Tests confirm that wreckage that washed ashore at an island in the Indian Ocean is from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
The plane disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014 with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board, sparking an international search.
March 8, 2014
Boeing 777 goes missing
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 am, bound for Beijing. Military radar last tracked the plane at 2:14 am, and half an hour later the airline reported it had lost contact.
A sand sculpture for the victims of MH370 at Puri Beach in India © Sudersan Pattnaik March 9, 2014
A false positive in Vietnam
Andaman Sea
Vietnam began to search the Gulf of Thailand after one of its aircraft reported spotting a plane door off the southwestern coast of Vietnam, but it was not related to Flight MH370.
Authorities discovered that two MH370 passengers were carrying stolen passports, but all passengers were later cleared of terrorism links.
March 15, 2014
Search corridors identified
Indian Ocean
Satellite transmissions traced the plane to the Indian Ocean. Investigators established two search corridors, reaching from Thailand to the southern Indian Ocean. Malaysia said the plane was intentionally diverted and flew for six hours after radar contact was lost.
The US naval vessel Ocean Shield deploys the Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle, which conducted a seafloor sonar survey for six weeks to support the search for MH370. © US Navy March 18, 2014
Questions about the pilots
Malaysia
Malaysia said the change to MH370’s route had been programmed into the cockpit computer. Two days later, Malaysia announced it would search a new location based on a new analysis. On March 22, Malaysian officials said one of the pilots had plotted a course to an island in the southern Indian Ocean on his home flight simulator a month before MH370 took off and then deleted the data. No proof of foul play has been found.
March 20, 2014
Debris spotted
Indian Ocean
Australian satellites detected two pieces of debris in the southern Indian Ocean 1,550 miles west of Perth, but searchers were unable to locate it.
March 24, 2014
Families told their relatives are dead
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Malaysia told families of those on board — some via text message — that the plane had crashed into the Indian Ocean and all on board were dead.
Relatives of Chinese passengers on board Flight MH370 cry in a prayer room in Beijing, April 4, 2014. © Ng Han Guan/AP April 5, 2014
Pings detected
Indian Ocean
A Chinese search vessel detected an underwater “pulse signal,” which was later heard by other ships. But the pings stopped before the location of their source was determined.
April 7, 2014
Data recorder signals detected
Indian Ocean
Search leader Angus Houston said more than two hours of signals consistent with a black box recorder and cockpit voice recorder had been monitored in the Indian Ocean, the “most promising lead” yet. The beacons on the recorders had a one-month battery life.
April 24, 2014
No hope of survivors
Indian Ocean
The search-and-rescue mission officially became search and recovery. Within days searchers began to hunt underwater using a robot.
June 26, 2014
Plane probably flew on autopilot
Australia
Australian searchers said the plane had probably flown on autopilot on an orderly path after the crew was incapacitated, possibly by lack of oxygen. They said the plane had probably crashed in the southern Indian ocean.
January 28, 2015
Officially ruled an accident
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Malaysia officially declared the loss of Flight MH370 an accident, and said it had crashed in “a defined area of the southern Indian Ocean.” Search efforts would continue.
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An aircraft wing section washed ashore at Réunion, a French Island east of Madagascar. It was sent to France for testing to see if it belonged to flight MH370. On August 5, Malaysia announced it did.
MH370 timeline: 16 months of searches for the flight that disappeared | World news | The Guardian - Plane debris find on Réunion in Indian Ocean comes after search for missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was focused on 46,000 sq mile area
Timeline: The Disappearance Of Flight MH370 - As experts examine debris which may be from a Boeing 777, Sky News looks at the major developments in the search for Flight MH370.
Timeline: The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 - ITV News - Read Timeline: The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 latest on ITV News. All the World news
Timeline: The search for MH370 - RTÉ News - A timeline of major developments in the disappearance of the Boeing 777 and its 239 passengers and crew.
MH370 investigators find no proof of ‘rogue pilot’ theory - Telegraph - One year after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished, investigators say there is no evidence pilot was unstable
MH370: aircraft debris in Réunion almost certainly from a Boeing 777 | World news | The Guardian - Aircraft wing section found on island in Indian Ocean being shipped to France for verification, raising hopes of discovering fate of missing Malaysia Airlines jet
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