FATAL FLIGHT
Who was MH370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah?
Plus, a look at the theories that could have taken place
WHEN Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 mysteriously vanished on March 8, 2014, attention quickly focused on the aircraft's captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah.
Here is everything you need to know about the Malaysian Airlines pilot at the eye of the media storm.
1
Who was Zaharie Amad Shah?
Shah, born July 31, 1961, was described as a veteran pilot who joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981.
The 53-year-old had been an airline pilot with the airline for 33 years and had 18,423 hours of flight time.
It doesn’t make sense. It’s hard to reconcile with the man I knew. But it’s the necessary conclusion."
The unnamed pilot told The Atlantic
He had been a B777 captain for 16 years and had 8,659 hours on that aeroplane type.
Because of his good track record and seniority, he had been designated as a Type Rating Instructor, and Type Rating Examiner, on the B777.
He was recognised as an accomplished and well-respected pilot who had no blemishes on his record.
He was married and had three children.
Zaharie, a passionate cook and keen fisherman, lived with his wife in a luxury gated community where he was said to have built his own flight simulator.
In the wake of the plane's disappearance, rumours surfaced claiming his wife had moved out of their home.
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What was discovered about him after the crash?
A fellow pilot and life-long friend of Shah claims the pilot locked his co-pilot out of the cockpit and then crashed the plane in a murder-suicide.
"It doesn’t make sense. It’s hard to reconcile with the man I knew. But it’s the necessary conclusion," the unnamed pilot told The Atlantic.
The pilot said that as a senior officer and examiner it would have been easy to divert co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, out of the cockpit and then lock the door.
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The fellow pilot speculated that the mental state of Shah could have been a contributing factor to his decision.
Aviation expert Larry Vance, also stated the crash could have been murder-suicide.
He claimed that the pilot or co-pilot made the decision “to take it to a remote part of the ocean and make it disappear forever”.
According to the Independent Group that has worked on the case, "troubled and lonely" Captain Shah deliberately killed all 238 on board the jet by flying to 40,000ft to depressurise the cabin and suffocating the passengers.
Psychologists claimed the pilot was "self-destructive" after he sent 26-year-old sisters, Lan Qi Hui and Qi Min Lan messages, begging them to come to Kuala Lumpur.
He sent the Malaysian twin sisters sexually suggestive messages.
On one occasion he commented under a picture of Qi Min Lan in a bathrobe with the comment: "Just showered?"
He repeatedly asked the girls when they were coming to his hometown, despite being ignored.
Zaharie also used his Facebook to call Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak a "moron".
He also slammed the government which owned the airline he flew for.
Zaharie urged his followers: "There is a rebel in each and every one of us. Let it out!"
Aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas said he should have been fired for his political rants.
He told Australia's Daily Telegraph: "It should have raised serious alarm bells with the airline that you have someone flying who has such strong anti-government views.
"If a Qantas pilot did something like that, he would be spoken to and grounded."
Who was the co-pilot?
The co-pilot was Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, who was on his first flight on a 777 as a fully approved first officer.
He had flown five times before with a "check co-pilot" overseeing him.
But he had 2,763 hours of experience flying other jets before moving to the larger aircraft.
Fariq was reportedly planning to marry his girlfriend.
What happened to flight MH370?
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur and was heading to Beijing with 239 people on board.
Passengers included Chinese calligraphers, a couple on their way home to their young sons after a long-delayed honeymoon and a construction worker who hadn't been home in a year.
But at 12.14am on March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines lost contact with MH370 close to Phuket island in the Strait of Malacca.
Before that, Malaysian authorities believe the last words heard from the plane, from either the pilot or co-pilot, was "Good night Malaysian three seven zero".
Satellite "pings" from the aircraft suggest it continued flying for around seven hours when the fuel would have run out.
Experts have calculated the most likely crash site around 1,000 miles west of Perth, Australia.
But a huge search of the seabed failed to find any wreckage - and there are a number of alternative theories as to its fate.
The landing gear door from the Boeing 777 was found at the home of a Madagascan fisherman in November 2022 - and it's thought to be the first physical evidence to suggest the jet was crashed deliberately.
It has been claimed the engine of the plane was found in the Cambodian jungle.