2. Pilot Sabotage
With the pilots’ backgrounds already under investigation, officials are also considering pilot sabotage.
Recent developments have led investigators to believe that an experienced pilot deliberately changed the course of the flight. Reuters reported that the plane diverted to a route that is well-known among navigators. From Reuters:
Two sources told Reuters that military radar data showed an unidentified aircraft that investigators suspect was Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 following a commonly used navigational route toward the Middle East and Europe when it was last spotted early on March 8, northwest of Malaysia.
That course - headed into the Andaman Sea and towards the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean - could only have been set deliberately, either by flying the Boeing 777-200ER jet manually or by programming the auto-pilot.
According to the Daily Mail, there were also deliberate efforts made to shut off the plane’s data system and transponder. The two were reportedly shut off at different times, seemingly ruling out the possibility of a crash. From the Daily Mail:
US officials believe that two communications systems aboard Malaysian Airlines flight 370 were shut down separately, 14 minutes apart - which indicates the plane did not come down because of a sudden catastrophic failure.
...
That has led the US investigating team to become ?convinced there was manual intervention? which in turn means it was not an accident or massive malfunction that caused the plane to cease to be airborne.
Some officials have said that making those changes proves an experienced pilot was at the helm. As a result, they’re taking this theory very seriously.
3. Hijacking by Pirates or Terrorists
There is also the possibility that the pilots were not the only ones on the plane with flight experience.
The New York Times reported that the plane flew erratically and that its altitude drastically fluctuated. Officials said those details could mean any number of things, including that the person at the controls had some flight experience. Unfortunately, that means investigators cannot rule out trained pirates or terrorists.
ABC News reported that CIA Director John Brennan said the agency is still considering terrorism a possibility. He even went so far as to say that there are already unconfirmed claims of responsibility for the plane’s disappearance. From ABC News:
?I think there?s a lot of speculation right now,? Dir. John Brennan told the Council on Foreign Relations. ?[There have been] some claims of responsibility that have not been confirmed or corroborated at all. We are looking at it very carefully. We, the CIA, are working with FBI and TSA and others. Our Malaysian counterparts are doing everything they can to try to put together the pieces here. But clearly this is still a mystery, which is very disturbing.?
When asked whether he had ruled out terrorism as a factor, Brennan responded, ?No, I wouldn?t rule it out. Not at all.?
While different groups are being investigated, officials have not said that there is evidence tying the incident to any pirates or terrorist organizations in particular.
Because evidence suggests a knowledgeable pilot was controlling the plane, the above three theories are considered to be the strongest. However, officials have not ruled out any of the following possibilities.
