As of: March 12, 2024, 9:54 p.m
By: Nadja Zinsmeister, Julian Mayr
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There are many conspiracy stories surrounding the disappearance of flight MH370.
Two passengers raised suspicions of terrorism, but had a different goal.
Kuala Lumpur - Almost exactly ten years have passed since the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 239 people on board disappeared without a trace.
The ongoing investigation into the mysterious disappearance of the plane on March 8, 2014 is still keeping the world in suspense.
Countless theories have circulated about the plane's fate, with two passengers in particular coming into the spotlight shortly after the incident.
What was their story and why did their trail lead to Germany?
Local authorities released photos of the passengers with stolen passports who were also on board the Boeing (MH370).
© IMAGO/Xinhua
Surveillance videos showed MH370 passengers with stolen Italian and Austrian passports
Malaysian authorities recently announced that they were hoping to gain new insights by using the latest technology.
A piece of wreckage found a year and a half ago could also have provided evidence that the plane crashed.
But as early as 2014, shortly after the sudden disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines flight with 239 people on board on the route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, there seemed to be movement in the case.
Authorities released surveillance videos of two suspicious men captured during security checks at the airport.
It turned out that they were traveling with stolen passports.
“We learned that the two passengers had flown on Italian and Austrian passports.
We didn’t know who they were,” explained Fuad Sharuji, a former crisis manager at Malaysia Airlines, in a ZDF documentary in March.
The blurred surveillance video first shows a young man with glasses and a beard, dressed in long green pants, a dark shirt and carrying a suitcase.
In another sequence, a second dark-haired man can be seen wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt.
Both seem inconspicuous.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: Passengers with stolen passports and suspected terrorism
Interpol investigations revealed that the two passengers were in fact not Italians and Austrians, but Iranians.
Media quickly spread suspicions that the men could be terrorists.
“This video footage will now be used for further investigations,” Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the former head of the Malaysian Civil Aviation Authority, announced at a public press conference at the time.
On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 with 239 people on board disappeared from radar without a trace © Fazry Ismail
For many, this theory seemed plausible - after all, September 11, 2001 was never forgotten and Iran was immediately associated with terrorism.
So had two terrorists caused the plane to crash?
Or had they hijacked it and gone into hiding with the passengers?
The relatives hoped that they might see their loved ones again.
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But the investigation soon led to a dead end, as a correspondent for
Le Monde
reported in the documentary.
“I saw the police report.
It turned out that the two just wanted to be with their families, who had emigrated to Germany,” said investigative journalist Florence de Changy.
The Iranians only chose the route to Beijing because it was the most inconspicuous on the way to Germany.
Interpol also soon gave the all-clear regarding the newly emerged theory.
The two Iranians on board were exonerated.
Their fate, along with that of 234 other people on board, remains a mystery to this day.
Many family and friends never stopped hoping for answers.
Was it an accident?
A deliberate crash?
A kidnapping?
Or was the plane even shot down?
Some experts do not believe the missing flight was an accident.
“Goodnight, Malaysia 370”: Last known words from the captain of the missing plane
On March 8, 2014, the Boeing 777 took off from Kuala Lumpur airport without any problems.
The flight to Beijing was routine.
Everything seemed normal until 1:19 a.m.
At this time, veteran captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah was heard from the cockpit for the last time.
“Good night, Malaysia 370,” were his last words.
Shortly afterwards, the transponder - a device that provides air traffic control on the ground with identification data - was switched off.
Who pressed the off switch and why remains unclear to this day.
About two hours after takeoff, the plane disappeared from radar screens.
A satellite then received so-called ping signals from the machine for seven hours.
It would take about that long for the tank to be empty.
Debris later washed up on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
There was always confusion among the public.
Satellite images released by China that may show parts of the plane were declared false a short time later.
There is still no trace of the main body of the aircraft, the passengers and the flight data recorder.
Malaysia, China and Australia launched a two-year underwater search that was canceled in 2017 without results.
A search by Ocean Infinity also yielded no results.
However, it is still suspected that the Boeing crashed into the sea and is now lying on the seabed somewhere at a great depth.
Neither authorities nor relatives want to give up the search for the Boeing 777, as was made clear on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the disappearance of MH370.
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.
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