Over 12 years ago, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished on its planned route from Kuala Lumpur to the Chinese capital of Beijing.

The Boeing 777 had 227 passengers and 12 crew members onboard, all of whom have been presumed dead since the aircraft disappeared on March 8, 2014.

It still remains a mystery, as crew onboard didn't send any distress calls despite losing contact with air traffic control at 1:19AM over the South China Sea on that fateful day, before veering off-course and flying an an unknown path for seven hours before vanishing.

Underwater theory on MH370's disappearance

People continue to theorise about the airplane's disappearance and while many think that the truth can be uncovered through the discovery of its black box flight recorders, they remain missing.

But back in 2024, investigators believed that an underwater pressure monitor may help to find the wreckage of the lost aircraft.

Despite it still remaining unconfirmed, the Malaysian government claimed that the flight had "ended in the Southern Indian Ocean."

Hundreds of pieces of underwater audio data were analysed by researchers at Cardiff University from previous aircraft accidents and a submarine disappearance, finding that an underwater signal could have been caused by the impact of the Boeing plane hitting the waves when crashing.

While parts of the lost aircraft have been recovered, the location of the wreckage remains a mystery. Credit: Adli Ghazali/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

How hydrophones could be used to detect MH370

Dr. Usama Kadri, a mathematician and engineer, claimed that a network of hydrophones, which have been used to keep tabs on pressure changes in the ocean as part of a nuclear explosion detection system, could be the key.

After he and his team went through large volumes of data from the time the aircraft was said to have disappeared, the doctor discovered an unidentified event in an area called the Seventh Arc.

Speaking to The Conversation, Dr. Kadri explained: "A 200-tonne aircraft crashing at a speed of 200 metres per second would release the kinetic energy equivalent to a small earthquake. It would be large enough to be recorded by hydrophones thousands of kilometres away.

"Given the sensitivity of the hydrophones, it’s highly unlikely that a large aircraft impacting the ocean surface wouldn’t leave a detectable pressure signature, particularly on nearby hydrophones."

He noted that "unfavourable" ocean conditions could still affect a signal this large though.

The engineer believed that the search would have to be approached with this method to see if these signals were linked to the missing plane, as researchers suggested that a number of controlled underwater explosions be carried out so search teams can finally find the elusive wreckage.

Over the years, many theories have been put forward, whether it be a possible hijacking or the near-impossible chance that the plane was flown into a 'black hole'.

The most recent searches took place in 2025 and 2026. Credit: Mehmet Yaren Bozgun/Anadolu via Getty Images

Latest searches for MH370

Ocean Infinity, a UK-based marine robotics firm, carried out searches for the airplane in both March 25–28 last year and in December 31 to January 23 this year.

Unfortunately, no wreckage was found apart from numerous pieces of marine debris.

The firm splashed $67.2 million on advanced technology and resources, with the search taking place over 7,571 square kilometers on the seabed of the Indian Ocean.

They carried the search out on a no-find, no-fee basis, as Malaysia's Transport Minister, Anthony Loke, had claimed they would have been awarded $70 million if they found the missing aircraft.

Ocean Infinity said in a statement this year: “The search activities undertaken have not yielded any findings that confirm the location of the aircraft wreckage.

“The government pays nothing unless the aircraft is found. Any request by Ocean Infinity to extend the search contract should therefore be granted without hesitation,” they added.

The firm then urged the government to offer the same deal to other "capable deep sea exploration companies.”

Featured image credit: How Foo Yeen/Getty Images

New photos have been shared of the wreckage of an American Airlines plane that crashed in Washington D.C. on January 29, as the investigation gets underway.

The commercial jet, which had 60 passengers and four crew members on board, was involved in a mid-air collision with a military Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers as it came in to land at Reagan National Airport.

Security footage saw flames erupt as the two aircraft collided in the air, before both plummeted into the icy Potomac River below, leaving no survivors.

