In the early morning hours of Saturday, March 8, Flight MH370 out of Kuala Lumpur taxied down the runway, headed for China. The flight should have been on the ground in Beijing around 6:30 a.m.

But the plane, carrying 227 people and 12 crewmembers, never arrived.

On March 24, 16 days after MH370 disappeared, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak issued a statement, which read, “It is with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”

All Right, Good Night
The National Post reports that the last cockpit transmission occurred at the end of Malaysian airspace, when Malaysia air control notified the pilots they were handing over control to Ho Chi Minh City. “All right, good night,” the pilot replied. Three minutes later, the flight disappeared from Vietnam’s radar. The plane had only been in the air for an hour when it vanished.

Theories Abound
According to BBC News, the plane should have taken a northeastern course, flying over Cambodia and Vietnam. Initial searches took place in the South China Sea. As the hours passed and no debris was found, theories about what happened to the plan and its crew and passengers, grew wild and wilder.

Everything from terrorism to an incapacitated crew was debated, with dashes of alien attacks and government corruption thrown in. Compounding the mystery was the fact that two passengers used stolen passports from Italy and Australia to board the plane. Channel News Asia reports that no “elements of corruption” have been found in that case.

On March 20, Australian search teams reported finding possible debris on satellite in the southern Indian Ocean. As the hours passed, more debris was found, eventually leading to Prime Minister Razak’s chilling statement: “All lives are lost.”

A March 26 report from CNN, says that a satellite has located a possible debris field in the southern Indian Ocean, but the objects in the water have yet to be identified.

Questions Remain
How did flight MH370, which should have flown over the South China Sea, end up in the southern Indian Ocean? Automated “pings” from the plane were sent for nearly five hours after contact was lost, suggesting that the plane was either still in the air or safely on land. Why were no distress calls issued from the pilots or crew? How could an entire plane just disappear?

There are far more questions than answers in this tragedy. Unfortunately, it could be months or years before the bulk of flight MH370 is found and the mystery can be pieced together.

The thoughts and prayers of the AirportParkingReservations.com team are with the families of the passengers affected by the disappearance of flight MH370. It is our sincere hope that they will find closure soon.