fbpx
Bangkok One News
Home » Synopsis of the Netflix series MH370: The Aircraft That Disappeared
Aviation Lifestyle

Synopsis of the Netflix series MH370: The Aircraft That Disappeared

Throughout the aviation community, there are conflicting views on the miniseries.

Netflix aired a tremendously well-liked three-part documentary series to mark the 9th anniversary of the missing of MH370. In fact, it is the TV show that has received the most viewers on the streaming service this month. From the aviation industry, the series has come under fire for airtime given to improbable theories. The three-part documentary’s plot has been outlined by Simple Flying in case you haven’t watched it yet or aren’t sure if you want to.

Three unique episodes

The miniseries consists of three episodes, each of which focuses on a different potential solution to the question of what transpired to the plane whose ultimate position has never been identified with certainty. The series does a fantastic job of examining all sides of each theory and delving into the evidence that support and refute it, even though some of the theories are fanciful. Yet, not everyone will enjoy the series, with some wondering why the second and third hypotheses received so much attention on internet discussion groups.

1st episode: The premiere

The first installment of the series differs slightly from the other two. It has to set the scene for the story for anyone who might not be familiar with the specifics of MH370 in addition to examining one potential possibility.

Jeff Wise introduces the episode. According to him, he has been “following the case avidly” for the previous nine years. In the first two episodes, Wise plays a significant role in illuminating the first two hypotheses. The relatives of the victims, as well as Fuad Sharuji, who served as Malaysia Airlines’ Crisis Director for both MH370 and MH17, which took place four months later, are additional significant elements of the occurrences.

As the first episode progresses, it demonstrates how the MH370 disappearance developed day by day, examining the preliminary search in the South China Sea, the discovery that the plane had flown back over Malaysia, and the Inmarsat data that indicate it terminated in the Indian Ocean. The only little issue we have with this episode is that a Boeing 737 is shown taxiing before footage of an Airbus A330 taking off, even though the footage of MH370’s taxi and takeoff is being displayed. A Boeing 777 was used to fly MH370.

The idea that Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the pilot of MH370, purposefully piloted the aircraft into the Indian Ocean and the measures he would have had to take to accomplish this are presented in Episode 1 after the backdrop of the MH370 case has been explained. The Malaysian government’s final report concludes that the aircraft ended in the Indian Ocean, which is usually regarded as the most plausible scenario. The program highlights the fact that Zaharie is not blamed in the third episode’s final report.

Second episode: The Hijack

The series’ second episode opens with the shooting down of MH17 four months after MH370 vanished. Wise then offers a possibility that three “ethnically Russian guys” may have collaborated to clandestinely get access to the Boeing 777’s electrical bay, which is accessible from the first class cabin, implying that the two incidents may be connected.

Then he proposes that after an electronic takeover, the aircraft was flown to Kazakhstan in the north. The idea claimed that Moscow attempted to draw attention away from their invasion of Crimea by having the world’s media concentrate on a missing aircraft. This is not likely to be the case, according to a number of factors. First, pieces of MH370 have washed up on Africa’s east coast. Wise offers another theory for its genesis along with the possibility that this was seeded in the third episode. The fact that MH370’s flight path to the Indian Ocean was confirmed by Inmarsat data is another issue. Wise hypothesizes that the hijackers may have spoofed this. On this, Mark Dickinson, then-VP of Satellite Operations at Inmarsat, said,

Three: The Intercept

The French author and investigative journalist Florence De Changy takes over from Wise in the third episode of MH370: The Aircraft That Disappeared and presents a theory that the airplane may have been shot down by the US military because of any questionable goods on board.

De Changy thinks that, contrary to earlier speculation, the plane actually did crash into the South China Sea. She points out that only one of the 12 serial numbers on the piece that matches MH370 has been used to certify that a piece of wreckage found on the east coast of Africa is from the missing flight (Note that the official report on the accident shows that three items found have been confirmed to come from MH370). She makes a crucial distinction by pointing out that the piece’s identification plate was missing. She and Wise both make suggestions that the majority of the fragments, discovered by a person by the name of Blaine Gibson, are unreliable. “Lithium Ion batteries-walkie-talkie accessories & chargers” is one of the cargo kinds specified in the report. The report continues by saying that before leaving its place of origin, MASkargo and customs officers visually and externally inspected this cargo, but it was not screened at the airport before being loaded. De Changy speculates that this shipment may have included sensitive equipment that the US does not want China to obtain.

Then, MH370 was allegedly intercepted by two US Boeing AWACS planes, who allegedly jammed its communications as it vanished. An order to land promptly is disregarded by Captain Zaharie. The aircraft is shot out of the sky above the South China Sea as it gets close to Chinese airspace. The probe is subsequently followed by a coverup that was organized by several participating nations. De Changy says in closing her theory,

“I’m the first to admit that it sounds improbable and that there are still some unfinished business. Yet, I think that my version of events is considerably closer to the reality than the official version. To prove that the official story was made up has been the most crucial aspect of my job.”

An overview

The documentary does a decent job of examining both sides of each idea, which is something that some other aviation-themed Netflix documentaries haven’t done. But, some aspects of the film do seem a little fanciful at times. In spite of the fact that you may wish to take it with a grain of salt, we would suggest it to anyone with an interest in aviation as well as to those who are simply interested in such documentaries in general.

Translate »
Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial