some kind of demands. 375 00:19:33,539 --> 00:19:34,906 so they responded 376 00:19:35,007 --> 00:19:37,475 by organizing themselves and storming the cockpit 377 00:19:37,576 --> 00:19:39,243 in hopes that they could 378 00:19:39,344 --> 00:19:41,612 possibly stop the event from happening. 379 00:19:42,915 --> 00:19:44,315 knowing ju kun -- 380 00:19:44,416 --> 00:19:47,451 knowing ju kun and what would happen in a scenario like that, 381 00:19:47,553 --> 00:19:49,020 i think he would do something, you know, 382 00:19:49,121 --> 00:19:50,788 gadzinski: if at some point, 383 00:19:50,889 --> 00:19:54,725 the passengers revolted and took out the terrorists, 384 00:19:54,826 --> 00:19:57,795 then you would have an airplane 385 00:19:57,896 --> 00:20:01,299 where nobody was competent to fly it, 386 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,735 maybe on the autopilot with heading and altitude hold, 387 00:20:04,836 --> 00:20:08,072 flying in a direction where nobody knew where they were 388 00:20:08,173 --> 00:20:09,640 or how to fly the airplane. 389 00:20:13,078 --> 00:20:14,946 ross: i don't think it was a terrorist attack 390 00:20:15,047 --> 00:20:17,748 because a terrorist attack, at the end of the day, 391 00:20:17,849 --> 00:20:20,051 yes, involves a lot of death and destruction, 392 00:20:20,152 --> 00:20:22,353 but that's not really what the essence of terrorism is. 393 00:20:22,454 --> 00:20:24,322 the essence of terrorism is sending a message. 394 00:20:24,423 --> 00:20:27,258 and in the case of the mh370 disappearance, 395 00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:28,693 there's no message. 396 00:20:28,794 --> 00:20:30,595 forest: to my knowledge, the investigation does not reveal 397 00:20:30,696 --> 00:20:33,698 any number of terrorists on board that aircraft 398 00:20:33,799 --> 00:20:35,566 from any known terrorist group. 399 00:20:35,667 --> 00:20:40,037 for a terrorist group to engage in this kind of action, 400 00:20:40,138 --> 00:20:41,906 they would want a return on the investment 401 00:20:42,007 --> 00:20:44,475 they would put into an operation of this scale. 402 00:20:44,576 --> 00:20:45,843 we've heard of no claim. 403 00:20:45,944 --> 00:20:47,078 we've seen no demands, 404 00:20:47,179 --> 00:20:48,479 which kind of leads me to believe 405 00:20:48,580 --> 00:20:50,147 this wasn't a terrorist-related incident. 406 00:20:50,249 --> 00:20:53,784 schiavo: we know that a lot of people think that mh370 was hijacked. 407 00:20:53,885 --> 00:20:57,121 and what i do, you have to rely entirely on evidence 408 00:20:57,222 --> 00:20:58,623 because once we investigate the case, 409 00:20:58,724 --> 00:20:59,790 we have to take it to court 410 00:20:59,891 --> 00:21:02,760 and we have to prove what our theories are. 411 00:21:02,861 --> 00:21:04,962 and here, we don't have any evidence of a crime. 412 00:21:05,063 --> 00:21:08,065 we don't have any evidence of terrorism or a hijacking. 413 00:21:08,166 --> 00:21:09,634 [ indistinct shouting ] 414 00:21:09,735 --> 00:21:12,436 but suffice to say, with this many people dead, 415 00:21:12,537 --> 00:21:14,372 you can't hoard the evidence and say, 416 00:21:14,473 --> 00:21:15,940 "you can't know what happened." 417 00:21:16,041 --> 00:21:19,043 we want -- they give us the truth. 418 00:21:19,144 --> 00:21:22,713 narrator: coming up, could one of the most famous ghost planes in history 419 00:21:22,814 --> 00:21:25,950 hold the answer to mh370? 420 00:21:29,321 --> 00:21:31,289 philip and i actually met here in beijing 421 00:21:31,390 --> 00:21:34,492 about 2 1/2 years ago. 422 00:21:34,593 --> 00:21:39,764 he was working here with ibm, and i'm teaching school here. 423 00:21:39,865 --> 00:21:43,200 philip is one of those men that when he walks into a room, 424 00:21:43,302 --> 00:21:45,469 everybody kind of relaxes. 425 00:21:45,570 --> 00:21:48,773 he has a special aura about him. 426 00:21:48,874 --> 00:21:53,511 philip has been my daily companion for 2 1/2 years, 427 00:21:53,612 --> 00:21:58,382 and it leaves a real gap in my life. 428 00:21:58,483 --> 00:22:01,085 narrator: the search so far is based on the assumption 429 00:22:01,186 --> 00:22:04,855 that mh370 had gone down in the indian ocean. 430 00:22:04,956 --> 00:22:07,491 that data has fallen under suspicion, 431 00:22:07,592 --> 00:22:10,861 and some believe the plane put down on dry land. 432 00:22:10,962 --> 00:22:12,163 most of us believe 433 00:22:12,264 --> 00:22:15,066 that that flight has been taken on purpose. 434 00:22:15,167 --> 00:22:16,767 and most of us believe 435 00:22:16,868 --> 00:22:19,537 that our loved ones are actually still alive. 436 00:22:19,638 --> 00:22:21,839 we began to get reports in 437 00:22:21,940 --> 00:22:24,075 from flights that were flying overhead 438 00:22:24,176 --> 00:22:26,877 and ships that had already gotten into the region 439 00:22:26,978 --> 00:22:29,947 that there was no obvious evidence of a crash. 440 00:22:30,048 --> 00:22:32,249 there was no debris that had surfaced. 441 00:22:32,351 --> 00:22:33,984 there were no satellite images 442 00:22:34,086 --> 00:22:37,421 that saw flashes of light like an explosion. 443 00:22:37,522 --> 00:22:39,857 there was no physical evidence that surfaced. 444 00:22:39,958 --> 00:22:43,160 and within that time, i began to think 445 00:22:43,261 --> 00:22:46,664 the most likely scenario is that the plane was taken 446 00:22:46,765 --> 00:22:48,866 and landed at some location 447 00:22:48,967 --> 00:22:52,470 and that there's some next step that is being planned. 448 00:22:52,571 --> 00:22:54,105 we just don't know what it is yet. 449 00:22:57,576 --> 00:22:59,877 narrator: but taken where? 450 00:22:59,978 --> 00:23:01,779 the 777 is a big plane. 451 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:03,447 while boeing recommends 452 00:23:03,548 --> 00:23:06,417 a landing strip at least 7,000 feet long, 453 00:23:06,518 --> 00:23:09,186 skilled pilots have been known to land the aircraft 454 00:23:09,287 --> 00:23:10,888 in much less. 455 00:23:10,989 --> 00:23:13,457 typically, once the airplane's down to landing weight, 456 00:23:13,558 --> 00:23:16,827 it can land in less runway than 3,000 or 4,000 feet, 457 00:23:16,928 --> 00:23:18,529 which is very short. 458 00:23:18,630 --> 00:23:20,197 and there's a lot of airports in this world 459 00:23:20,298 --> 00:23:21,499 that are 3,000 feet long. 460 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:27,505 there's 16,000 to 18,000 uninhabited islands 461 00:23:27,606 --> 00:23:29,173 within the indonesian chain 462 00:23:29,274 --> 00:23:32,209 that are certainly large enough to land a plane. 463 00:23:33,412 --> 00:23:36,280 gadzinski: as a captain, you can break any rule, 464 00:23:36,381 --> 00:23:38,115 pretty much no matter what field you find. 465 00:23:38,216 --> 00:23:39,417 if you find an airfield, 466 00:23:39,518 --> 00:23:42,186 you can land on it using captain's emergency authority. 467 00:23:42,287 --> 00:23:48,526 when i first heard the news about the mh370 disappearance, 468 00:23:48,627 --> 00:23:50,795 like everyone else, i expected 469 00:23:50,862 --> 00:23:53,097 that the airplane had simply crashed into the ocean 470 00:23:53,198 --> 00:23:55,166 and that wreckage would soon be found. 471 00:23:55,267 --> 00:23:57,001 but when that didn't happen, 472 00:23:57,102 --> 00:23:59,770 and then there were electronic signals that were heard, 473 00:23:59,871 --> 00:24:02,072 that maybe the airplane kept flying, 474 00:24:02,174 --> 00:24:04,241 i said, "whoa. déjà vu. 475 00:24:04,342 --> 00:24:05,843 i've seen this before." 476 00:24:05,944 --> 00:24:07,778 man: the world mourns as amelia earhart 477 00:24:07,879 --> 00:24:10,548 appears lost in the south pacific. 478 00:24:10,649 --> 00:24:12,616 gillespie: i've spent 25 years 479 00:24:12,717 --> 00:24:15,453 researching the amelia earhart disappearance. 480 00:24:15,554 --> 00:24:18,823 incredible parallels of what happened 481 00:24:18,924 --> 00:24:22,560 and how the media and the public reacted to this. 482 00:24:22,661 --> 00:24:24,028 man: search commanders think 483 00:24:24,129 --> 00:24:26,096 the plane is in the southern indian ocean. 484 00:24:26,198 --> 00:24:30,167 again, the initial assumption is the airplane went in the water. 485 00:24:30,268 --> 00:24:31,869 but then nothing is found in the water. 486 00:24:31,970 --> 00:24:33,304 man: after a massive search, 487 00:24:33,405 --> 00:24:37,208 not a trace of flight 370 or the 239 people on board. 488 00:24:37,309 --> 00:24:41,245 and then we learned that the airplane continued to fly. 489 00:24:41,346 --> 00:24:43,714 man: engine data showed mh370 490 00:24:43,815 --> 00:24:45,816 might have flown for an additional four hours. 491 00:24:45,917 --> 00:24:47,218 and, as a matter of fact, 492 00:24:47,319 --> 00:24:49,920 the same thing happened with the earhart disappearance. 493 00:24:50,021 --> 00:24:52,389 man: nearly 19 hours into her flight, 494 00:24:52,491 --> 00:24:54,692 reports of her last communication. 495 00:24:59,264 --> 00:25:01,966 gillespie: amelia earhart vanished. 496 00:25:02,067 --> 00:25:05,469 everybody expected her disappearance 497 00:25:05,570 --> 00:25:08,172 to have a happy ending, and it didn't. 498 00:25:08,273 --> 00:25:10,274 so we did some research, 499 00:25:10,375 --> 00:25:12,843 and i think this is what really happened. 500 00:25:12,944 --> 00:25:16,780 having failed to find the island that they were trying to find, 501 00:25:16,882 --> 00:25:18,282 howland island, 502 00:25:18,383 --> 00:25:21,151 they proceeded along a navigational line 503 00:25:21,253 --> 00:25:23,587 that they hoped would lead them to howland island, 504 00:25:23,688 --> 00:25:24,622 but it didn't. 505 00:25:24,723 --> 00:25:26,457 but it did bring them to an island 506 00:25:26,558 --> 00:25:28,792 that at that time was called gardner island. 507 00:25:28,894 --> 00:25:31,795 they looked down, and they see that there's a place to land. 508 00:25:31,897 --> 00:25:33,564 at low tide, this island looks like 509 00:25:33,665 --> 00:25:36,267 it's surrounded by an empty parking lot. 510 00:25:36,368 --> 00:25:38,135 so they land successfully. 511 00:25:38,236 --> 00:25:40,738 it was uninhabited at the time earhart disappeared, 512 00:25:40,839 --> 00:25:42,940 but about a year and a half later, 513 00:25:43,041 --> 00:25:45,476 the british put native work parties there 514 00:25:45,577 --> 00:25:48,913 to start clearing land for a coconut plantation. 515 00:25:49,014 --> 00:25:54,051 and they found bones, parts of a woman's shoe, 516 00:25:54,152 --> 00:25:55,953 parts of a man's shoe, 517 00:25:56,054 --> 00:25:58,923 a box that had once contained a sextant -- 518 00:25:59,024 --> 00:26:00,891 a navigational instrument. 519 00:26:00,992 --> 00:26:02,426 and after many expeditions, 520 00:26:02,527 --> 00:26:04,295 we did find the castaway's campsite, 521 00:26:04,396 --> 00:26:07,798 a place where a castaway had lived and died. 522 00:26:07,899 --> 00:26:12,002 other artifacts -- a pocket knife, a little piece of glass. 523 00:26:12,103 --> 00:26:14,305 next expedition, find another piece of glass 524 00:26:14,406 --> 00:26:16,840 that fits like a jigsaw puzzle to the first piece. 525 00:26:16,942 --> 00:26:20,678 and around it, we find little chunks 526 00:26:20,779 --> 00:26:23,380 of what turns out to be early 20th century makeup. 527 00:26:23,481 --> 00:26:26,016 we have a woman's compact on this site -- 528 00:26:26,117 --> 00:26:28,052 a 1930s woman's compact. 529 00:26:28,153 --> 00:26:30,688 we go back to the files, the british files, 530 00:26:30,789 --> 00:26:33,090 and we find the bones of the castaway. 531 00:26:33,191 --> 00:26:34,892 we give those measurements 532 00:26:34,993 --> 00:26:37,628 to two modern forensic anthropologists 533 00:26:37,729 --> 00:26:40,497 who put them into the databases that are available now. 534 00:26:40,599 --> 00:26:41,999 and what comes out of the computer? 535 00:26:42,100 --> 00:26:46,070 white female, northern european descent, 536 00:26:46,171 --> 00:26:48,205 standing 5'7", 5'8". 537 00:26:48,306 --> 00:26:50,274 well, that's amelia earhart. 538 00:26:50,375 --> 00:26:52,242 that's a good description of amelia earhart. 539 00:26:52,344 --> 00:26:54,378 there's nobody else like that missing out there. 540 00:26:54,479 --> 00:26:57,147 narrator: if amelia earhart survived for weeks 541 00:26:57,248 --> 00:27:00,150 after her crash on an island, 542 00:27:00,251 --> 00:27:04,855 is there any evidence to prove that the same happened to mh370? 543 00:27:04,956 --> 00:27:07,891 captain shah did have numerous island runways 544 00:27:07,993 --> 00:27:09,860 programmed into his flight simulator, 545 00:27:09,961 --> 00:27:13,430 including male airport in the maldives. 546 00:27:18,670 --> 00:27:22,439 sightings of a low-flying plane matching mh370 547 00:27:22,540 --> 00:27:24,775 were reported throughout the region. 