Zaharie
Shah, 53 years- old, was the captain of the Malaysia Flight 370 (Brumfield). (The plane went missing on March
8, 2014 (1). The plane disappeared off of all the radars: the communication
tower, the black box (a communication box the plane has that records the location
of the plane) and then the military radars (1). Shah is believed to have some
mental illnesses. Some people are convinced that this was Shah’s way of
suicide. Others are not so easily swayed (1). Shah’s sister said, “simply put,
the suicide story is but another story. My brother loved life, he loved his
lifestyle, period.”(1). All that these
are is theories. A wing flap from the plane was found in Tanzania (Karimi). There are some allegations that Shah
was talking to a married women about “personal matters” (Malaysia…). Was Shah
facing some dark times? Was Shah having an affair? Was the plane crash on
purpose?
"The MH370 captain's flight simulator showed
someone had plotted a course to the southern Indian Ocean," Joint Agency
Coordination Center, or JACC (Brumfield). Spokesman for the JACC, Scott Mansford, told CNN
that that was all he could reveal at that time (1). Though this is not
“tangible evidence” it seems to be pointed in the direction that this was not a
mistake (1). Another thing leading to the fact that it was not an accident is
that Shah has been a pilot for too long to make these kind of mistakes or for
something so awful to happen (1). He was simply too experienced (1). Shah had
been flying 777 (a Boeing 777 was the type of plane that went missing) for over
15 years (1). If someone has been doing one thing for more than 15 years it is
unlikely that this kind accident would not happen (McKirdy).
Which arises the question again, was this crash on purpose? A psych evaluation
was done on Zarahie and no change to his behavioral patterns had changed (Wise). A
psych evaluation was also done and recorded on the co-pilot, Fariq Hamid(1).
During Zarahie’s evaluation they studied things like: coping style,
relationship with spouse (and other people close to him such as family friends
parents) and his interests and hobbies (1). It also states that he was highly
respected among peers(1). It states that he did have the same interest as his
family, but it was in a healthy manner (1). This comes from a medical journal
(1). It is also believed that he was smoking before the fight (1). “Indeed, I don’t think there has
ever been a case where someone who is known to have carried out such an act had
such an outward appearance of being balanced and well-adjusted,” says Jeff Wise
(1). “In my estimation this psych evaluation must be regarded as powerful
evidence that Zaharie did not hijack MH370” (1).
Does
this mean that it is fact that Shah did not purposefully crash the plane? No,
but it does help the fact that it may have been an accident and not a mass
suicide/murder (Wise). However he had great reason to be upset (1). His
marriage and family were falling apart (1). “He’s one of the
finest pilots around and I’m no medical expert,¨ said a friend, who is also a
pilot and insisted on not being identified (Brumfield). ¨But with all that was
happening in his life, Zaharie was probably in no state of mind to be flying.”
(1). This friend goes on to say his personal life is way more complex then it
led on to be (1). For example, he was talking to another woman (1). This friend
was also a pilot but did not want to be identified (nydailynews). So, was Shah mentally stable? Should he have
been flying that plane? Do all the
things in Shah’s life lead to this being
a suicide? There is no definite answer
more of one that is made off of personal knowledge and understanding of the
facts that have been given.
How could a
huge plane go missing? How could it just vanish? On March 8, 2014 a Boing 777
went missing leaving Malaysia (Brumfield).
Many different people have many different ideas about what happened to
the Malaysia flight 370. The amount of conspiracies behind the pilot, Zaharie
Shah is bountiful. The opinions of him are even more. Some believed it was an
accident , or maybe even that it is was deliberate, that this was Shah’s way of
committing suicide. Others believe that other countries were involved such as
Russia or North Korea.
Zaharie
Shah was a very experienced pilot, who has over 18,000 hours of flying
experience (McKirdy). This is why it is s unbelievable that this plane crash
was a mistake. He had flown with the Malaysia Airlines for 15 years (1). How does this experience of a pilot make such
a big mistake? Unless it was not a mistake. The JACC ( Joint Agency Coordination Center) the so-called “seventh arc” (1).
Where they search apart of the southern Indian Ocean, an area of that is mapped
off using satellites. They are using several tools aircraft systems and data
modeling to try and find where the plane went down (1). They believe they have
found some pieces of debris but are not certain that it is the missing
Malaysian flight 370 (1). However, even though they believe they have found
debris they have not found the majority of the plane (1). "For the
purposes of defining the underwater search area, the relevant facts and
analysis most closely match a scenario in which there was no pilot intervening
in the latter stages of the flight," says the JACC (1). They later say how
it shows the possibility of it being planned but not exactly how it happened
(1). Now if it was intentional then
there are several conspiracies on that as well. Could Shah have been so upset
with his life that he would not only end his own life on purpose but hundreds
of others. However, another theory behind it being on purpose is that Shah
wanted to create the world’s greatest mystery (MH370). A missing plane that had
over 200 passengers is kind of bizarre. The amount of communication and
technology that the plane had, also the searching vessels, it is amazing how
only a little debris was found.
Now aside from the blame being on
Shah and it either being mass murder/ suicide, or to create some great mystery.
There is a theory that Russia knows where the plane may be located (MH370).
Vladimir Putin is accused in this theory that his has known this whole time
where the plane landed and or crashed (1). Now, why would Putin tell the world,
and Russia go down has solving the greatest mystery? Well, the way Putin would
known was if there was some spy satellites giving the location of the missing
plane (1). Andre Milne said to the Daily Star this "Satellites that were
placed by the Russians saw the wreckage, he said. "Putin would have been
given that information" (1). In this theory it is believed that the plane
crash landed in the Bay of Bengal (1).
