The crash of the GermanWings A320 from apparent pilot suicide will refocus many minds on the unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 just over a year ago. One of the many theories about MH370 that has gained currency is that pilot-in-command Capt. Zahari Shah was responsible. Perhaps an "insider" hijacking that went wrong. I have just returned from two weeks in Malaysia, where I learned more about Captain Zahari and his controversial connection to the opposition political party there.
On the anniversary of the disappearance, the Malaysian Ministry of Transport issued a “Factual Information” report by the Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team. This 585-page report, compiled with the help of accident investigators from seven other countries, purports to describe the progress of the investigation. It brings into one report much of the information that has already been released over the past year. Unfortunately, it contains little or no information on two important aspects of the incident, which have a bearing on the theories that pilot intervention caused MH370 to disappear.
Chris Pocock has been covering the defense beat for AIN for over 30 years. He is a British citizen and a graduate of the University of Cambridge. Chris worked in the air cargo business for ten years before becoming a full-time writer in 1983. He subsequently edited two air cargo journals before becoming AIN’s Defense Editor. He retired from that position in 2018, but still contributes to the publication. Chris has written extensively on aerial reconnaissance, including four books on the history of the U-2 spyplane. He also lectures on this and other topics related to intelligence-gathering in the Cold War.
More In Accidents