548 00:27:24,876 --> 00:27:26,543 but if a plane did manage 549 00:27:26,645 --> 00:27:29,647 to land in the maldives or a nearby island, 550 00:27:29,748 --> 00:27:31,415 what would be the motivation? 551 00:27:31,516 --> 00:27:33,450 well, why would somebody do something like that? 552 00:27:33,551 --> 00:27:37,054 why would somebody abduct an airplane? 553 00:27:37,155 --> 00:27:40,157 this is not a hostage situation. 554 00:27:40,258 --> 00:27:43,293 hostages don't do you any good if no one knows you have them. 555 00:27:43,395 --> 00:27:46,063 so it's not about the people. 556 00:27:46,164 --> 00:27:48,198 is it about the airplane itself? 557 00:27:48,299 --> 00:27:53,303 was somebody engaged in grand theft airplane? 558 00:27:53,405 --> 00:27:56,273 schiavo: one of the things i did when i was inspector general 559 00:27:56,374 --> 00:27:59,476 was a worldwide effort to combat bogus aircraft parts. 560 00:27:59,577 --> 00:28:00,644 and what people didn't realize 561 00:28:00,745 --> 00:28:02,446 is there's a black market on aircraft parts. 562 00:28:02,547 --> 00:28:05,983 aircraft parts are stolen off of downed airplanes, 563 00:28:06,084 --> 00:28:07,618 and then they sell them on the world market. 564 00:28:07,719 --> 00:28:10,487 and airplane parts are very expensive. 565 00:28:10,588 --> 00:28:14,058 but there should be easier ways to steal an airplane. 566 00:28:14,159 --> 00:28:15,392 airliners get stolen all the time. 567 00:28:15,493 --> 00:28:17,361 most people don't understand that. 568 00:28:17,462 --> 00:28:19,863 they're usually not stolen in midair. no. 569 00:28:19,964 --> 00:28:21,765 what makes sense 570 00:28:21,866 --> 00:28:24,268 is that there was something aboard the airplane 571 00:28:24,369 --> 00:28:25,836 of immense value to somebody. 572 00:28:25,937 --> 00:28:28,439 it could be something in the cargo hold. 573 00:28:28,540 --> 00:28:30,541 it could be intellectual property 574 00:28:30,642 --> 00:28:33,811 on a passenger or a passenger's laptop. 575 00:28:33,912 --> 00:28:35,012 but there was something 576 00:28:35,113 --> 00:28:37,247 that someone knew would be aboard the airplane 577 00:28:37,348 --> 00:28:38,949 on this particular flight. 578 00:28:39,050 --> 00:28:43,153 it was valuable enough to steal 579 00:28:43,254 --> 00:28:46,156 in a way that nobody knows you have stolen it. 580 00:28:48,193 --> 00:28:53,030 i have to say the theory that the mh370 was hijacked 581 00:28:53,131 --> 00:28:54,998 and then sequestered off somewhere, 582 00:28:55,100 --> 00:28:57,000 landed in some remote airstrip, 583 00:28:57,102 --> 00:28:59,737 and everybody was corralled into wherever 584 00:28:59,838 --> 00:29:01,171 or perhaps liquidated 585 00:29:01,272 --> 00:29:04,541 and the plane was sold for parts on the black market 586 00:29:04,642 --> 00:29:06,744 seems really absurd to me. 587 00:29:06,845 --> 00:29:08,846 as a former intelligence professional, 588 00:29:08,947 --> 00:29:10,881 keeping something like that secret 589 00:29:10,982 --> 00:29:13,117 from the world's major intelligence services, 590 00:29:13,218 --> 00:29:15,419 including the chinese, 591 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:17,454 who have a very deep and vested interest 592 00:29:17,555 --> 00:29:19,490 in the fate of this aircraft, 593 00:29:19,591 --> 00:29:21,925 thinking that that part of the world 594 00:29:22,026 --> 00:29:23,694 that you can just hide something 595 00:29:23,795 --> 00:29:26,697 or fly it to kazakhstan or somewhere and just hide it, 596 00:29:26,798 --> 00:29:28,665 just seems absurd to me. 597 00:29:28,767 --> 00:29:30,868 gillespie: the amelia earhart mystery tells us 598 00:29:30,969 --> 00:29:34,538 about how we should approach the mh370 mystery. 599 00:29:34,639 --> 00:29:36,039 in the earhart case, 600 00:29:36,141 --> 00:29:42,312 an accepted answer was embraced by the official authorities. 601 00:29:42,413 --> 00:29:46,884 they didn't keep investigating all of the alternative theories. 602 00:29:46,985 --> 00:29:52,756 so with mh370, don't go down one track 603 00:29:52,857 --> 00:29:56,193 and ignore all the possible sightings. 604 00:29:56,294 --> 00:29:58,695 some of them are gonna be dead ends, 605 00:29:58,797 --> 00:30:01,298 but one of them is going to lead you 606 00:30:01,399 --> 00:30:04,168 to the destination of the answer. 607 00:30:04,269 --> 00:30:07,838 'cause some of the things you think you know may be wrong. 608 00:30:07,939 --> 00:30:09,406 narrator: coming up... 609 00:30:09,507 --> 00:30:10,741 hello? 610 00:30:10,842 --> 00:30:11,975 ...there is another daunting theory. 611 00:30:12,076 --> 00:30:15,112 schiavo: when malaysia flight 370 turned, 612 00:30:15,213 --> 00:30:18,715 that's the critical juncture in terms of loss of communication. 613 00:30:18,750 --> 00:30:20,384 that aircr 614 00:30:20,585 --> 00:30:25,155 mukherjee: muktesh and xiaomo were very attached to each other. 615 00:30:25,256 --> 00:30:28,659 and their two sons were their whole life -- 616 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:32,129 mirav, who just turned 8, 617 00:30:32,230 --> 00:30:34,798 and the younger one, miles. 618 00:30:34,899 --> 00:30:36,967 they cared for their children. 619 00:30:37,068 --> 00:30:40,437 so whenever they would go on a holiday without the children, 620 00:30:40,538 --> 00:30:44,241 they made sure they had the best attention 621 00:30:44,342 --> 00:30:49,479 from either us or the maternal grandparents. 622 00:30:49,581 --> 00:30:52,916 muktesh and xiaomo were on a holiday to vietnam, 623 00:30:53,017 --> 00:30:57,287 and they were supposed to come back on the friday morning. 624 00:30:57,388 --> 00:30:59,923 when we spoke to them on friday, 625 00:31:00,024 --> 00:31:04,127 he said, "no, i'm extending my stay by one day." 626 00:31:04,229 --> 00:31:08,932 so that was very significant in terms of fate. 627 00:31:09,033 --> 00:31:15,105 i believe in the goodness of humanity. 628 00:31:15,206 --> 00:31:19,476 so even if i want to think otherwise, 629 00:31:19,577 --> 00:31:22,112 i still think it was some failure of the aircraft, 630 00:31:22,213 --> 00:31:24,815 some mechanical failure, electrical failure. 631 00:31:27,652 --> 00:31:30,187 there are just so many things that can go wrong on a plane. 632 00:31:30,288 --> 00:31:34,625 the plane is literally a flying miracle of millions of pieces. 633 00:31:34,726 --> 00:31:37,261 the physics have to work. the parts have to work. 634 00:31:37,362 --> 00:31:39,730 you can troubleshoot, you can find out what's going wrong, 635 00:31:39,831 --> 00:31:41,665 we have inspection systems, et cetera, 636 00:31:41,766 --> 00:31:44,001 but still to this day, we have catastrophic events. 637 00:31:44,102 --> 00:31:45,636 we have catastrophic failures. 638 00:31:50,642 --> 00:31:53,210 alaska 261 lost the ability 639 00:31:53,311 --> 00:31:55,145 to control their horizontal stabilizer, 640 00:31:55,246 --> 00:31:57,514 and at one point, they even were flying upside down. 641 00:32:03,888 --> 00:32:06,390 narrator: could the passengers of flight mh370 642 00:32:06,491 --> 00:32:07,891 have suffered a similar fate? 643 00:32:17,468 --> 00:32:20,671 this is malaysia 370. hello? hello? 644 00:32:20,772 --> 00:32:22,572 something fails, we go to the checklist. 645 00:32:22,674 --> 00:32:23,974 we fix it or deal with it. 646 00:32:24,075 --> 00:32:25,375 when two things fail, 647 00:32:25,476 --> 00:32:26,843 or three things at the same time, 648 00:32:26,945 --> 00:32:28,312 we look at the power source 649 00:32:28,413 --> 00:32:31,481 because it's very unusual for things to fail simultaneously. 650 00:32:31,582 --> 00:32:32,816 so that's what led me to thinking 651 00:32:32,917 --> 00:32:35,519 that it was an electrical issue. 652 00:32:41,826 --> 00:32:45,062 schiavo: when malaysia flight 370 turned, 653 00:32:45,163 --> 00:32:46,530 that's the critical juncture 654 00:32:46,631 --> 00:32:49,833 in terms of loss of communications, the turn. 655 00:32:49,934 --> 00:32:52,869 whatever happened, it happened there. 656 00:32:52,971 --> 00:32:54,538 if they just turned, that -- 657 00:32:54,639 --> 00:32:56,239 say, "well, maybe they're not going back." 658 00:32:56,341 --> 00:32:58,775 but in this case, they turned and descended. 659 00:32:58,876 --> 00:33:00,911 and when they descend and turn back to home, 660 00:33:01,012 --> 00:33:03,447 to me, that's a pilot that's got a mechanical problem. 661 00:33:03,548 --> 00:33:04,815 something's forcing him to do that. 662 00:33:04,916 --> 00:33:07,951 we've lost all electrical. we have to go back. 663 00:33:08,052 --> 00:33:09,453 the penang airport 664 00:33:09,554 --> 00:33:12,622 is the maintenance facility for malaysia airlines. 665 00:33:12,724 --> 00:33:16,426 that penang airport is directly on the route to the southwest. 666 00:33:16,527 --> 00:33:18,395 so at that point, that aircraft was heading 667 00:33:18,496 --> 00:33:19,896 right back towards the maintenance bays, 668 00:33:19,998 --> 00:33:21,431 which would explain a lot of things. 669 00:33:21,532 --> 00:33:24,434 in that case, you would expect that aircraft 670 00:33:24,535 --> 00:33:27,904 to have at least attempted to land on a runway 671 00:33:28,006 --> 00:33:32,843 fairly soon after the 150-degree turn occurred. 672 00:33:32,944 --> 00:33:34,578 the fact that it didn't 673 00:33:34,679 --> 00:33:38,315 meant that there was probably some other extenuating factor 674 00:33:38,416 --> 00:33:39,950 which severely affected 675 00:33:40,051 --> 00:33:42,019 the flight crew's ability to fly the aircraft. 676 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:44,154 i -- i can't control it! 677 00:33:44,255 --> 00:33:46,023 i'm losing control! 678 00:33:46,124 --> 00:33:48,458 curtis: early on, after the aircraft didn't report in 679 00:33:48,559 --> 00:33:51,361 to the vietnamese air traffic control authorities, 680 00:33:51,462 --> 00:33:54,264 apparently the air traffic controllers in vietnam 681 00:33:54,365 --> 00:33:56,166 asked other pilots in the area 682 00:33:56,267 --> 00:33:59,703 to see if they could raise flight mh370 by radio. 683 00:33:59,804 --> 00:34:03,106 one of those pilots reported hearing something -- 684 00:34:03,207 --> 00:34:05,909 not any words that could be determined. 685 00:34:06,010 --> 00:34:09,079 [ indistinct radio chatter ] 686 00:34:11,082 --> 00:34:12,916 based on cases i've worked on, 687 00:34:13,017 --> 00:34:16,153 that suggests something wrong with your communications system 688 00:34:16,254 --> 00:34:17,954 or something wrong with your plane. 689 00:34:21,025 --> 00:34:23,593 narrator: if something did go wrong with the plane, 690 00:34:23,694 --> 00:34:25,495 chances are you would lose cabin pressure. 691 00:34:25,596 --> 00:34:29,332 when aircraft is flying at cruising altitude -- 692 00:34:29,434 --> 00:34:33,203 30,000 feet, 35,000 feet -- the atmosphere is so thin 693 00:34:33,304 --> 00:34:34,871 that if you have a loss of cabin pressure, 694 00:34:34,972 --> 00:34:37,507 there's not enough oxygen for people to stay conscious. 695 00:34:37,608 --> 00:34:42,245 you can think of an airplane as kind of like a bagpipe. 696 00:34:42,346 --> 00:34:44,281 you have to keep blowing air into it. 697 00:34:44,382 --> 00:34:46,383 air is constantly going from the engines 698 00:34:46,484 --> 00:34:48,752 into the airplane and out the airplane. 699 00:34:48,853 --> 00:34:52,155 so if you stop blowing air into the airplane, 700 00:34:52,256 --> 00:34:54,357 the pressurization will be lost. 701 00:34:56,194 --> 00:34:59,229 any number of things could lead to a loss of pressure -- 702 00:34:59,330 --> 00:35:01,231 an outflow valve being left open, 703 00:35:01,332 --> 00:35:02,833 a broken window, et cetera. 704 00:35:02,934 --> 00:35:05,202 if there's a loss of cabin pressure, 705 00:35:05,303 --> 00:35:07,070 supplemental oxygen is deployed. 706 00:35:07,171 --> 00:35:09,806 darby: the pilot's oxygen is good for several hours. 707 00:35:09,907 --> 00:35:10,841 the passenger's oxygen, 708 00:35:10,942 --> 00:35:12,409 it's only good for a few minutes, 709 00:35:12,510 --> 00:35:16,246 enough time to get it from cruising altitude down to 10,000 feet 710 00:35:16,347 --> 00:35:18,682 where the air is thick enough for everybody to breathe. 711 00:35:18,783 --> 00:35:22,452 narrator: but there's always a chance that the oxygen masks didn't deploy, 712 00:35:22,553 --> 00:35:24,754 or the pilots were incapacitated 713 00:35:24,856 --> 00:35:28,492 and were unable to descend the plane due to hypoxia. 714 00:35:28,593 --> 00:35:30,894 hypoxia is a loss of consciousness 715 00:35:30,995 --> 00:35:33,697 or a loss of intellectual function due to lack of oxygen. 716 00:35:33,798 --> 00:35:36,299 probably the most famous case in the u.s. 717 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:39,469 is a 1999 case involving golfer payne stewart, 718 00:35:39,570 --> 00:35:41,271 where he and several others were on an aircraft 719 00:35:41,372 --> 00:35:42,405 where they lost cabin pressure. 