On-going Mystery

I think CNN has stopped mentioning it now - so I will take up the slack.

This year's biggest mystery, so far, hasn't yet been solved: the disappearance of Boeing 777 #MH370, more than three months ago, with 239 passengers and crew on board. I've followed news stories over the weeks during extensive searches in the Indian Ocean: the discovery of pieces of debris, later proving not to be parts of the plane , the complex mathematical calculations drawn up by experts to establish the likely route and crash area using satellite "handshake pings"; the other kind of pings heard in the ocean in a likely crash area, originally thought to have been the last signals from MH370's black box equipment - doubt has now been cast on even this piece of "evidence".

There have been reports of possible sightings of the flight, from a guy on an oil rig; from some villagers on a island in the Maldives early on; and more recently from a British woman sailor on a yacht in the general area of the plane's possible route, who didn't believe her eyes when, close to the horizon she saw a large plane with what appeared to be orange lights beneath it, trailing black smoke. She didn't report the sighting immediately, three months ago, due to her disbelief.

Conspiracy theories have free range now but, strangely, the longer it goes before something definite is found, the less likely most of the theories become. Ideas about a terrorist hijack and subsequent plans to ransom passengers has become highly unlikely now, as has a possible plot to steal the plane, re-paint it, to use for dastardly deeds in the future - but what about those 239 people on board? Was the plane shot down by some over-keen military? Possible, I guess, but a plane shot down would certainly have left debris, some would have washed up or been seen by now. Lack of debris seems to indicate the plane sinking intact, or with minimal debris which sank soon after.

The most likely scenario remaining, other than fire in the cockpit or hold (which kind of makes the several known hours of onward flight unlikely) is that either one of the crew or a passenger re-routed, or caused the re-routing of the plane, but for what reason? If a passenger with sufficient expertise was involved, perhaps the reason could have been to divert the plane in order to crash it somewhere in a populated area, thus causing a 9/11-like tragedy. The captain might have been able to save this from happening by ensuring the plane would be out of range of all populated areas. Or... another scenario: if the plane's captain had held sufficient grudge against his company, or his country, and was in an emotionally unbalanced state at the time, he might have decided to "teach them a lesson" by taking the plane to sink it where it might never be found, thus causing huge expense and effort - and ensuring insurance payments would have to be made? There is some evidence that such a story might fit, but people who new the captain well have said that it seems highly unlikely, because loss of the lives of so many others was involved.

The search will continue in the Indian Ocean after the seabed has been mapped in detail. Expert search companies are currently being tendered, to continue what will likely be year(s)-long searches later this summer.

Recently it was reported as follows HERE:

Grieving relatives of passengers on board missing flight MH370 is offering a $3 million (£1.8m) reward for a whistleblower to come forward and give key information into the flight's investigation.

After three months of failed search efforts, families have become convinced the authorities are concealing the truth about the disappearance of the Boeing 777 and will launch the crowd-funding campaign Indiegogo in a bid to get answers

Latest as of 16 June: When search resumes the Inmarsat "hotspot" will be a key focus.

The emotional pain the families and loved ones of those lost have been enduring is unimaginable. I hope there will be closure for them, and soon.