Investigators are still trying to determine what happened to the missing Malaysian airline plane that disappeared over the weekend. On Saturday, searchers spotted what they believe to be oil slicks in the ocean near Tho Chu island. Another search group believes they may have found a door of the aircraft near the same location.
Details about the accident are sketchy and the pilots did not signal that they were in trouble or call for help before the plane disappeared. Many theories about what could have went wrong and caused the plane to go down have surfaced, but researchers are still trying to figure out exactly what happened.
A possible lead in the investigation came after information emerged showing that two passengers had boarded the plane with stolen passports. Interpol was aware that the passports had been stolen but had not checked the database before the Boeing 777 departed.
“I can confirm that we have the visuals of these two people on CCTV,” Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said at a news conference late Sunday, adding that the footage was being examined. “We have intelligence agencies, both local and international, on board.”
“Our focus now is to find the aircraft,” he continued.
Due to the use of the stolen passports and the mysterious circumstances of the plane’s disappearance, investigators say that the accident could be related to terrorism. The fact that the plane seemed to fall out of the sky with no warning and no distress call from the pilots, is consistent with large, on-board explosions.
Other possibilities of the accident include both engines failing or the pilots getting of course. Malaysia’s air force chief, Rodzali Daud said that the plane appeared to turn back before disappearing but fell off the radar a short time later.
Over the next few days, searchers and investigators will continue to search for wreckage and piece together the evidence to determine what happened to the jetliner.
What do you think could have happened to it?
Image via Wikimedia Commons