720 00:35:42,507 --> 00:35:44,774 narrator: stewart was headed to compete 721 00:35:44,876 --> 00:35:47,511 in the tour championship in dallas, texas, 722 00:35:47,612 --> 00:35:49,746 in what should have been an ordinary flight. 723 00:35:49,847 --> 00:35:53,450 in the process of getting its altitude, something occurred, 724 00:35:53,551 --> 00:35:54,985 and the aircraft continued to fly north. 725 00:35:55,086 --> 00:35:58,021 and that's what tipped off the air traffic control. 726 00:35:58,122 --> 00:35:59,890 they kept trying to reach it and trying to reach it. 727 00:35:59,991 --> 00:36:01,158 there was no one answering. 728 00:36:01,259 --> 00:36:05,395 they scrambled jet fighters to see what's wrong. 729 00:36:05,496 --> 00:36:07,364 and what pilots saw 730 00:36:07,465 --> 00:36:11,234 was that the windshield and cabin windows were fogged over. 731 00:36:11,335 --> 00:36:13,703 for whatever reason, 732 00:36:13,804 --> 00:36:16,039 the cabin pressurization failed very suddenly 733 00:36:16,140 --> 00:36:20,610 before the crew could get their oxygen masks on. 734 00:36:20,711 --> 00:36:22,546 everybody passes out. 735 00:36:22,647 --> 00:36:24,147 the autopilot is still engaged. 736 00:36:24,248 --> 00:36:26,416 the airplane is still flying and still has a heading. 737 00:36:26,517 --> 00:36:28,051 it's still maintaining that heading. 738 00:36:28,152 --> 00:36:30,153 in this case, we sat for hours and hours, 739 00:36:30,254 --> 00:36:33,123 as did everybody in the country, watching this aircraft. 740 00:36:33,224 --> 00:36:35,091 it was very, very disturbing, 741 00:36:35,193 --> 00:36:37,327 and clearly, no one was alive on board the aircraft. 742 00:36:37,428 --> 00:36:38,595 and i think that's why some people 743 00:36:38,696 --> 00:36:41,164 refer to that aircraft as the zombie airplane. 744 00:36:41,265 --> 00:36:43,133 man: finally, the inevitable -- 745 00:36:43,234 --> 00:36:46,603 the plane runs out of fuel, spirals down, and crashes. 746 00:36:46,704 --> 00:36:49,206 only small pieces of the plane visible, 747 00:36:49,307 --> 00:36:51,708 almost nothing recognizable. 748 00:36:51,809 --> 00:36:53,476 narrator: eventually, the passengers and crew 749 00:36:53,578 --> 00:36:54,778 could have run out of oxygen 750 00:36:54,879 --> 00:36:58,515 forcing mh370 to fly for hours on autopilot 751 00:36:58,616 --> 00:37:01,117 before meeting its fateful demise. 752 00:37:01,219 --> 00:37:03,386 given that the indirect evidence 753 00:37:03,487 --> 00:37:04,888 was that for the last several hours of the flight, 754 00:37:04,989 --> 00:37:09,092 the aircraft was flying not only in a consistent manner, 755 00:37:09,193 --> 00:37:11,561 but in a direction that didn't make a lot of sense. 756 00:37:11,662 --> 00:37:12,963 it was flying in an area 757 00:37:13,064 --> 00:37:15,465 that was basically over the middle of the indian ocean, 758 00:37:15,566 --> 00:37:17,534 very far from any suitable landing place. 759 00:37:17,635 --> 00:37:19,636 it's a situation where no input 760 00:37:19,737 --> 00:37:21,538 was put into the flight control system, 761 00:37:21,639 --> 00:37:24,708 and the airplane kept flying until it couldn't fly anymore. 762 00:37:31,082 --> 00:37:33,149 a mechanical failure is definitely a theory 763 00:37:33,251 --> 00:37:34,784 that i know people are looking at. 764 00:37:34,885 --> 00:37:38,855 but the 777 was designed from the ground up 765 00:37:38,956 --> 00:37:42,459 to have much more resilient safety systems 766 00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:43,827 than your normal airplane, 767 00:37:43,928 --> 00:37:45,729 which means that you should be able 768 00:37:45,830 --> 00:37:48,231 to lose hydraulic systems and electrical systems, 769 00:37:48,332 --> 00:37:50,967 not just once, but in two or three different failure modes 770 00:37:51,068 --> 00:37:53,103 and still be able to fly the airplane, 771 00:37:53,204 --> 00:37:55,438 to navigate the airplane, to control the airplane, 772 00:37:55,539 --> 00:37:57,207 to have some situational awareness 773 00:37:57,308 --> 00:37:59,175 of where the airplane is. 774 00:37:59,277 --> 00:38:02,579 and, so, for all those systems to fail at once, 775 00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:05,081 statistically, very, very, very remote. 776 00:38:05,182 --> 00:38:07,350 darby: the airplane's designed to handle these problems. 777 00:38:07,451 --> 00:38:08,818 there are procedures in place 778 00:38:08,919 --> 00:38:11,421 for the pilots to do to make the problem manageable. 779 00:38:11,522 --> 00:38:14,391 and there's also a process to get back on the ground. 780 00:38:16,127 --> 00:38:17,727 what's unexplained is why the airplane 781 00:38:17,828 --> 00:38:20,797 would subsequently climb back out and head south. 782 00:38:20,898 --> 00:38:25,235 that is not typically the result of a mechanical issue. 783 00:38:25,336 --> 00:38:26,770 narrator: coming up... 784 00:38:26,871 --> 00:38:28,872 soucie: this oxygen tank had some problems in the past 785 00:38:28,973 --> 00:38:30,440 and exploded. 786 00:38:30,541 --> 00:38:32,876 oh! it could have actually even killed the pilot. 787 00:38:33,844 --> 00:38:35,879 narrator: flight mh370 flew for hours 788 00:38:35,980 --> 00:38:39,616 after that horrific moment when all communication was lost, 789 00:38:39,717 --> 00:38:41,451 leaving some experts to believe 790 00:38:41,552 --> 00:38:43,753 that fire may have played a role. 791 00:38:46,324 --> 00:38:47,624 do you smell smoke? 792 00:38:50,227 --> 00:38:51,661 probably the most insidious and the most dangerous 793 00:38:51,762 --> 00:38:53,229 is that electrical wire-bundle fire, 794 00:38:53,331 --> 00:38:54,431 because it can occur 795 00:38:54,532 --> 00:38:56,900 beyond the sight of where anybody can see it, 796 00:38:57,001 --> 00:38:59,803 and it can spread where nobody can get to it. 797 00:38:59,904 --> 00:39:01,371 do it now! do it now! 798 00:39:01,472 --> 00:39:03,473 when there's smoke and fumes in the cockpit, 799 00:39:03,574 --> 00:39:06,509 the big danger is the smoke has nowhere to go. 800 00:39:06,610 --> 00:39:08,144 there are procedures 801 00:39:08,245 --> 00:39:11,448 to modify the pressurization flow of the aircraft 802 00:39:11,549 --> 00:39:14,050 to try and get as much of the smoke 803 00:39:14,151 --> 00:39:17,487 out of the cabin as possible, as quickly as you can. 804 00:39:17,588 --> 00:39:20,390 the pilots in this case have oxygen masks to use. 805 00:39:20,491 --> 00:39:23,093 they can breathe. 806 00:39:23,194 --> 00:39:27,197 fires in the cabin of the aircraft are very serious. 807 00:39:27,298 --> 00:39:29,165 they can spread, they can be very hard to fight, 808 00:39:29,266 --> 00:39:31,801 and if an aircraft is truly on fire, 809 00:39:31,902 --> 00:39:33,636 you don't normally see it airborne 810 00:39:33,738 --> 00:39:34,904 for more than 20 minutes. 811 00:39:35,005 --> 00:39:37,140 that's why it's so important for an airplane, 812 00:39:37,241 --> 00:39:38,375 if it's on fire, 813 00:39:38,476 --> 00:39:41,711 to get down on the ground as quickly as it can, 814 00:39:41,812 --> 00:39:44,214 because it can quickly consume an entire aircraft. 815 00:39:46,350 --> 00:39:48,685 september 2, 1998 -- 816 00:39:48,786 --> 00:39:53,423 swissair flight 111 experienced a fire 817 00:39:53,524 --> 00:39:56,459 in a wire bundle over the cockpit, 818 00:39:56,560 --> 00:39:58,628 and the fire disabled the autopilot. 819 00:39:58,729 --> 00:40:00,196 narrator: 15 minutes before the crash, 820 00:40:00,297 --> 00:40:03,266 the pilot radios mayday and starts to dump fuel. 821 00:40:03,367 --> 00:40:05,368 it was an entertainment-system fire 822 00:40:05,469 --> 00:40:07,070 that turned out the entertainment system 823 00:40:07,171 --> 00:40:09,339 was right up over the cockpit in the first-class section. 824 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:12,175 that electrical fire also came in contact 825 00:40:12,276 --> 00:40:14,010 with some very combustible material. 826 00:40:14,111 --> 00:40:16,679 in this case, it was some insulation on the airplane 827 00:40:16,781 --> 00:40:19,182 that caught fire a lot more easily 828 00:40:19,283 --> 00:40:21,284 than they had expected it to. 829 00:40:21,385 --> 00:40:22,685 darby: then they waited a little while 830 00:40:22,787 --> 00:40:25,054 to get rid of some fuel for better landing weight. 831 00:40:25,156 --> 00:40:28,691 narrator: flight 111 hits the water and immediately breaks up, 832 00:40:28,793 --> 00:40:32,061 much like this crash caught by home video in 1996. 833 00:40:32,163 --> 00:40:36,566 gadzinski: the aircraft plunged into the ocean at over 300 miles an hour, 834 00:40:36,667 --> 00:40:39,836 killing all 229 people on board. 835 00:40:39,937 --> 00:40:43,606 that was a very major event in aviation history, 836 00:40:43,707 --> 00:40:46,709 and it made us look at the whole issue 837 00:40:46,811 --> 00:40:49,245 of the type of insulation that we have on wires, 838 00:40:49,346 --> 00:40:52,015 the whole issue of wire bundles and fraying, 839 00:40:52,116 --> 00:40:54,751 and it forced the redesign 840 00:40:54,852 --> 00:40:56,753 of our fire procedures for the pilots. 841 00:40:56,854 --> 00:40:59,355 all these safety issues have been addressed 842 00:40:59,457 --> 00:41:03,359 by the time the malaysian flight 370 had taken off. 843 00:41:03,461 --> 00:41:06,129 narrator: aircraft investigator david soucie 844 00:41:06,230 --> 00:41:07,764 has his own theory 845 00:41:07,865 --> 00:41:11,734 regarding what might have transpired in the case of mh370, 846 00:41:11,836 --> 00:41:14,170 one that begins with faulty wires 847 00:41:14,271 --> 00:41:16,706 igniting an oxygen tank. 848 00:41:16,807 --> 00:41:19,108 if we start with the assumption that this oxygen tank, 849 00:41:19,210 --> 00:41:21,811 which had had some airworthiness directive problems in the past, 850 00:41:21,912 --> 00:41:25,482 had become hot from the wires or a short and exploded. 851 00:41:25,583 --> 00:41:27,917 if that was the beginning of the chain of events, 852 00:41:28,018 --> 00:41:30,153 here's what i think would have happened from then. 853 00:41:30,254 --> 00:41:31,888 the oxygen tank would have exploded. 854 00:41:31,989 --> 00:41:33,623 [ explosion ] 855 00:41:33,724 --> 00:41:35,325 it would have been directly below the radio rack, 856 00:41:35,426 --> 00:41:37,760 which is the uhf radio, the vhf radio, 857 00:41:37,862 --> 00:41:40,163 the a.c.a.r. system, and the transponder. 858 00:41:40,264 --> 00:41:42,332 it would have taken all those radios out. 859 00:41:42,433 --> 00:41:45,735 it also would have come up into the lower flooring 860 00:41:45,836 --> 00:41:47,770 right below where the pilot sits. 861 00:41:47,872 --> 00:41:50,006 depending on how strong that explosion was, 862 00:41:50,107 --> 00:41:51,574 it could have actually debilitated 863 00:41:51,675 --> 00:41:52,775 or even killed the pilot. 864 00:41:52,877 --> 00:41:54,444 captain, captain. 865 00:41:54,545 --> 00:41:57,614 at this point, the co-pilot is trying to figure out what to do. 866 00:41:57,715 --> 00:41:59,649 he's realized he can't communicate with anyone 867 00:41:59,750 --> 00:42:01,050 because the radios are out. 868 00:42:01,151 --> 00:42:02,252 so, the first thing 869 00:42:02,353 --> 00:42:03,419 that would go through his mind at that point is, 870 00:42:03,521 --> 00:42:04,521 "where do i go?" 871 00:42:04,622 --> 00:42:08,224 the penang airport is directly on the route 872 00:42:08,325 --> 00:42:09,826 that the aircraft made a left-hand turn 873 00:42:09,927 --> 00:42:12,228 and started heading back down to the southwest. 874 00:42:12,329 --> 00:42:14,564 this is malaysia 370. 875 00:42:14,665 --> 00:42:16,766 penang? penang, do you copy? 876 00:42:16,867 --> 00:42:19,469 the cargo manifest included a list 877 00:42:19,570 --> 00:42:22,605 of 5,000 pounds of lithium batteries. 878 00:42:22,706 --> 00:42:25,041 if they were in the front compartment of the aircraft, 879 00:42:25,142 --> 00:42:27,911 which is only separated by a small door 880 00:42:28,012 --> 00:42:30,013 just on the other side of the oxygen tank, 881 00:42:30,114 --> 00:42:32,348 the lithium batteries would have burst on fire, 882 00:42:32,449 --> 00:42:34,250 burning off the hydrogen chloride 883 00:42:34,351 --> 00:42:35,952 and its sulfuric acid. 884 00:42:36,053 --> 00:42:37,887 if, at that point, the co-pilot deploys 885 00:42:37,988 --> 00:42:39,389 the halon fire extinguisher, 886 00:42:39,490 --> 00:42:42,358 what that does is it takes all the oxygen away. 887 00:42:42,459 --> 00:42:44,561 so now the lithium batteries can't burn. 888 00:42:44,662 --> 00:42:45,695 but yet those fumes 889 00:42:45,796 --> 00:42:47,664 still continue to emanate from the batteries 890 00:42:47,765 --> 00:42:48,765 in great quantities. 