Accidents
New MH370 Report Indicates Uncontrolled Descent
Findings based on final satellite communications and evidence that wing flap remained retracted upon separating from aircraft
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 taxis at Tokyo Narita Airport. (Photo: Flickr: Creative Commons (BY-SA) by masak2_ukon)
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 taxis at Tokyo Narita Airport. (Photo: Flickr: Creative Commons (BY-SA) by masak2_ukon)

A new report issued by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau updating the progress of the investigation into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 indicates that the most recent analysis of satellite data shows a “high and increasing rate of descent” as the Boeing 777 plunged into the Indian Ocean, effectively discounting theories of a controlled descent. Separately, analysis of debris from MH370 that washed ashore in Tanzania indicates that the wing flap remained in its retracted position when it broke from the airplane, further debunking theories that the pilots tried to ditch the airplane as it approached the water. The findings appear to support investigators’ theories that the airplane ran out of fuel and dove into a remote part of the Indian Ocean off Western Australia.