That the plane “soft ditch” landing in the Bay of Bengal (1). Now, this
can be a problem considering that the Bay of Bengal is not off of Russia but
off of India (1). So, why exactly is it a big deal if he did have satellites
there? Wouldn’t finding the plane and maybe even survivors been better than
protecting some spy satellites and could he not just move the satellites? Also
if he did come out and say that he knew where the plane was would solving this
mystery not outweigh, in a sense, how he knew it was there? Well, Milne answers
all these questions, "The reason President Putin did not raise
his hand and march in and say we found it is because technically he would have
been admitting committing espionage." (1).
The last theory is that North Korea
was involved. This is the least likely conspiracy simply because there was
minimal evidence to support this theory. North Korea was most likely drug into
this mystery wurlwind because North Korea is a very, if not the most secretive
country in the world (1). Several conspiracy theorists believe that North Korea
is what is missing to solve this mystery (1). On March 5, 2014 one of North
Korea’s missiles crossed paths with a Chinese Southern Airline plane carrying
220 passengers (1). The two crossed paths not but seven minutes after the
missile was launched (1). Then on March
8, 2014, three days after this tragic event, the MH370 is now missing (1). An
anonymous worker told eTurboNews Group that someone wanted “a really, huge
plane” (1). The MH370 is indeed that and also has massive amounts of technology
(1). However, why would Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, go as far as
kidnapping and human trafficking for a plane?
Nelson Alcantara says that "Kidnapping and human trafficking has
always been part of North Korea's scary agenda," (1). Why could Jong-un
just build or buy a plane that he needed? Why go to such lengths of hijacking
one? A Reddit user simply puts it like this, "The North Korean government
is bat shit crazy," he added. "There's no telling what crazy logic
they might have for taking a plane."(1). None of these are concert
evidence against Jong-un or North Korea, but in fact just theories.
There are three conspiracy theories
have arose.
- Did Shah commit suicide?
- Does Putin know where the
plane, and may be hiding it to cover secret satellites?
- Did North Korea have something
to do with the disappearing plane?
There is a reason they are called theories, because there is
no evidence to prove that any of these or even ones not mentioned are actually
what happened to the Boing 777. However, we can infer that it is more likely
that it was a mass murder/ suicide. It is still plausible that Russia was
involved, it is not the most believable but still has some substance. On the
other hand, North Korea being involved is a stretch. Considering it is a
mystery they could very well be involved but there is not enough evidence to
accuse Jong-un of being the cause of this great mystery.
Work Cited
Aspinall,
Adam. “MH370 Plane Was Not Crashed in Suicide Bid Says Pilot's Brother-in-Law.”Mirror, 15 June 2014, www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/mh370-plane-not-crashed-suicide-3700179.
Brumfield, Ben, and Pamela Brown. “Malaysia Missing Plane:
Pilots of MH 370 Suspected in
Disappearance.” CNN,
Cable News Network, 30 July 2015, www.cnn.com/2014/03/14/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-pilot-profiles/index.html
Chesterton, Andrew. “'It Was His Last Joyride': MH370 Pilot
Was Upset over Wife Moving out and in 'No State of Mind to Be Flying', Reveals
His Long-Time Friend.” Daily Mail Online,
Associated Newspapers, 26 Mar. 2014, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2589365/MH370-pilot-upset-wife-moving-no-state-mind-flying-says-friend.html.
Colwell, Ann. “Timeline of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.” CNN, Cable News Network, 12 Mar. 2014, www.cnn.com/2014/03/11/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-flight-370-timeline/index.html.
Karimi, Faith. “MH370: Here's What's Been Found from
Missing Jetliner.” CNN, Cable News
Network, 9 Mar. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/03/08/asia/mh370-debris-found/index.html.
Malaysia Airlines
Flight 370 - Gikipedia, gikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia%20Airlines%20Flight%20370
“Malaysia Confirms Flight 370 Pilot Plotted Fatal Route.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 5 Aug. 2016, www.cbsnews.com/news/malaysia-confirms-flight-370-pilot-plotted-fatal-route/.
Ridley, Louise. “MH370 Pilot Sent 'Personal' WhatsApp
Messages To Married Woman Days Before Fatal Crash.” HuffPost UK, HuffPost, 7 Sept. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/mh370-pilot-sent-personal-whatsapp-messages-to-married-woman-days-before-plane-crashed_uk_57cfc63ce4b0ced6a0977335.
McKirdy, Euan. “MH370: Captain's Home Simulator Had Indian
Ocean Course Plotted.”CNN, Cable News
Network, 28 July 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/07/28/asia/mh370-pilot-flight-simulator/index.html.
“MH370 Conspiracy Theories: The Truth behind One of
Aviations Greatest Mysteries.” The Week
UK, www.theweek.co.uk/mh370/58037/mh370-conspiracy-theories-what-happened-to-the-missing-plane
Westcott, Richard. “Flight MH370: Could It Have Been
Suicide?” BBC News, BBC, 16 Apr.
2015, www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31736835.
Wise, Jeff.
jeffwise.net/2017/01/05/zaharie-shahs-secret-psych-evaluation/comment-page-1/.
Zaharie Shah’s Secret Psych Evaluation,
jeffwise.net/2017/01/05/zaharie-shahs-secret-psych-evaluation/.
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