891 00:42:48,866 --> 00:42:50,633 it's like a fog. it's like a gas. 892 00:42:50,734 --> 00:42:52,468 [ coughing ] 893 00:42:52,570 --> 00:42:53,903 vaporized fumes 894 00:42:54,004 --> 00:42:56,739 would go up into the cabin where all the people are, 895 00:42:56,840 --> 00:42:59,542 and those combinations of gases can be very deadly. 896 00:43:04,181 --> 00:43:06,416 nothing that came out in the early part of the flight 897 00:43:06,517 --> 00:43:08,618 indicated there was any kind of problem with fire. 898 00:43:08,719 --> 00:43:10,753 no smoke problem, no fume problem, 899 00:43:10,854 --> 00:43:13,056 no indication that anything was malfunctioning. 900 00:43:13,157 --> 00:43:15,358 the fact that the aircraft apparently kept flying 901 00:43:15,459 --> 00:43:18,595 for over seven hours after they lost communication 902 00:43:18,696 --> 00:43:22,865 says to me that if there was a fire involving the aircraft, 903 00:43:22,967 --> 00:43:24,400 it wasn't so severe 904 00:43:24,501 --> 00:43:26,436 that it caused the aircraft to be unflyable. 905 00:43:26,537 --> 00:43:28,805 so although fire is a possibility, 906 00:43:28,906 --> 00:43:32,108 there is no evidence right now that any sort of fire occurred. 907 00:43:32,209 --> 00:43:34,477 gadzinski: the entire aviation system is set up 908 00:43:34,578 --> 00:43:37,146 for things to happen in an expected way. 909 00:43:37,247 --> 00:43:40,216 i think the thing that is really baffling everybody 910 00:43:40,317 --> 00:43:43,753 is there's no expected responses to any of the emergencies. 911 00:43:43,854 --> 00:43:46,356 if the airplane was on fire, it should have landed. 912 00:43:46,457 --> 00:43:48,391 if the airplane had a major emergency, 913 00:43:48,492 --> 00:43:49,692 it could have landed. 914 00:43:49,793 --> 00:43:52,795 if the airplane had lost all its radio communications, 915 00:43:52,896 --> 00:43:55,732 it should have flown where it was expected to fly. 916 00:43:55,833 --> 00:43:57,967 none of that stuff happened in this case. 917 00:43:58,068 --> 00:44:00,269 i think every single one of these theories 918 00:44:00,371 --> 00:44:01,571 that people come up with 919 00:44:01,672 --> 00:44:03,673 has holes in it, has challenges to it, 920 00:44:03,774 --> 00:44:06,776 and that just speaks to the complexity of this whole tragedy 921 00:44:06,877 --> 00:44:09,779 is where did this aircraft go? 922 00:44:09,880 --> 00:44:11,748 narrator: coming up... 923 00:44:11,849 --> 00:44:13,950 darby: the weather is one of our biggest enemies. 924 00:44:14,051 --> 00:44:17,754 narrator: does another doomed flight in history hold the answer? 925 00:44:17,855 --> 00:44:20,857 gillespie: pan am flight 214 -- struck by lightning. 926 00:44:20,958 --> 00:44:24,360 the airplane blew apart. that's not supposed to happen. 927 00:44:28,699 --> 00:44:31,401 my younger sister, suhaili binti mustafa, 928 00:44:31,502 --> 00:44:34,137 was a passenger on the flight. 929 00:44:34,238 --> 00:44:38,608 she was a very special sister, very special person. 930 00:44:38,709 --> 00:44:45,548 she tended to be friends with basically everyone. 931 00:44:45,649 --> 00:44:51,220 [ voice breaking ] i went to her facebook page. 932 00:44:51,321 --> 00:44:53,923 there's a wall picture -- 933 00:44:54,024 --> 00:44:56,726 there's a picture on her facebook wall 934 00:44:56,827 --> 00:44:59,662 with her feet planted on the snow 935 00:44:59,763 --> 00:45:00,997 [ clears throat ] 936 00:45:01,098 --> 00:45:04,167 it was in about four inches of snow, 937 00:45:04,268 --> 00:45:07,937 and one of her friends said that, "where were you? 938 00:45:08,038 --> 00:45:10,173 are you sinking?" 939 00:45:10,274 --> 00:45:13,443 and she said, "yes. 940 00:45:13,544 --> 00:45:16,079 you guys might have to look for me." 941 00:45:16,180 --> 00:45:18,448 narrator: as the world 942 00:45:18,549 --> 00:45:21,217 desperately searches for answers about the missing flight, 943 00:45:21,318 --> 00:45:24,520 every possible scenario has to be considered. 944 00:45:29,126 --> 00:45:31,394 [ thunder crashes ] 945 00:45:31,495 --> 00:45:34,964 the weather, regrettably, is one of our biggest enemies. 946 00:45:35,065 --> 00:45:37,433 we have winds that produce turbulence. 947 00:45:37,534 --> 00:45:40,770 we have snow and ice that can cause the runway to be slippery. 948 00:45:40,871 --> 00:45:43,473 i mean, there's always something that the weather's doing 949 00:45:43,574 --> 00:45:45,308 that affects the way we fly the plane. 950 00:45:45,409 --> 00:45:46,809 narrator: according to a study 951 00:45:46,910 --> 00:45:50,213 by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, 952 00:45:50,314 --> 00:45:51,514 weather plays a role 953 00:45:51,615 --> 00:45:55,284 in 3 out of 10 fatal airplane accidents. 954 00:45:55,385 --> 00:45:58,554 even though weather conditions were clear at the time, 955 00:45:58,655 --> 00:46:00,323 could lightning still be a factor 956 00:46:00,424 --> 00:46:03,793 in the disappearance of mh370? 957 00:46:03,894 --> 00:46:06,896 the threat of lightning to aircraft in flight 958 00:46:06,997 --> 00:46:08,097 is always there. 959 00:46:08,198 --> 00:46:09,932 there's clear-air lightning 960 00:46:10,033 --> 00:46:12,301 that can happen at nearly any time. 961 00:46:12,402 --> 00:46:14,637 december 8th, 1963 -- 962 00:46:14,738 --> 00:46:16,072 pan am flight 214 963 00:46:16,173 --> 00:46:19,609 on a very short flight from baltimore to philadelphia, 964 00:46:19,710 --> 00:46:25,148 73 passengers, 8 crew, struck by lightning. 965 00:46:25,249 --> 00:46:27,550 the airplane blew apart 966 00:46:27,651 --> 00:46:31,654 and crashed near elkton, maryland. 967 00:46:31,755 --> 00:46:33,222 that's not supposed to happen. 968 00:46:33,323 --> 00:46:37,460 as a consequence of that loss, there were changes made. 969 00:46:37,561 --> 00:46:41,264 soucie: and now every single thing that's in that aircraft 970 00:46:41,365 --> 00:46:44,066 is grounded so the lightning would go through it 971 00:46:44,168 --> 00:46:45,802 so that it doesn't stop and explode 972 00:46:45,903 --> 00:46:47,036 while it's on the aircraft. 973 00:46:47,137 --> 00:46:50,506 gillespie: but systems that prevent problems 974 00:46:50,607 --> 00:46:52,608 don't work in all cases. 975 00:46:54,678 --> 00:46:56,345 looks like a good day. 976 00:46:56,446 --> 00:46:57,880 it's a good day to fly. 977 00:47:00,117 --> 00:47:02,852 [ alarms blaring ] 978 00:47:06,456 --> 00:47:09,192 narrator: while lightning strikes to someone on the ground 979 00:47:09,293 --> 00:47:10,993 can be fatal, 980 00:47:11,094 --> 00:47:13,262 how dangerous is a strike likely to be 981 00:47:13,363 --> 00:47:15,431 to a modern aircraft? 982 00:47:15,532 --> 00:47:19,235 lightning does not affect the ability of the aircraft to fly, 983 00:47:19,336 --> 00:47:21,070 but it does, in some cases, 984 00:47:21,171 --> 00:47:22,772 damage the outside of the airplane, 985 00:47:22,873 --> 00:47:25,174 because the hot gases 986 00:47:25,275 --> 00:47:27,109 that are associated with the lightning 987 00:47:27,211 --> 00:47:29,712 do tend to affect the skin of the aircraft 988 00:47:29,813 --> 00:47:30,813 and can make small holes 989 00:47:30,914 --> 00:47:32,615 and damage some parts of the aircraft. 990 00:47:32,716 --> 00:47:34,083 i've been hit by lightning 991 00:47:34,184 --> 00:47:35,985 in the nose of the airplane by the cockpit. 992 00:47:36,086 --> 00:47:39,422 it sounds like somebody shot a shotgun right next to your ear, 993 00:47:39,523 --> 00:47:41,123 and you see a big, white flash, 994 00:47:41,225 --> 00:47:43,092 but the airplane flies just fine. 995 00:47:43,193 --> 00:47:44,427 narrator: another factor 996 00:47:44,528 --> 00:47:48,030 that could have affected flight mh370's disappearance 997 00:47:48,131 --> 00:47:51,500 is something that passengers experience every day -- 998 00:47:51,602 --> 00:47:52,735 turbulence. 999 00:47:59,443 --> 00:48:01,377 turbulence is there all the time. 1000 00:48:01,478 --> 00:48:04,413 i mean, the air is rising and falling, 1001 00:48:04,514 --> 00:48:06,682 storms, rain, wind over the surface, 1002 00:48:06,783 --> 00:48:08,184 wind over the mountains -- 1003 00:48:08,285 --> 00:48:09,585 there's turbulence all the time. 1004 00:48:09,686 --> 00:48:10,720 extreme turbulence 1005 00:48:10,821 --> 00:48:11,954 or severe turbulence that you talk about 1006 00:48:12,055 --> 00:48:13,189 is extremely rare. 1007 00:48:13,290 --> 00:48:16,359 narrator: rare, yes, but dangerous nonetheless. 1008 00:48:16,460 --> 00:48:17,593 it is possible to exceed 1009 00:48:17,694 --> 00:48:19,729 the ability of the airplane to absorb it. 1010 00:48:19,830 --> 00:48:22,198 the airplane can come apart in severe turbulence. 1011 00:48:22,299 --> 00:48:24,667 [ cracking, shattering ] 1012 00:48:26,737 --> 00:48:28,170 it does occasionally happen 1013 00:48:28,272 --> 00:48:31,140 if you were to fly into a severe thunderstorm or tornado, 1014 00:48:31,241 --> 00:48:32,808 but the pilot's in there with you, 1015 00:48:32,910 --> 00:48:35,311 so he's got no interest in being anywhere near that. 1016 00:48:35,412 --> 00:48:40,082 narrator: while unexpected weather systems are a risk to any flight, 1017 00:48:40,183 --> 00:48:43,152 nature's own aviators pose a distinct threat. 1018 00:48:43,253 --> 00:48:45,087 [ bird cries ] darby: well, bird strikes -- 1019 00:48:45,188 --> 00:48:46,522 these airplanes are tested 1020 00:48:46,623 --> 00:48:49,358 to a certain size of bird, certain number of birds, 1021 00:48:49,459 --> 00:48:52,962 and there's many, many bird strikes every day. 1022 00:48:53,063 --> 00:48:56,399 but, they're small birds, not a big deal. 1023 00:48:56,500 --> 00:48:58,834 now, a larger bird or a group of larger birds 1024 00:48:58,936 --> 00:49:00,336 like the ones that occurred 1025 00:49:00,437 --> 00:49:04,774 when captain sullenberger put his a320 into the river here -- 1026 00:49:04,875 --> 00:49:06,943 that was a significant event. 1027 00:49:26,129 --> 00:49:28,230 narrator: but birds are not the only deadly risk 1028 00:49:28,332 --> 00:49:30,933 to an airliner's jet intake. 1029 00:49:31,034 --> 00:49:34,570 when volcanic ash gets into the engine of an airplane, 1030 00:49:34,671 --> 00:49:39,442 it melts and it coats the turbine section of the airplane 1031 00:49:39,543 --> 00:49:40,710 so that the blades start 1032 00:49:40,811 --> 00:49:43,212 getting coated with glass, basically, 1033 00:49:43,313 --> 00:49:46,649 and it affects the ability of the engine to produce thrust. 1034 00:49:46,750 --> 00:49:50,653 narrator: in 2010, violent volcanic eruptions in iceland 1035 00:49:50,754 --> 00:49:54,323 affected air travel halfway around the world. 1036 00:49:54,424 --> 00:49:55,758 could a similar ash cloud 1037 00:49:55,859 --> 00:49:58,094 from one of the many indonesian volcanos 1038 00:49:58,195 --> 00:50:01,130 have brought down mh370? 1039 00:50:01,231 --> 00:50:03,032 if you fly through volcanic ash, 1040 00:50:03,133 --> 00:50:05,835 it might look like just clouds or mist, 1041 00:50:05,936 --> 00:50:08,604 but it can cause you the loss of thrust of your airplane, 1042 00:50:08,705 --> 00:50:10,940 and it can cause all of your engines to fail. 1043 00:50:11,041 --> 00:50:13,776 [ engines sputter ] 1044 00:50:16,780 --> 00:50:18,481 narrator: but with no evidence of a crash, 1045 00:50:18,582 --> 00:50:21,550 friends and family members still cling to the hope 1046 00:50:21,651 --> 00:50:24,286 that their loved ones are still alive. 1047 00:50:24,388 --> 00:50:30,793 i do miss her a lot, and i find that nowadays -- 1048 00:50:30,894 --> 00:50:36,465 now that she's not around, i tend to appreciate her more, 1049 00:50:36,566 --> 00:50:40,770 and i'm -- now i look up to her. 1050 00:50:40,871 --> 00:50:45,441 i try to be the same person that she is. 1051 00:50:45,542 --> 00:50:48,811 i rarely say, you know, "i love you" to someone 1052 00:50:48,912 --> 00:50:51,614 except, then, to maybe my wife. 1053 00:50:51,715 --> 00:50:55,151 i regret not saying that to her. 1054 00:50:55,252 --> 00:51:00,022 this is what breaks my heart. 1055 00:51:08,532 --> 00:51:09,765 narrator: coming up... 1056 00:51:09,866 --> 00:51:12,435 ross: i think he took the plane up to 44,000 feet. 1057 00:51:12,536 --> 00:51:15,071 narrator: could the flight have disappeared on purpose? 1058 00:51:15,172 --> 00:51:18,307 ross: he chose somewhere in the middle of the indian ocean. 1059 00:51:18,408 --> 00:51:19,341 darby: if i had to pick a suicide, 1060 00:51:19,443 --> 00:51:20,843 i would pick the captain in this case. 1061 00:51:24,047 --> 00:51:26,649 narrator: while friends and family members still pray 1062 00:51:26,750 --> 00:51:28,584 for the safe return of flight mh370, 1063 00:51:28,685 --> 00:51:30,186 there are some experts who lean towards 1064 00:51:30,287 --> 00:51:33,756 an absolutely terrifying scenario. 