Everything to Know About Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and Its Mysterious Disappearance
Courtesy of Netflix
Netflix is diving deeper into the mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
The Boeing 777 first vanished over the South China Sea on March 8, 2014, en route from Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport to the flight's planned destination, Beijing Capital International Airport in China.
Timed to the ninth anniversary of the plane's disappearance on March 8, 2014, the new docuseries titled MH370: The Plane That Disappeared explores some of the biggest questions — many of which remain unanswered — surrounding the plane's sudden disappearance, according to a Netflix press release.
Through interviews with family members, scientists and journalists, the three-part series also looks into "the most contentious theories" about the flight.
From when the plane disappeared to the search-and-rescue effort that followed, here's everything to know about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
RELATED: Before Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: A Brief History of Disappearing Planes
Who was on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?
Courtesy of Netflix
The flight had a total of 239 people onboard, including 12 crew members and 227 passengers from 14 different nations. Following the flight's disappearance, Malaysia Airlines released the names of the passengers and crew, based on the flight manifest, but it was later modified to include two passengers who were traveling with stolen Austrian and Italian passports.
The pilot in command was 53-year-old Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah from Penang, who joined Malaysia Airlines as a cadet pilot in 1981. The co-pilot was 27-year-old First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid, who was completing his final training flight with Flight 370.
When did Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 take off?
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 took off at 12:41 a.m. local time on Saturday, March 8, 2014, per History.com. It was one of two daily flights operated by Malaysia Airlines from its hub at Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport.
When did Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappear?
At 1:07 a.m., the aircraft's last automated position report was sent. The last voice transmission from the cockpit was set to air traffic controllers at 1:19 a.m.: "Good night Malaysian three seven zero." Two minutes later, the plane's transponder stopped transmitting.
The plane was eventually tracked by Malaysian and Thai military radar, which showed it turning west and then north to the Andaman Sea. It was last plotted by satellites above the Indian Ocean.
About an hour after the flight was scheduled to land, Malaysia Airlines announced the plane was missing.
Was Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 ever found?
Courtesy of Netflix
A search-and-rescue effort began shortly after the plane was reported missing, including a search of the southern Indian Ocean. On March 24, Malaysia's prime minister announced the flight was seemingly lost in the Indian Ocean with no survivors.
Over the years, what's assumed to be various pieces of the plane have been discovered, including a wing flap found in Tanzania in July 2016, a plane wing fragment found in Mauritius in May 2016 and the flaperon from the jetliner found in Reunion Island in July 2015, per CNN.
What happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?
It's still unclear what exactly happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Following its disappearance, many theories have been put forward, from mechanical failure to a mass murder-suicide attempt, though none of those theories have been proven.
