It's been almost a week since Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared with barely a whisper, and authorities appear no closer to discovering what happened to the phantom flight.
The prevailing theory - that the plane continued to fly for several hours after losing communication with air traffic control - has led to the expansion of the search, now observing the bulk of the Indian Ocean. Previously, efforts had been concentrated to the Gulf of Thailand region near the coast of Vietnam, where suspect oil slicks had been spotted. After ruling out the possibility that the oil slicks were caused by MH370, conspiracy theories began flowing thick and fast, with government search parties offering little else to ease the minds of victims' families and casual observers alike.
As the week comes to an end, the most recent theory (admittedly, with little to support the proposition) posits that the plane has in fact landed on a remote island somewhere amidst the Indian Ocean. With many believing that the plane continued flying, the theory suggests that the pilot - whether Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the man who manned the aircraft at the time of take-off, or a hijacker - opted for a route over the Andaman Islands. Indeed, investigations are also looking into Captain Shah and First Officer Fariq Ab Hamid for connections to the disappearance.
Whether or not the plane has landed, the strongest indication thus far is that it continued to fly after dropping out of communication. Malaysian military radar shows 'unidentified blips' that appeared in the correct time frame, and are yet be ruled as any other aircraft. Experts have weighed in on the situation, with former airline Captain Mark Weiss airing his concerns to CNN. "There seems to be a real trail that leads to something taking that aircraft, somebody taking that aircraft off its intended flight path. That doesn't just happen by accident," he said.
Perhaps most ominous yet are the final words heard from the cockpit - "all right, good night," thought to be uttered by Captain Shah. Early investigations ruled out terrorism; however, with 'new information' - as yet unavailable to the public - foul play, in some incarnation, is now suspected. "There are four or five possibilities which we are exploring," said Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein in a press conference today. "It could have been done intentionally. It could be done under duress. It could have been done because of an explosion. That's why I don't want to go into the realm of speculation. We are looking at the all the possibilities."