1065 00:51:36,460 --> 00:51:38,494 i think the likeliest scenario 1066 00:51:38,595 --> 00:51:41,630 for what happened to malaysia airlines 370 1067 00:51:41,731 --> 00:51:42,998 is pilot suicide. 1068 00:51:43,100 --> 00:51:45,468 pilots of commercial aircraft 1069 00:51:45,569 --> 00:51:47,870 have, for various reasons, committed suicide 1070 00:51:47,971 --> 00:51:50,639 and taken everyone on board the aircraft with them. 1071 00:51:50,740 --> 00:51:52,441 i think the scenario entailed 1072 00:51:52,542 --> 00:51:56,445 the pilot planning to conduct this suicide. 1073 00:51:56,546 --> 00:51:58,781 after he reached a certain distance from the airport, 1074 00:51:58,882 --> 00:52:02,118 i think he took the plane up to 44,000 feet. 1075 00:52:04,488 --> 00:52:07,723 if, intentionally, somebody took a plane up to 45,000 feet, 1076 00:52:07,824 --> 00:52:10,893 some people theorize it was to disable the passengers -- 1077 00:52:10,994 --> 00:52:12,528 to make them pass out 1078 00:52:12,629 --> 00:52:14,663 and eventually, if they don't get oxygen, to die. 1079 00:52:14,764 --> 00:52:17,266 and then i think he chose some desolate spot 1080 00:52:17,367 --> 00:52:19,502 somewhere in the middle of the indian ocean 1081 00:52:19,603 --> 00:52:20,970 and put the plane down 1082 00:52:21,071 --> 00:52:23,772 and killed everyone, including himself, on board. 1083 00:52:27,077 --> 00:52:29,478 the only airline pilot of a major airline 1084 00:52:29,579 --> 00:52:31,947 that's ever committed suicide, as far as i know, 1085 00:52:32,048 --> 00:52:33,516 is the egyptair accident. 1086 00:52:33,617 --> 00:52:37,987 narrator: when egyptair flight 990 took off from jfk airport, 1087 00:52:38,088 --> 00:52:42,424 217 people settled in for a long flight to cairo. 1088 00:52:42,526 --> 00:52:46,462 only one man knew it would be their final flight. 1089 00:52:50,033 --> 00:52:51,734 entekel ala allah! 1090 00:52:53,436 --> 00:52:55,204 entekel ala allah! 1091 00:52:58,375 --> 00:53:01,677 woman: i lost contact with the boeing 767 in my airspace. 1092 00:53:01,778 --> 00:53:02,878 man: the egyptair? 1093 00:53:02,979 --> 00:53:05,481 yeah. i mean, we lost radar. we lost everything. 1094 00:53:05,582 --> 00:53:06,882 woman: with no signs of survivors, 1095 00:53:06,983 --> 00:53:08,551 coast guard cutters search the waters 1096 00:53:08,652 --> 00:53:10,586 off of nantucket, massachusetts. 1097 00:53:10,687 --> 00:53:13,522 meanwhile, victims' families gathered in new york, 1098 00:53:13,623 --> 00:53:14,557 looking for answers. 1099 00:53:14,658 --> 00:53:17,927 [ crying ] 1100 00:53:18,028 --> 00:53:19,395 we were able to find the airplane, 1101 00:53:19,496 --> 00:53:21,864 find the cockpit voice recorder, find the flight data recorder, 1102 00:53:21,965 --> 00:53:23,532 and verify what happened. 1103 00:53:23,633 --> 00:53:25,067 schiavo: the flight data recorders 1104 00:53:25,168 --> 00:53:26,702 that told how the plane was performing 1105 00:53:26,803 --> 00:53:28,404 told that the plane was performing fine. 1106 00:53:28,505 --> 00:53:31,440 the ntsb made a finding 1107 00:53:31,541 --> 00:53:34,944 that it appeared that it was a suicide by the relief pilot. 1108 00:53:35,045 --> 00:53:38,247 the cockpit voice recorder is what gave that away. 1109 00:53:38,348 --> 00:53:42,151 it was a situation where the co-pilot took over the flight 1110 00:53:42,252 --> 00:53:44,587 at a time when he was alone in the cockpit. 1111 00:53:44,688 --> 00:53:47,556 narrator: the national air transportation safety board confirmed 1112 00:53:47,657 --> 00:53:49,692 that the egyptair flight crew 1113 00:53:49,793 --> 00:53:51,527 fought to the death over those controls. 1114 00:53:51,628 --> 00:53:54,330 but in the end, it made no difference. 1115 00:53:54,431 --> 00:53:56,098 you could hear on the cockpit voice recording 1116 00:53:56,199 --> 00:53:58,067 the pleadings of the other pilot 1117 00:53:58,168 --> 00:54:00,002 when he tried to save the flight. 1118 00:54:00,103 --> 00:54:01,937 but the pilot flying the plane at that point 1119 00:54:02,038 --> 00:54:03,305 had put it in a dive. 1120 00:54:03,406 --> 00:54:05,708 shut down the engines and crashed the airplane. 1121 00:54:07,744 --> 00:54:11,513 it's a huge tragedy, and airlines do all they can 1122 00:54:11,615 --> 00:54:13,782 to try and prevent that from happening. 1123 00:54:13,883 --> 00:54:15,684 they monitor their pilots. 1124 00:54:15,785 --> 00:54:19,221 there are two or three examinations 1125 00:54:19,322 --> 00:54:21,957 pilots have each year by a doctor, 1126 00:54:22,058 --> 00:54:24,627 and there are some screening questions asked. 1127 00:54:24,728 --> 00:54:27,263 they monitor for physical fatigue, 1128 00:54:27,364 --> 00:54:31,233 for psychological concerns, emotional concerns. 1129 00:54:31,334 --> 00:54:34,603 is an individual going through a very heated divorce? 1130 00:54:34,704 --> 00:54:36,939 have they just lost a child or a family member? 1131 00:54:37,040 --> 00:54:39,742 do they have an untreatable illness? 1132 00:54:39,843 --> 00:54:42,411 those kind of questions are always being looked at 1133 00:54:42,512 --> 00:54:44,246 in terms of pilots, especially here in the u.s. 1134 00:54:44,347 --> 00:54:45,414 they take it very seriously. 1135 00:54:45,515 --> 00:54:48,984 with the egyptair crash, 1136 00:54:49,085 --> 00:54:51,987 the pilot had not been promoted to captain, 1137 00:54:52,088 --> 00:54:54,123 and he had spent almost his entire career, 1138 00:54:54,224 --> 00:54:58,560 and he was reaching retirement age and still had not advanced. 1139 00:54:58,662 --> 00:55:02,965 and with that apparently causing him to be depressed, 1140 00:55:03,066 --> 00:55:04,533 he took the plane down. 1141 00:55:04,634 --> 00:55:07,036 narrator: the egyptair disaster seemed to foreshadow 1142 00:55:07,137 --> 00:55:10,205 the fate of malaysia airlines flight 370, 1143 00:55:10,307 --> 00:55:12,875 with the focus on the 53-year-old pilot, 1144 00:55:12,976 --> 00:55:14,643 zaharie ahmad shah. 1145 00:55:14,744 --> 00:55:16,845 co-pilot was younger, about to get married, 1146 00:55:16,946 --> 00:55:19,848 you know, seemed to have more a future. 1147 00:55:19,949 --> 00:55:21,784 if i had to pick a suicide, 1148 00:55:21,885 --> 00:55:24,586 i would pick the captain in this case, 1149 00:55:24,688 --> 00:55:26,722 and that's only from the few facts that we have. 1150 00:55:26,823 --> 00:55:29,391 and we've heard all kinds of, you know, rumors 1151 00:55:29,492 --> 00:55:32,261 and little signals that, you know, he was unhappy, 1152 00:55:32,362 --> 00:55:34,563 that there was problems in his personal life. 1153 00:55:34,664 --> 00:55:36,231 we know that he didn't have -- 1154 00:55:36,333 --> 00:55:40,202 the captain didn't have a good relationship with his wife. 1155 00:55:40,303 --> 00:55:42,304 narrator: further suspicion fell on the captain 1156 00:55:42,405 --> 00:55:43,772 when it was discovered 1157 00:55:43,873 --> 00:55:45,207 that several files had been erased 1158 00:55:45,308 --> 00:55:49,578 from the personal flight simulator he kept at his home. 1159 00:55:49,679 --> 00:55:53,615 why would a pilot commit suicide and take everyone with him? 1160 00:55:53,717 --> 00:55:57,720 i don't think that probably any of us 1161 00:55:57,821 --> 00:56:00,622 can really grasp why a person would do that, 1162 00:56:00,724 --> 00:56:04,126 but a person can feel so self-centered 1163 00:56:04,227 --> 00:56:07,730 in their personality and their world view 1164 00:56:07,831 --> 00:56:09,965 that if they're going to not exist, 1165 00:56:10,066 --> 00:56:13,402 they don't want anyone or anything to exist. 1166 00:56:13,503 --> 00:56:14,837 narrator: not everyone, however, 1167 00:56:14,938 --> 00:56:17,573 is convinced that this is the case. 1168 00:56:17,674 --> 00:56:18,841 in addressing the theory 1169 00:56:18,942 --> 00:56:21,243 about suicide by captain shah or his co-pilot, 1170 00:56:21,344 --> 00:56:23,912 i find that hard to believe, and here's why -- 1171 00:56:24,013 --> 00:56:26,448 at the time that the aircraft made the hard left turn 1172 00:56:26,549 --> 00:56:29,651 and everything was turned off or taken offline with the radios, 1173 00:56:29,753 --> 00:56:31,019 that's when they were going 1174 00:56:31,121 --> 00:56:33,455 from one control area to the other control area. 1175 00:56:33,556 --> 00:56:35,357 if the suicide was done alone, 1176 00:56:35,458 --> 00:56:37,893 which, high probability that if it was a suicide, 1177 00:56:37,994 --> 00:56:39,862 it would have been singular suicide, not double -- 1178 00:56:39,963 --> 00:56:42,364 in this case, both pilots were seated, 1179 00:56:42,465 --> 00:56:44,867 one of them was flying, one was handling the radio, 1180 00:56:44,968 --> 00:56:46,368 so that's the least likely time 1181 00:56:46,469 --> 00:56:48,771 that i would think that would happen. 1182 00:56:48,872 --> 00:56:51,573 narrator: after further investigation, 1183 00:56:51,674 --> 00:56:54,777 the mysterious deleted files from the flight simulator 1184 00:56:54,878 --> 00:56:57,079 turned up a distinct lack of hard evidence 1185 00:56:57,180 --> 00:56:59,915 that captain shah had sinister motives. 1186 00:57:00,016 --> 00:57:03,118 based on the information that they gathered, 1187 00:57:03,219 --> 00:57:06,922 the captain did not commit suicide. 1188 00:57:07,023 --> 00:57:10,793 30 years he is a pilot. 1189 00:57:10,894 --> 00:57:14,563 based on the c.e.o. of the airlines, 1190 00:57:14,664 --> 00:57:18,066 they never, ever had any smallest problem with him. 1191 00:57:18,168 --> 00:57:20,836 narrator: some experts believe the pilot had a noble reason 1192 00:57:20,937 --> 00:57:25,274 for intentionally diverting the plane into the indian ocean. 1193 00:57:25,375 --> 00:57:27,643 when an emergency happens, 1194 00:57:27,744 --> 00:57:29,411 flight crews have several responsibilities, 1195 00:57:29,512 --> 00:57:32,381 the most important of which is to continue to fly the airplane 1196 00:57:32,482 --> 00:57:34,249 and then to maneuver the aircraft 1197 00:57:34,350 --> 00:57:36,051 to land safely somewhere. 1198 00:57:36,152 --> 00:57:37,519 the actions that we're seeing 1199 00:57:37,620 --> 00:57:40,255 were consistent with that sort of scenario. 1200 00:57:40,356 --> 00:57:41,890 at that point, that aircraft was heading 1201 00:57:41,991 --> 00:57:43,692 right back towards the maintenance bays. 1202 00:57:43,793 --> 00:57:46,061 when he gets to penang, it's still dark outside. 1203 00:57:46,162 --> 00:57:48,297 the lights aren't even on at the runway. 1204 00:57:48,398 --> 00:57:49,465 he's realized he can't communicate with anyone 1205 00:57:49,566 --> 00:57:51,600 because the radios are out. 1206 00:57:51,701 --> 00:57:53,435 so at this point, he's got a critical decision to make. 1207 00:57:53,536 --> 00:57:56,138 does he continue to fly down and crash into penang 1208 00:57:56,239 --> 00:57:58,207 and kill innocent people on the ground? 1209 00:57:58,308 --> 00:58:00,075 no. the decision would be made 1210 00:58:00,176 --> 00:58:02,778 to keep the aircraft on the water as long as he could 1211 00:58:02,879 --> 00:58:04,146 so he would have been able 1212 00:58:04,247 --> 00:58:06,415 to then dial in two or three way points -- 1213 00:58:06,516 --> 00:58:07,850 the way point to turn right 1214 00:58:07,951 --> 00:58:10,185 and go up through the channel, the canal, 1215 00:58:10,286 --> 00:58:12,621 the top two way points, which we know it flew near, 1216 00:58:12,722 --> 00:58:13,922 and then from those points, 1217 00:58:14,023 --> 00:58:15,657 all the way back down into the indian ocean 1218 00:58:15,758 --> 00:58:17,826 where he knew that if the aircraft crashed, 1219 00:58:17,927 --> 00:58:19,461 it would not have harmed anyone else. 1220 00:58:19,562 --> 00:58:24,233 in this scenario, these pilots are heroes, not villains. 1221 00:58:26,269 --> 00:58:27,603 narrator: coming up... 1222 00:58:30,707 --> 00:58:34,810 could mh370's disappearance be part of a nefarious plot? 1223 00:58:34,911 --> 00:58:37,613 the plane is being stored at diego garcia. 1224 00:58:37,714 --> 00:58:40,415 diego garcia is a military installation. 1225 00:58:40,517 --> 00:58:43,151 gillespie: we're talking about a state-sponsored operation, 1226 00:58:43,253 --> 00:58:45,220 and that puts a whole new spin on the thing. 1227 00:59:21,524 --> 00:59:24,126 [ horn honks ] 1228 00:59:47,784 --> 00:59:49,318 [ keyboard clacking ] 1229 01:00:14,510 --> 01:00:19,414 narrator: the tragedy of mh370 leaves an endless list 1230 01:00:19,515 --> 01:00:22,284 of unanswered questions in its wake. 1231 01:00:22,385 --> 01:00:26,254 as the families desperately try to find answers, 1232 01:00:26,322 --> 01:00:28,056 theories that once seemed outlandish 1233 01:00:28,124 --> 01:00:30,392 are increasingly embraced. 1234 01:00:34,764 --> 01:00:36,465 woman: with the plane still missing, 1235 01:00:36,566 --> 01:00:39,568 speculation about its whereabouts has run rampant. 