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How MH370 vanishing unfolded minute-by-minute from airport CCTV to cockpit message

Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 has been missing for more than a decade after it took off from Kuala Lumpur Airport with 239 passengers onboard, none of whom were ever seen again

[MH370]

It has been 11 years since Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 vanished without a trace(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

This is the moment Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 vanished 11 years ago.

On March 8, 2014, the Boeing 777 took off from Kuala Lumpur Airport, heading for Beijing with two pilots, 10 cabin crew and 227 passengers onboard. Less than an hour into the red-eye flight, however, the aircraft vanished from radar systems, never to be seen again.

The mystery surrounding MH370 has never been solved, even after several search missions. A fresh 55million probe, possibly the last, has now been launched by underwater robotics company Ocean Infinity in a final bid to find the aircraft, covering mostly an area that has already been scoured for what remains of the plane.

[MH370]

MH370 has never been found (file)(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

While hopes may be waning of the plane ever being recovered, some cryptic clues have come to light since the day it disappeared.

Airport CCTV

Unnerving CCTV footage taken at Kuala Lumpur Airport shows the pilot and co-pilot being searched before they boarded MH370. The pair can be seen being patted down by officials before getting onto the doomed flight prior to take-off before 1am on March 8.

[MH370]

Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and his co-pilot were searched before boarding the plane (file)(Image: BBC)

Take-off

Flight MH370 took off from runway 32R at 12.42am, reaching 18,000ft. Co-pilot First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid made contact with air traffic control prior to take-off and Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah spoke to them after the plane had left the airport.

Four minutes after take-off the plane is cleared to climb to 35,000ft. The altitude is confirmed by crew twice once at 1.01am and again at 1.08am.

[MH370]

The plane took off just before 1am on March 8, 2014 (stock image)(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Last transmission

This automated position report took place at 1.06am, just before altitude was confirmed for the final time. It was sent using the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) and shares information such as fuel data, flight origin and destination, and tracking.

Final words

At 1.19am, the chilling final verbal communication from Captain Zaharie was heard. "Malaysian 370, Malaysian 370, contact Ho Chi Min 120 decimal nine, good night," he can be heard saying.

"Good night, Malaysian 370," came the response from Ho Chi Minh air traffic control, who received the message. The crew were supposed to signal to Ho Chi Minh when the plane entered Vietnamese airspace, but did not.

[Plane on google maps]

Efforts to find the missing aircraft have been in vain (file)(Image: Google Earth)

The aircraft vanishes

At 1.20am, 39 minutes into the flight, Kuala Lumpur air traffic control radar sees MH370 heading in the direction of the waypoint IGARI in the Gulf of Thailand. However, just five seconds later, the aircraft disappears.

At the same time, the jet disappeared from Ho Chi Minhs radar. However, it took nearly 20 minutes before air traffic controllers noticed the missing aircraft, a report by the Malaysian Government found. It took four hours from the aircraft's disappearance for a rescue operation to be launched.

[A recovered Boeing 777 wing flap identified as part of the missing flight on display in Kuala Lumpur]

A recovered Boeing 777 wing flap identified as part of the missing flight on display in Kuala Lumpur(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The Malaysian militarys primary radar, on the other hand, shows MH370 making a sharp right turn. It can then be seen turning left towards the South West and across the Malay Peninsula. This, however, was not revealed for days after the plane vanished.

'Mumbling' sound and last known detection

Shortly after the aircraft's disappearance was noticed, a passing plane attempts to make contact with MH370 using the international air distress frequency. However, the plane's captain could only hear static and "mumbling."

From 1.30am to 1.50am, civilian primary radar at Malaysia's Sultan Ismail Petra Airport, Malaysia, tracked an unknown aircraft on four occasions. Then, at 1.52am, the plane is tracked passing just south of Penang before flying across the Malacca Strait.

The last known detection of MH370 took place at 2.20am, on the edge of Malaysian military radar systems northwest of Penang airport. Other countries were initially reluctant to share their tracking information, citing national security threats. Vietnam later told Malaysian officials the plane had been spotted heading back west.

System reboot

Five minutes after its final detection, the planes satellite communications system rebooted, sending a login request to ground stations via an Inmarsat satellite. This would go on to show the plane flew for several hours into the Southern Indian Ocean after its disappearance.

After logging into the network, the plane's communication system responded to the Inmarsat satellite's near-hourly requests for six hours, with this information. It is thought the plane crashed in the location of its seventh and final communication.

At 8.19am, an hour and 40 minutes after the plane was meant to arrive in Beijing, it made its final login request. This is the last piece of data received from the crashed plane.

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