Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 most likely flew on autopilot for several hours before a crash landing, with the crew incapacitated probably due to hypoxia, an investigation report has revealed.
Released more than 100 days after the plane’s mysterious disappearance and after months of fruitless search, the 55-page analysis by the Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) has reviewed the sporadic evidence about the aircraft’s whereabouts, mostly based on satellite and early radar data.
“Given these observations, the final stages of the unresponsive crew, hypoxia event type appeared to best fit the available evidence for the final period of MH370’s flight when it was heading in a generally southerly direction,” the ATSB report said.
E&T news reported details of the Flight MH370 investigation report in full today.
The report coincides with an announcement by the Australian authorities that a new priority search area of 60,000 sq. km in the Indian Ocean will be the focus over the next 12 months. This is in addition to a wider search area encompassing what is known as the 7th Arc, from where the final electronic “handshake” was received.
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