1236 01:00:39,669 --> 01:00:42,871 the plane was seen in the maldives at 6:15 a.m. 1237 01:00:42,939 --> 01:00:44,373 woman: i suppose that it's been shot down. 1238 01:00:44,474 --> 01:00:46,274 man: these are just some of the possibilities. 1239 01:00:46,376 --> 01:00:49,144 narrator: and until we have more evidence, they're all in play. 1240 01:00:49,212 --> 01:00:52,814 one theory about how the plane managed to cloak itself 1241 01:00:52,915 --> 01:00:56,218 from various countries' civilian and military radar 1242 01:00:56,319 --> 01:00:58,820 has gained a lot of traction. 1243 01:00:58,921 --> 01:01:00,989 when it comes to trying to hide from radar, 1244 01:01:01,090 --> 01:01:03,959 this is my personal favorite -- 1245 01:01:04,027 --> 01:01:06,495 trying to hide in the shadow of another airplane. 1246 01:01:06,562 --> 01:01:09,164 for malaysian airlines 370 1247 01:01:09,265 --> 01:01:12,768 to "hide in the radar shadow of another aircraft," 1248 01:01:12,835 --> 01:01:14,136 you'd have to know two things. 1249 01:01:14,203 --> 01:01:17,339 you'd have to know where the radar source is coming from, 1250 01:01:17,440 --> 01:01:21,176 and you would have to be able to fly very, very close 1251 01:01:21,277 --> 01:01:23,979 to the other airplane that is providing the shadow. 1252 01:01:24,080 --> 01:01:26,815 we, occasionally, when we fly internationally, 1253 01:01:26,916 --> 01:01:28,483 get right behind another airplane, 1254 01:01:28,551 --> 01:01:30,218 and we can sit there for hours. 1255 01:01:30,286 --> 01:01:31,887 but these are two airplanes 1256 01:01:31,988 --> 01:01:35,090 that are traveling at seven or eight miles a minute at night. 1257 01:01:35,191 --> 01:01:37,693 to find an airplane, to line up on it, 1258 01:01:37,794 --> 01:01:39,428 and stay in touch with it 1259 01:01:39,529 --> 01:01:42,064 in a position where your primary radar shadow 1260 01:01:42,165 --> 01:01:45,534 would overlap the primary shadow of the other airplane, 1261 01:01:45,635 --> 01:01:47,035 although theoretically possible, 1262 01:01:47,103 --> 01:01:49,071 and then at the end of it, at some point, 1263 01:01:49,172 --> 01:01:50,439 you have to depart that path. 1264 01:01:50,540 --> 01:01:52,841 i mean, you can't land when they land, 1265 01:01:52,942 --> 01:01:55,343 so that would have been detectable. 1266 01:01:55,445 --> 01:01:57,079 so i don't think it's likely to have happened, 1267 01:01:57,180 --> 01:02:00,348 and if it did happen, i'd be very surprised. 1268 01:02:00,450 --> 01:02:02,284 narrator: while the plane's avoidance of radar 1269 01:02:02,385 --> 01:02:03,585 remains a mystery, 1270 01:02:03,653 --> 01:02:07,489 more outlandish theories of mh370's disappearance 1271 01:02:07,557 --> 01:02:11,593 take the search for answers out of this world. 1272 01:02:11,694 --> 01:02:13,128 there are some people who believe 1273 01:02:13,196 --> 01:02:15,363 the aircraft was taken over by aliens. 1274 01:02:15,465 --> 01:02:16,732 there are some who believe 1275 01:02:16,833 --> 01:02:20,235 it was sucked into another dimension by a black hole. 1276 01:02:20,336 --> 01:02:21,703 there's all kinds of wacky theories 1277 01:02:21,804 --> 01:02:22,804 bounding around the internet. 1278 01:02:22,905 --> 01:02:25,073 woman: another theory -- 1279 01:02:25,174 --> 01:02:26,808 a meteor took the plane down. 1280 01:02:26,909 --> 01:02:28,577 there was a known meteor in the area 1281 01:02:28,644 --> 01:02:29,611 at the time the plane took off. 1282 01:02:29,712 --> 01:02:31,847 so could it have hit mh370? 1283 01:02:31,914 --> 01:02:33,648 gillespie: such a temptation 1284 01:02:33,716 --> 01:02:37,419 to jump to something like a meteor hit mh370, 1285 01:02:37,520 --> 01:02:39,421 but, you know, we're speculating. 1286 01:02:39,522 --> 01:02:44,025 you know, we're just out there looking for answers. 1287 01:02:44,093 --> 01:02:45,527 and something that happens 1288 01:02:45,628 --> 01:02:47,329 in all the mysterious disappearances 1289 01:02:47,430 --> 01:02:50,198 where we don't have information -- 1290 01:02:50,266 --> 01:02:53,168 we fill in the gaps with conspiracy theories. 1291 01:02:53,269 --> 01:02:55,871 and some of the time, they're right. 1292 01:02:55,972 --> 01:02:57,806 man: these are the facts. 1293 01:02:57,907 --> 01:02:59,441 the plane is being stored 1294 01:02:59,542 --> 01:03:02,544 in a hangar in the indian ocean at diego garcia. 1295 01:03:02,612 --> 01:03:05,147 narrator: diego garcia is a u.s. naval base 1296 01:03:05,248 --> 01:03:07,082 in the southern indian ocean 1297 01:03:07,183 --> 01:03:08,850 that has found itself at the center 1298 01:03:08,951 --> 01:03:12,254 of the most popular mh370 conspiracy theories 1299 01:03:12,355 --> 01:03:13,555 on the internet. 1300 01:03:13,623 --> 01:03:16,291 blog and youtube posters alike 1301 01:03:16,392 --> 01:03:18,126 claim the plane has landed safely 1302 01:03:18,227 --> 01:03:20,162 at the island of diego garcia base 1303 01:03:20,263 --> 01:03:23,565 and cite the witnesses of the low-flying plane sightings 1304 01:03:23,666 --> 01:03:25,867 in the nearby maldives 1305 01:03:25,935 --> 01:03:28,603 as the landing path for the flight. 1306 01:03:28,704 --> 01:03:30,872 man: some news reports say the missing flight 1307 01:03:30,973 --> 01:03:35,277 could have landed in the u.s. military base diego garcia. 1308 01:03:35,344 --> 01:03:37,345 i'll rule that one out. 1309 01:03:37,413 --> 01:03:41,750 if it's so simple to disprove that it's not on diego garcia, 1310 01:03:41,851 --> 01:03:43,218 how come it hasn't been done? 1311 01:03:43,319 --> 01:03:45,720 and you know, if they did explore 1312 01:03:45,788 --> 01:03:47,455 interviewing the people in the maldives 1313 01:03:47,523 --> 01:03:48,924 who said they saw a plane, 1314 01:03:49,025 --> 01:03:51,760 where is the evidence of the interviews that they did 1315 01:03:51,861 --> 01:03:53,795 that is now ruling that out as a lead? 1316 01:03:53,863 --> 01:03:57,699 narrator: conspiracy theorists suggest that mh370 1317 01:03:57,800 --> 01:04:00,802 was nefariously rerouted to diego garcia 1318 01:04:00,870 --> 01:04:04,139 to capture a group of chinese engineers on the flight. 1319 01:04:04,240 --> 01:04:07,242 these engineers may have had key familiarity 1320 01:04:07,343 --> 01:04:09,077 with a new chinese operating system 1321 01:04:09,145 --> 01:04:11,313 that will thwart the spying ability 1322 01:04:11,414 --> 01:04:13,882 of the united states' nsa. 1323 01:04:13,950 --> 01:04:14,883 wake up, people! 1324 01:04:14,951 --> 01:04:16,751 there's a cover-up! i'm telling you! 1325 01:04:16,853 --> 01:04:18,687 diego garcia -- there's a cover-up! 1326 01:04:18,788 --> 01:04:21,756 with regard to diego garcia and mh370, 1327 01:04:21,858 --> 01:04:25,493 diego garcia is a very well-populated 1328 01:04:25,595 --> 01:04:28,630 and active military installation. 1329 01:04:28,731 --> 01:04:30,932 if the aircraft had landed there, 1330 01:04:31,033 --> 01:04:32,567 the u.s. government would know about it. 1331 01:04:32,668 --> 01:04:36,538 but if there is a cover-up being done by our military, 1332 01:04:36,639 --> 01:04:38,006 by the united states, 1333 01:04:38,107 --> 01:04:40,408 then it could very well be that they did see it go up there, 1334 01:04:40,509 --> 01:04:42,944 and that's one of the things they're hiding at this point. 1335 01:04:44,947 --> 01:04:47,782 gillespie: it's night. 4,000 feet. 1336 01:04:47,850 --> 01:04:49,284 you can get it down and stop. 1337 01:04:49,385 --> 01:04:52,187 you're not gonna take off again, but you're down. 1338 01:04:52,288 --> 01:04:54,556 if there's a big hangar, 1339 01:04:54,657 --> 01:04:56,091 you can put it in the big hangar, 1340 01:04:56,192 --> 01:04:58,760 close the doors, and the airplane is gone. 1341 01:04:58,861 --> 01:05:01,296 but then you've got to secure the airport environment. 1342 01:05:01,397 --> 01:05:02,931 well, the easiest way to do that 1343 01:05:03,032 --> 01:05:05,333 is if the airport is a military base. 1344 01:05:05,401 --> 01:05:07,736 you could control a military base. 1345 01:05:07,837 --> 01:05:10,472 and military bases have lots of runway and big hangars. 1346 01:05:10,573 --> 01:05:13,642 but...if we're talking about that, 1347 01:05:13,743 --> 01:05:16,611 we're talking about a state-sponsored operation 1348 01:05:16,679 --> 01:05:19,314 or some faction within a state, 1349 01:05:19,382 --> 01:05:21,583 and that puts a whole new spin on the thing. 1350 01:05:22,919 --> 01:05:25,587 so, therefore, the u.s. government would be involved 1351 01:05:25,655 --> 01:05:27,923 in an incredible cover-up to protect whom? 1352 01:05:28,024 --> 01:05:29,491 the malaysian government? 1353 01:05:29,558 --> 01:05:32,160 it doesn't make sense to me. i don't follow that chain. 1354 01:05:32,261 --> 01:05:34,029 i don't think that that's the way that it happened. 1355 01:05:34,130 --> 01:05:37,098 narrator: mystery breeds conspiracy theories, 1356 01:05:37,199 --> 01:05:39,434 and certainly history repeats itself. 1357 01:05:39,535 --> 01:05:42,904 18 years ago, another airline incident 1358 01:05:43,005 --> 01:05:46,741 left many questions and birthed many theories of its own. 1359 01:05:46,842 --> 01:05:51,046 twa flight 800 exploded over the shores off long island 1360 01:05:51,113 --> 01:05:52,514 just minutes after takeoff. 1361 01:05:52,615 --> 01:05:55,817 the disaster was witnessed by other pilots flying in the area. 1362 01:05:55,918 --> 01:05:58,219 schiavo: twa 800 was a mystery. 1363 01:05:58,287 --> 01:06:00,722 in fact, in the united states, it remained 1364 01:06:00,823 --> 01:06:05,627 the longest unsolved ntsb investigation that we'd had. 1365 01:06:05,728 --> 01:06:09,164 man: now, reports twa had a terrorist bomb is the cause. 1366 01:06:09,265 --> 01:06:11,299 schiavo: and it was thought it was brought down by a missile, 1367 01:06:11,367 --> 01:06:13,601 because so many eyewitnesses reported 1368 01:06:13,703 --> 01:06:17,172 that they saw some bright light rising up to the plane. 1369 01:06:17,273 --> 01:06:19,607 and then the conspiracy took one bigger leap, 1370 01:06:19,709 --> 01:06:23,411 that not only that, it was from the united states' own military. 1371 01:06:23,512 --> 01:06:26,348 we found that the center fuel tank 1372 01:06:26,449 --> 01:06:27,882 exploded because the wiring was bad, 1373 01:06:27,984 --> 01:06:30,585 and in retrospect, it was obvious what happened, 1374 01:06:30,653 --> 01:06:34,389 but it certainly wasn't on july 17, 1996. 1375 01:06:34,457 --> 01:06:36,791 ross: being a former intelligence operative, 1376 01:06:36,892 --> 01:06:40,662 i'm very, very skeptical about conspiracy theories. 1377 01:06:40,730 --> 01:06:42,630 i've worked with a lot of people in the field. 1378 01:06:42,732 --> 01:06:44,799 i've seen the human failure that goes on 1379 01:06:44,900 --> 01:06:47,635 behind these vast, complicated constructs. 1380 01:06:47,737 --> 01:06:49,137 people are not able to keep their mouths shut. 1381 01:06:49,238 --> 01:06:50,438 they do talk. 1382 01:06:50,539 --> 01:06:53,975 if someone knew about mh370, they would talk about it. 1383 01:06:54,076 --> 01:06:55,543 someone would come out. 1384 01:06:55,644 --> 01:06:57,445 edward snowden had everything going for him 1385 01:06:57,546 --> 01:06:58,913 and yet felt compelled 1386 01:06:58,981 --> 01:07:01,416 to disclose the nsa's surveillance programs. 1387 01:07:01,517 --> 01:07:05,787 so imagine a vast conspiracy of epic proportions, 1388 01:07:05,888 --> 01:07:07,322 you know, not being disclosed in some way. 1389 01:07:07,423 --> 01:07:08,857 it just -- it doesn't make sense. 1390 01:07:08,958 --> 01:07:12,193 there has been no recovery of the aircraft. 1391 01:07:12,261 --> 01:07:13,294 it's a mystery 1392 01:07:13,362 --> 01:07:15,363 and one that will continue to be compelling 1393 01:07:15,431 --> 01:07:17,265 until the black box is recovered 1394 01:07:17,366 --> 01:07:18,633 and there are some answers found. 1395 01:07:18,701 --> 01:07:20,068 narrator: coming up... 1396 01:07:20,169 --> 01:07:23,571 where is the black box, and will it ever be found? 1397 01:07:23,672 --> 01:07:25,306 gadzinski: from an investigation point of view, 1398 01:07:25,408 --> 01:07:28,476 this is almost harder to get to 1399 01:07:28,577 --> 01:07:29,878 than it is to put a man on the moon. 1400 01:07:31,647 --> 01:07:34,182 man: the search for a missing malaysian passenger jet 1401 01:07:34,283 --> 01:07:35,450 is into its fifth day. 1402 01:07:35,551 --> 01:07:37,185 the search for the missing malaysia airlines jet 1403 01:07:37,286 --> 01:07:38,753 is being expanded today. 1404 01:07:38,854 --> 01:07:41,122 government representatives from malaysia, australia, and china 1405 01:07:41,223 --> 01:07:42,524 will meet early on monday 1406 01:07:42,625 --> 01:07:44,793 to decide the next phase of this search. 