The Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared on air carrying 239 p(–foul word(s) removed–)engers and crew en route to Beijing. There are numerous reports online that debris were already found off the Vietnamese island of Tho Chu but all reports have not been confirmed by authorities.
We are going to discuss some basic known facts and figures of the ill-fated Malaysian Airlines which are listed below to familiarize the aircraft. Details of the facts and figures came from BBC and various online sources.
Who are the P(–foul word(s) removed–)engers of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370:
According to the manifest of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 there were 227 p(–foul word(s) removed–)engers, including 153 Chinese and 38 Malaysians, two of them were children. The airlines crew were composed of 12 people manning the international aircraft.
Records shows that among the Chinese nationals on board the plane were a delegation of 19 artists who had attended an exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. An Interpol reports also confirmed that two of the male p(–foul word(s) removed–)engers were travelling on p(–foul word(s) removed–)ports stolen from an Australian and Italian in Thailand last 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Last Contact of the Plane:
Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 00:41 on Saturday (16:41 GMT Friday), the plane is due to arrive in Beijing at 06:30 local time. The Malaysian Air Traffic controllers lost contact with Flight MH370 at around 1:30.
Where did the Airplane Disappear?
Flight MH370 was flying over the South China Sea, south of Vietnam’s Ca Mau peninsula, based upon the normal route of the p(–foul word(s) removed–)enger plane it would have taken it over Cambodia and Vietnam before it enters the Chinese airspace. Air traffic controllers did not receive any distress signal from the plane but aviation experts believed that the plane attempted to turn back.
The areas within the vicinity of the airplanes route was already searched by both the Malaysians and Vietnamese personnel but no evidence of debris were found. Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, head of Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation, was quoted as saying ““Unfortunately, ladies and gentleman, we have not found anything that appears to be objects from the aircraft, let alone the aircraft itself.”
Theories for a crash:
According to aviation experts, the common factors in plane crashes are poor weather, pilot error and airworthiness. Details from the Malaysian Airlines noted that the weather conditions of the flight are said to be good.
The pilot of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 is already 53 years old and had more than 18,000 flying hours. The pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah was employed by Malaysian Airlines since the year 1981. His first officer is a 27-year-old Fariq Hamid had 2,800 hours of flying experience since 2007.
Facts about the Airplane:
- The Boeing 777-2H6ER, registration 9M-MRO MSN 28420, first flew on 14 May 2002, and was delivered new to Malaysia Airlines on 31 May 2002.
- The aircraft was powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 892 engines.
- It had accumulated 20 243 hours and 3,023 cycles in service.
- The plane B777-300 ER Registration # 9M-MRO was last inspected 10 days ago and was “in proper condition,” as noted by Ignatius Ong, CEO of Malaysia Airlines.