1407 01:07:44,894 --> 01:07:46,728 we have these wonderful machines that can take you 1408 01:07:46,829 --> 01:07:48,730 pretty much anywhere you want to go, 1409 01:07:48,831 --> 01:07:51,766 but then when they fall out of a clear, blue sky, 1410 01:07:51,867 --> 01:07:53,568 they fall into this murky world 1411 01:07:53,669 --> 01:07:56,638 because, on this very modern machine, 1412 01:07:56,739 --> 01:08:00,141 we've got 1960s "find it" technology. 1413 01:08:06,782 --> 01:08:08,216 woman: at a press conference today, 1414 01:08:08,317 --> 01:08:11,252 malaysian officials announced that based on new information, 1415 01:08:11,353 --> 01:08:14,956 the search area can be narrowed to two possible corridors -- 1416 01:08:15,057 --> 01:08:17,859 an arc to the north and an arc to the south. 1417 01:08:17,960 --> 01:08:19,861 narrator: inmarsat is a satellite company 1418 01:08:19,962 --> 01:08:21,329 which offers airlines the option 1419 01:08:21,430 --> 01:08:24,899 to subscribe to their global airplane-tracking service. 1420 01:08:25,000 --> 01:08:29,137 if an airline subscribed to it, the inmarsat company 1421 01:08:29,238 --> 01:08:31,873 could receive constant positional data from the plane. 1422 01:08:31,974 --> 01:08:35,009 malaysia airlines did not subscribe to that service. 1423 01:08:35,111 --> 01:08:38,613 nonetheless, this plane still put out signals, 1424 01:08:38,714 --> 01:08:40,548 and the inmarsat satellites said 1425 01:08:40,649 --> 01:08:43,451 that there were a series of these handshakes, 1426 01:08:43,552 --> 01:08:45,053 so based on that data, 1427 01:08:45,154 --> 01:08:48,389 inmarsat determined that this plane stopped moving 1428 01:08:48,491 --> 01:08:49,958 somewhere on this circle -- 1429 01:08:50,059 --> 01:08:52,427 either an arc to the north or an arc to the south. 1430 01:08:52,528 --> 01:08:55,363 narrator: based on this new information, 1431 01:08:55,464 --> 01:08:58,366 international search teams descended upon the indian ocean 1432 01:08:58,467 --> 01:09:00,401 and faced the herculean task 1433 01:09:00,503 --> 01:09:02,904 of searching an area the size of west virginia 1434 01:09:03,005 --> 01:09:07,242 for an object no bigger than a toaster oven. 1435 01:09:07,343 --> 01:09:11,179 the term "black box" stems from a slang term 1436 01:09:11,280 --> 01:09:15,216 that us investigators used to use when the box was black. 1437 01:09:15,317 --> 01:09:17,252 now it's been changed. it's an orange box. 1438 01:09:17,353 --> 01:09:18,953 but there's two different boxes. 1439 01:09:19,054 --> 01:09:20,555 one is the cockpit voice recorder, 1440 01:09:20,656 --> 01:09:23,024 which records anything that goes on in the cockpit. 1441 01:09:23,125 --> 01:09:25,026 the other box is flight data recorder, 1442 01:09:25,127 --> 01:09:26,895 and what that contains is all the information 1443 01:09:26,996 --> 01:09:28,596 about the aircraft movement 1444 01:09:28,697 --> 01:09:30,231 and the things that the pilot does. 1445 01:09:30,332 --> 01:09:33,868 both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder 1446 01:09:33,969 --> 01:09:35,203 have a pinger on it. 1447 01:09:35,304 --> 01:09:37,672 it's called an underwater locator beacon. 1448 01:09:37,773 --> 01:09:40,642 in order to find an underwater locator beacon, 1449 01:09:40,743 --> 01:09:42,777 you use a towed pinger locator. 1450 01:09:42,878 --> 01:09:45,847 the towed pinger locator is like your ears underwater. 1451 01:09:45,948 --> 01:09:48,550 you might just hear faint beeps, 1452 01:09:48,651 --> 01:09:51,186 and you try to tow it in the right direction 1453 01:09:51,287 --> 01:09:53,021 till you get a very strong signal. 1454 01:09:53,122 --> 01:09:56,991 the pingers are designed to have a minimum of 30 days. 1455 01:09:57,092 --> 01:09:58,826 narrator: it had already been more than a week 1456 01:09:58,928 --> 01:10:01,796 since the disappearance of mh370, 1457 01:10:01,897 --> 01:10:03,898 and time was quickly running out. 1458 01:10:15,811 --> 01:10:17,645 schiavo: the only thing we have from the plane 1459 01:10:17,746 --> 01:10:21,249 to give us direction and speed was doppler. 1460 01:10:21,350 --> 01:10:23,818 they explain it like when you hear a train go by 1461 01:10:23,919 --> 01:10:26,154 and it's one sound as it's coming to you 1462 01:10:26,255 --> 01:10:28,923 and it's another sound as it's going away. 1463 01:10:29,024 --> 01:10:33,228 inmarsat analyzed those radio transmissions 1464 01:10:33,329 --> 01:10:36,798 to determine when it was moving towards the satellite 1465 01:10:36,899 --> 01:10:39,267 and when it was moving away from the satellite. 1466 01:10:39,368 --> 01:10:41,069 narrator: by using the doppler effect 1467 01:10:41,170 --> 01:10:43,238 to further analyze a plane's position 1468 01:10:43,339 --> 01:10:44,973 in relation to their satellite, 1469 01:10:45,074 --> 01:10:47,642 inmarsat engineers were able to calculate 1470 01:10:47,743 --> 01:10:50,345 the location of flight mh370 1471 01:10:50,446 --> 01:10:52,780 at the moment it sent each of its pings. 1472 01:10:52,881 --> 01:10:55,750 this enabled them to further narrow the search area 1473 01:10:55,851 --> 01:10:58,853 to a zone south of the plane's presumed location 1474 01:10:58,954 --> 01:11:01,823 during the final partial handshake. 1475 01:11:07,096 --> 01:11:08,496 an underwater signal, 1476 01:11:08,597 --> 01:11:10,798 perhaps from one of the plane's black boxes, 1477 01:11:10,899 --> 01:11:13,001 has been picked up by a chinese search vessel 1478 01:11:13,102 --> 01:11:14,535 in the south indian ocean. 1479 01:11:14,637 --> 01:11:16,738 narrator: hopes were further raised 1480 01:11:16,839 --> 01:11:19,007 when an australian naval vessel, ocean shield, 1481 01:11:19,108 --> 01:11:23,511 reported detecting pings from the flight data recorder. 1482 01:11:23,612 --> 01:11:25,079 search efforts narrowed their focus 1483 01:11:25,180 --> 01:11:28,616 to two areas surrounding where the pings were heard -- 1484 01:11:28,717 --> 01:11:32,820 an area to the north and an area to the south. 1485 01:11:32,921 --> 01:11:35,256 some of the challenges of searching in deep water 1486 01:11:35,357 --> 01:11:37,725 are you may have wind and seas 1487 01:11:37,826 --> 01:11:41,629 that make it difficult in maneuvering the ship. 1488 01:11:41,730 --> 01:11:44,132 you may have charts that are not very accurate 1489 01:11:44,233 --> 01:11:46,134 because you're in an isolated area. 1490 01:11:46,235 --> 01:11:47,769 narrator: the end of the period 1491 01:11:47,870 --> 01:11:51,205 that the pingers could still be active was fast approaching. 1492 01:11:51,307 --> 01:11:54,342 investigators knew that once the pingers stopped, 1493 01:11:54,443 --> 01:11:58,112 finding the black boxes would be next to impossible. 1494 01:11:58,213 --> 01:12:01,382 mh370 isn't the only plane in modern history 1495 01:12:01,483 --> 01:12:04,519 to have seemingly disappeared without a trace. 1496 01:12:04,620 --> 01:12:07,288 man: breaking news -- an air france passenger jet 1497 01:12:07,389 --> 01:12:10,658 with 228 people on board is missing. 1498 01:12:10,759 --> 01:12:13,061 the plane is almost certainly in the atlantic tonight, 1499 01:12:13,162 --> 01:12:16,064 its black box flight recorder in deep water, 1500 01:12:16,165 --> 01:12:17,665 satellites searching for it. 1501 01:12:17,766 --> 01:12:20,101 air france had subscribed to this inmarsat service 1502 01:12:20,202 --> 01:12:22,670 that gives system status updates from the plane. 1503 01:12:22,771 --> 01:12:25,206 so we knew, within a day, 1504 01:12:25,307 --> 01:12:26,674 that it had experienced a problem. 1505 01:12:26,775 --> 01:12:29,310 we knew that it had gone down right there. 1506 01:12:29,411 --> 01:12:32,814 we had a last known position, the last transmission, 1507 01:12:32,915 --> 01:12:34,215 and then six days later, 1508 01:12:34,316 --> 01:12:36,284 we found wreckage on the surface. 1509 01:12:36,385 --> 01:12:38,219 gillespie: once they found floating wreckage, 1510 01:12:38,320 --> 01:12:40,388 they had to determine how far the wreckage had floated 1511 01:12:40,489 --> 01:12:42,457 from where the airplane impacted. 1512 01:12:42,558 --> 01:12:45,660 and, of course, the ocean in that part is very deep 1513 01:12:45,761 --> 01:12:47,662 and the underwater terrain very difficult. 1514 01:12:47,763 --> 01:12:50,832 and the initial search was unsuccessful. 1515 01:12:50,933 --> 01:12:53,067 they couldn't find the airplane. 1516 01:12:53,168 --> 01:12:56,804 narrator: unfortunately, in the case of mh370, 1517 01:12:56,905 --> 01:12:58,272 time had finally run out, 1518 01:12:58,374 --> 01:13:01,409 and any hope of detecting the pings of the black boxes 1519 01:13:01,510 --> 01:13:03,044 was now lost. 1520 01:13:03,145 --> 01:13:05,313 the towed pinger locators were retired 1521 01:13:05,414 --> 01:13:08,316 and ocean shield brought out the big guns. 1522 01:13:13,389 --> 01:13:16,090 the bluefin-21 is designed 1523 01:13:16,191 --> 01:13:19,060 to maintain a specific height above the bottom of the ocean, 1524 01:13:19,161 --> 01:13:22,463 and what it does is send out a signal out to each side, 1525 01:13:22,564 --> 01:13:25,800 and similar to how a bat would send a sonar out, 1526 01:13:25,901 --> 01:13:27,068 the signals are received back, 1527 01:13:27,169 --> 01:13:28,636 and it's able to create an image 1528 01:13:28,737 --> 01:13:30,505 of what that reception indicates. 1529 01:13:30,606 --> 01:13:34,375 the bluefin-21 was used in this particular application 1530 01:13:34,476 --> 01:13:37,178 to map out the features of the bottom. 1531 01:13:37,279 --> 01:13:38,880 so, you might see a wing, 1532 01:13:38,981 --> 01:13:42,116 you might see some detail that stands out. 1533 01:13:56,832 --> 01:13:58,166 nearly three months now 1534 01:13:58,267 --> 01:14:02,036 since that malaysia airlines jet vanished without a trace. 1535 01:14:02,137 --> 01:14:04,172 narrator: search officials later suspected 1536 01:14:04,273 --> 01:14:08,810 the pings were not from the black boxes of mh370 after all. 1537 01:14:08,911 --> 01:14:10,211 phase two of the search involves 1538 01:14:10,312 --> 01:14:12,980 mapping and searching a much larger area -- 1539 01:14:13,081 --> 01:14:17,285 23,000 square miles of underwater terrain. 1540 01:14:17,386 --> 01:14:21,656 that could take another year or longer. 1541 01:14:21,757 --> 01:14:23,124 while all seems lost, 1542 01:14:23,225 --> 01:14:25,726 there is one reason to hold out hope. 1543 01:14:25,828 --> 01:14:28,796 at least in the case of air france 447, 1544 01:14:28,897 --> 01:14:30,965 the black box was eventually found. 1545 01:14:31,066 --> 01:14:34,702 gillespie: it wasn't until two years later with sufficient funding 1546 01:14:34,803 --> 01:14:37,705 and much more sophisticated technology brought to bear 1547 01:14:37,806 --> 01:14:39,674 that the wreckage was found. 1548 01:14:39,775 --> 01:14:44,846 they recovered the black boxes, analyzed the data, 1549 01:14:44,947 --> 01:14:47,048 and then the mystery was solved. 1550 01:14:47,149 --> 01:14:50,117 narrator: after analyzing the black box data, 1551 01:14:50,219 --> 01:14:52,220 investigators were able to conclude 1552 01:14:52,321 --> 01:14:54,489 that air france 447 1553 01:14:54,590 --> 01:14:56,824 ultimately crashed into the atlantic ocean 1554 01:14:56,925 --> 01:14:58,392 because of pilot error. 1555 01:14:58,494 --> 01:15:01,762 the aircraft broke up on impact, 1556 01:15:01,864 --> 01:15:06,801 and in that instant, all 228 people on board died. 1557 01:15:06,902 --> 01:15:08,369 we've moved to a phase now 1558 01:15:08,470 --> 01:15:10,738 where we're actually gonna have to try 1559 01:15:10,839 --> 01:15:12,740 and scour the ocean floor, 1560 01:15:12,841 --> 01:15:15,643 which is a long-term, very difficult operation. 1561 01:15:15,744 --> 01:15:17,979 it's going to take years. 1562 01:15:18,080 --> 01:15:19,814 narrator: as devastating as it would be 1563 01:15:19,915 --> 01:15:21,782 for the family members of the passengers 1564 01:15:21,884 --> 01:15:22,984 to hear the truth 1565 01:15:23,085 --> 01:15:26,087 about the final few minutes of flight mh370, 1566 01:15:26,188 --> 01:15:30,324 never knowing what happened to their loved ones is worse. 1567 01:15:30,425 --> 01:15:31,659 to move life forward, 1568 01:15:31,760 --> 01:15:34,495 there are a number of issues we have to resolve, 1569 01:15:34,596 --> 01:15:36,564 and all of them are now dependent 1570 01:15:36,665 --> 01:15:41,202 on what malaysia airlines and the malaysian government does. 1571 01:15:41,303 --> 01:15:42,670 narrator: coming up... 1572 01:15:42,771 --> 01:15:44,539 give us the truth. 1573 01:15:44,640 --> 01:15:48,910 narrator: will the mystery of malaysia flight 370 ever be solved? 1574 01:15:49,011 --> 01:15:50,978 we should all be very, very worried 1575 01:15:51,079 --> 01:15:54,215 that this giant airplane could just go missing 1576 01:15:54,316 --> 01:15:56,250 and nobody seem to know where it is. 1577 01:15:58,687 --> 01:16:00,521 there's not been a single thing 1578 01:16:00,622 --> 01:16:03,324 that we have been told throughout this investigation 1579 01:16:03,425 --> 01:16:05,092 that has held to be true 1580 01:16:05,193 --> 01:16:07,061 for longer than a couple of days at a time. 1581 01:16:07,162 --> 01:16:09,730 they started off searching in the gulf of thailand, 1582 01:16:09,831 --> 01:16:12,700 and then they're looking in the southern indian ocean 1583 01:16:12,801 --> 01:16:15,369 because of inmarsat pings. 1584 01:16:15,470 --> 01:16:18,839 nothing from the investigation team was proven to be right. 1585 01:16:18,941 --> 01:16:19,907 nothing. 1586 01:16:20,008 --> 01:16:22,109 there were several days in the beginning 1587 01:16:22,210 --> 01:16:24,245 when the malaysian government apparently had information 1588 01:16:24,346 --> 01:16:26,514 from its military radar systems 1589 01:16:26,615 --> 01:16:29,350 that indicated the aircraft had flown to the west, 1590 01:16:29,451 --> 01:16:32,954 away from the south china sea, which is the area 1591 01:16:33,055 --> 01:16:36,157 where the initial search and rescue operations were going on. 1592 01:16:36,258 --> 01:16:38,225 narrator: and to add insult to injury, 1593 01:16:38,327 --> 01:16:41,329 malaysian officials came under harsh international criticism 1594 01:16:41,430 --> 01:16:42,496 in their dealings 1595 01:16:42,598 --> 01:16:44,999 with the family members of the passengers. 1596 01:16:45,100 --> 01:16:48,402 on march 24th, the airline sent a text message 1597 01:16:48,503 --> 01:16:49,870 basically saying to the families 1598 01:16:49,972 --> 01:16:53,274 that the airline was declaring that their families were lost. 1599 01:16:53,375 --> 01:16:57,211 that kind of pushed a lot of people over the edge. 1600 01:16:57,312 --> 01:16:58,679 it was heart-wrenching. 1601 01:16:58,780 --> 01:17:00,147 man: this woman screams 1602 01:17:00,248 --> 01:17:02,650 that she's lost three members of her family -- 1603 01:17:02,751 --> 01:17:06,754 her son, his wife, and her grandson. 1604 01:17:06,855 --> 01:17:08,789 [ woman shouting in native language ] 1605 01:17:08,890 --> 01:17:10,558 schiavo: then the government did an about-face. 1606 01:17:10,659 --> 01:17:12,426 they said, "oh, no. we haven't declared them dead," 1607 01:17:12,527 --> 01:17:13,728 which really only made it worse. 1608 01:17:13,829 --> 01:17:15,696 at that point, they should have just been quiet. 1609 01:17:15,797 --> 01:17:17,431 narrator: many people are incensed 1610 01:17:17,532 --> 01:17:19,333 at the way this tragedy was handled 1611 01:17:19,434 --> 01:17:23,170 and need someone to take responsibility. 1612 01:17:23,271 --> 01:17:26,574 the problem with malaysia's investigation of mh370 1613 01:17:26,675 --> 01:17:27,842 is singular. 1614 01:17:27,943 --> 01:17:31,078 there's not been one person who's stood up and said, 1615 01:17:31,179 --> 01:17:33,414 "i am in charge of this investigation, 1616 01:17:33,515 --> 01:17:36,083 "and you can trust that i'm gonna do the best i can 1617 01:17:36,184 --> 01:17:37,485 to find that aircraft." 1618 01:17:37,586 --> 01:17:40,755 there were several instances where one malaysian official 1619 01:17:40,856 --> 01:17:42,590 would give one set of information. 1620 01:17:42,691 --> 01:17:45,159 within hours, sometimes, it would be contradicted 1621 01:17:45,260 --> 01:17:46,827 by another part of the malaysian government. 1622 01:17:46,928 --> 01:17:50,264 schiavo: when malaysia revealed on march 12 1623 01:17:50,365 --> 01:17:53,234 that they knew that the plane had left the south china sea, 1624 01:17:53,335 --> 01:17:56,337 that the plane had passed back over malaysia, 1625 01:17:56,438 --> 01:17:57,638 to know that the plane 1626 01:17:57,739 --> 01:17:59,907 is not where you're allowing everyone to search 1627 01:18:00,008 --> 01:18:01,308 and everyone to think it is, 1628 01:18:01,410 --> 01:18:04,045 it was a colossal waste of time and money 1629 01:18:04,146 --> 01:18:05,946 and emotions on the family. 1630 01:18:06,048 --> 01:18:08,315 the delays that are occurring are explainable. 1631 01:18:08,417 --> 01:18:11,952 they're simply either protective of military secrets 1632 01:18:12,054 --> 01:18:15,056 or trying to protect their own image. 1633 01:18:15,157 --> 01:18:18,459 they may be a little inept. they may be unsure what to do. 1634 01:18:18,560 --> 01:18:20,161 but i don't see a malicious intent. 1635 01:18:20,262 --> 01:18:22,997 we've had a lot of experience doing accident investigations 1636 01:18:23,098 --> 01:18:25,232 and learning from them. 1637 01:18:25,333 --> 01:18:26,667 and our experience -- 1638 01:18:26,768 --> 01:18:29,770 the experience of australia, britain, france, china -- 1639 01:18:29,871 --> 01:18:32,006 is just not shared by the rest of the world. 1640 01:18:32,107 --> 01:18:34,208 in some cases, to do an investigation, 1641 01:18:34,309 --> 01:18:36,510 you have to have a little bit of humility, 1642 01:18:36,611 --> 01:18:38,312 and you have to realize you don't know everything 1643 01:18:38,413 --> 01:18:41,515 and you better be calling in the experts who do. 1644 01:18:41,616 --> 01:18:46,287 so i'd have to say it's incompetence and arrogance 1645 01:18:46,388 --> 01:18:48,956 not to realize that this was a mighty big investigation 1646 01:18:49,057 --> 01:18:51,192 that they were not equipped to handle. 1647 01:18:51,293 --> 01:18:54,295 narrator: as months went by with still no clear answers, 1648 01:18:54,396 --> 01:18:58,032 no one has suffered more than those who have lost loved ones. 1649 01:18:58,133 --> 01:19:01,068 interpreter: malaysia airlines, malaysian government 1650 01:19:01,169 --> 01:19:04,972 continuously lied to the family and people around the world. 1651 01:19:05,073 --> 01:19:09,376 they are the real murderers of our family members. 1652 01:19:09,478 --> 01:19:12,179 the one thing that has actually bothered me 1653 01:19:12,280 --> 01:19:16,150 throughout this whole tragedy is the lack 1654 01:19:16,251 --> 01:19:21,222 of sense of responsibility and accountability. 1655 01:19:21,323 --> 01:19:24,291 they should learn from this incident 1656 01:19:24,392 --> 01:19:29,029 and how to prevent it from happening in future. 1657 01:19:29,131 --> 01:19:32,933 and for that, i think the efforts have to continue. 1658 01:19:33,034 --> 01:19:37,204 the passengers, the crew should not be forgotten. 1659 01:19:45,981 --> 01:19:47,715 the way the information came out 1660 01:19:47,816 --> 01:19:49,517 and the way that it was dealt with 1661 01:19:49,618 --> 01:19:51,786 just didn't seem like it was right. 1662 01:19:51,887 --> 01:19:54,288 it just seemed like there was something off about it. 1663 01:19:54,389 --> 01:19:56,357 so usually when that happens, 1664 01:19:56,458 --> 01:19:58,659 it's usually they're hiding something. 1665 01:19:58,760 --> 01:20:01,162 bajc: it's becoming increasingly the opinion 1666 01:20:01,263 --> 01:20:03,597 of the average family member 1667 01:20:03,698 --> 01:20:06,433 that we've been being lied to, right? 1668 01:20:06,535 --> 01:20:09,270 so, now you start to become angry about it, as well. 1669 01:20:09,371 --> 01:20:13,207 we want they give us the truth. 1670 01:20:13,308 --> 01:20:14,708 everybody in the world 1671 01:20:14,810 --> 01:20:18,579 has a stake on the outcome of this investigation. 1672 01:20:18,680 --> 01:20:20,080 international transport 1673 01:20:20,182 --> 01:20:23,617 with wide-body aircraft such as boeing 777 1674 01:20:23,718 --> 01:20:27,688 are fundamental to the finances and to the national security 1675 01:20:27,789 --> 01:20:30,891 and to the operation of almost every single country in the world. 1676 01:20:30,992 --> 01:20:33,561 there are 3.1 billion people 1677 01:20:33,662 --> 01:20:36,530 that get on an airplane every year. 1678 01:20:36,631 --> 01:20:39,200 and we should all be very, very worried 1679 01:20:39,301 --> 01:20:42,469 that this giant airplane could just go missing 1680 01:20:42,571 --> 01:20:45,005 and nobody seem to know where it is. 1681 01:20:45,106 --> 01:20:49,376 in order to prove to the world that flying is safe, 1682 01:20:49,477 --> 01:20:55,649 we have to find the wreckage, the aircraft, the black box 1683 01:20:55,750 --> 01:20:57,751 in order to know what went wrong. 1684 01:20:57,853 --> 01:21:00,888 because unless we know what went wrong, 1685 01:21:00,989 --> 01:21:04,491 we won't be able to prevent it for the future. 1686 01:21:04,593 --> 01:21:05,926 narrator: every airline disaster 1687 01:21:06,027 --> 01:21:10,331 is an unwelcome reminder of our own mortality. 1688 01:21:10,432 --> 01:21:12,233 there is a silver lining, though. 1689 01:21:12,334 --> 01:21:14,802 each lost plane teaches us a lesson 1690 01:21:14,903 --> 01:21:17,438 on how to prevent the same catastrophic event 1691 01:21:17,539 --> 01:21:19,406 from happening again. 1692 01:21:19,507 --> 01:21:22,610 when you step into the cockpit of all commercial airliners, 1693 01:21:22,711 --> 01:21:26,847 you'll see the dna of accidents that have happened in the past 1694 01:21:26,948 --> 01:21:29,950 as you look at some of the various instruments. 1695 01:21:30,051 --> 01:21:32,820 a delta air lines accident involving wind shear 1696 01:21:32,921 --> 01:21:34,622 gave rise to every aircraft 1697 01:21:34,723 --> 01:21:37,458 having a wind shear detection system. 1698 01:21:37,559 --> 01:21:39,360 an accident that american airlines had 1699 01:21:39,461 --> 01:21:40,995 while flying in columbia 1700 01:21:41,096 --> 01:21:42,930 has given rise to almost every aircraft 1701 01:21:43,031 --> 01:21:46,567 having an enhanced ground-proximity warning system. 1702 01:21:46,668 --> 01:21:48,602 all these types of emergency equipment 1703 01:21:48,703 --> 01:21:51,038 and new ways of designing cockpits 1704 01:21:51,139 --> 01:21:53,607 and new alerting systems for the pilots 1705 01:21:53,708 --> 01:21:56,310 have all resulted from major accidents. 1706 01:21:56,411 --> 01:21:58,279 narrator: already, malaysia airlines has improved 1707 01:21:58,380 --> 01:22:02,049 its cockpit regulations in response to this tragedy 1708 01:22:02,150 --> 01:22:05,319 while the international air transport association 1709 01:22:05,420 --> 01:22:07,988 has announced its intention to introduce measures 1710 01:22:08,089 --> 01:22:11,358 to ensure all aircraft can be tracked in real time. 1711 01:22:11,459 --> 01:22:14,128 still, this news is cold comfort 1712 01:22:14,229 --> 01:22:16,063 to those who desperately seek answers 1713 01:22:16,164 --> 01:22:18,432 regarding the fate of their loved ones. 1714 01:22:18,533 --> 01:22:20,467 chan: there is no closure. we don't know if they're alive. 1715 01:22:20,568 --> 01:22:23,537 we don't know if they're dead. we don't know what happened. 1716 01:22:23,638 --> 01:22:27,741 the information was distorted, it was inconsistent 1717 01:22:27,842 --> 01:22:30,244 and this is our loved ones, this is our families. 1718 01:22:30,345 --> 01:22:32,179 this is their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, 1719 01:22:32,280 --> 01:22:35,316 their -- you know, i mean, you just won't accept that. 1720 01:22:35,417 --> 01:22:36,884 you need to know. 1721 01:22:36,985 --> 01:22:38,986 the worst possible thing that could happen 1722 01:22:39,087 --> 01:22:40,654 is we never find the plane at all 1723 01:22:40,755 --> 01:22:43,724 because it will leave the family members 1724 01:22:43,825 --> 01:22:50,164 in this state of endless crisis and ambiguity. 1725 01:22:50,265 --> 01:22:54,301 and it also leaves the world's flying public 1726 01:22:54,402 --> 01:22:56,470 in a state of constant fright. 1727 01:22:56,571 --> 01:23:00,741 narrator: since the disappearance of mh370, 1728 01:23:00,842 --> 01:23:03,644 we are no closer to learning what happened. 1729 01:23:03,745 --> 01:23:06,380 was it a terrorist attack or pilot suicide? 1730 01:23:06,481 --> 01:23:08,849 mechanical failure or a fire? 1731 01:23:08,950 --> 01:23:10,985 did everyone on board perish 1732 01:23:11,086 --> 01:23:14,922 or is there a chance the plane landed safely on a remote island 1733 01:23:15,023 --> 01:23:18,792 and all 239 people survived? 1734 01:23:18,893 --> 01:23:23,597 this mystery has had so many different turns and diversions, 1735 01:23:23,698 --> 01:23:25,065 just different directions 1736 01:23:25,166 --> 01:23:27,568 as we got different pieces of information, 1737 01:23:27,669 --> 01:23:30,671 that we just can't come up with a cohesive way 1738 01:23:30,772 --> 01:23:32,573 to understand what happened to the plane. 1739 01:23:32,674 --> 01:23:34,842 gadzinski: if this aircraft is indeed 1740 01:23:34,943 --> 01:23:37,111 two to three miles deep in the ocean, 1741 01:23:37,212 --> 01:23:40,247 this is almost harder to get to 1742 01:23:40,348 --> 01:23:41,982 than it is to put a man on the moon. 1743 01:23:42,083 --> 01:23:44,651 it's not gonna be easy, but however we do, 1744 01:23:44,753 --> 01:23:47,755 it's gonna make for one hell of a story, that's for sure.