A search and rescue operation was immediately launched but it was tragically confirmed that all 67 people were dead, and their bodies were recovered from the waters.

The National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating the circumstances that led to the fatal event and has now shared an update with the public.

It has revealed that the "major pieces" of the American Airlines plane as well as the Black Hawk helicopter have been recovered and transported to a "secure airport facility for further examination and documentation".

It added in a press release shared on Saturday: "Investigators will be looking for witness marks on the aircraft that could provide clues to the angle of collision.

"Teams also recovered the [passenger jet’s] Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and retrieved additional avionics from the Black Hawk."

The deadly crash occurred as the helicopter was undertaking a training mission to re-qualify the pilots to be able to fly in the area, which is something they'd done several times before, deputy director of aviation for the Army Col. Mark Ott confirmed.

Audio had been released from air traffic control in which an operator was heard warning the helicopter to look out for the jet moments before the collision.

While the cause of the deadly crash is still to be determined, some experts have speculated that the pilots may have had their vision obscured by night-vision goggles, which could have caused the lights from the jet to blend into those of the city around it.

As well as recovering the main parts of the wreckage, the NTSB confirmed in its press release: "A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration TopoBathy lidar survey from a manned NOAA aircraft was conducted this morning and identified multiple underwater targets that could be additional aircraft debris. Divers investigated those targets today and will continue that work this week."

American Airlines flight 5342 had taken off from Wichita, Kansas, and was just moments from landing in Washington D.C. when the tragedy occurred.

The plane had also been carrying several figure skaters and their family members and coaches at the time.

Loved ones of many of the passengers had been in the airport waiting to collect them when the alarm was raised that an incident had occurred.

Our thoughts remain with all those affected by this tragedy.

Featured image credit: NTSB Newsroom

The truth behind an image many believed to show the final resting place of Amelia Earhart's lost plane has finally been revealed.

Earhart, an American aviation pioneer, disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937, along with her flight navigator, Fred Noonan, while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world.

Mystery has surrounded her disappearance, with no trace of her, Noonan, or her Lockheed 10-E Electra plane, ever being found.

While most historians believed she must have crashed and sank into the Pacific Ocean, other conspiracy theories have emerged, including that she may have made an emergency landing on a nearby island or that she was captured by Japanese forces.

One of the wilder theories was that Earhart survived, changed her name, and became banker Irene Craigmile Bolam, however, Bolam sued the publishers of a book that originated this theory and reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement.

One of the more convincing potential sightings of Earhart's Electra came after South Carolina-based deep-sea explorer Tony Romeo and his Deep Sea Vision team stumbled upon what he believed could be the wreckage of the plane.

They captured a sonar image of an aircraft-shaped object in the Pacific Ocean during a three-month expedition to find Earhart’s Lockheed 10-E Electra, but have now confirmed the disappointing truth.

After further investigation, they have confirmed that the potential breakthrough was in fact nothing more than a rock formation, which had a similar shape to an aircraft.

Romeo said in a statement, as cited by the New York Post: "While this outcome isn’t what we hoped for, we are continuing our search for another 30 days to cover over 1,500 square nautical miles.

"The global response to our initial discovery has been truly inspiring, a testament to Amelia and the pull of her incredible story."

Romeo, who is a pilot and former US Air Force intelligence officer, had sold all of his commercial properties to pay for the $11 million search and remains committed to finding a breakthrough in the case.

Earhart had started her journey from Lae, Papua New Guinea, with plans to refuel on Howland Island before continuing their journey to Honolulu and their final destination of Oakland, California.

However, Earhart's radio transmissions ended up going silent after she faced a strong headwind in Lae, and despite a 16-day search by the US Navy and Coast Guard, no trace was found of her whereabouts.

Earhart - who was 39 at the time of her disappearance - was officially declared dead on January 5, 1939, around a year and a half after she vanished.

Over the resulting nine decades, many expensive searches have attempted to locate any trace of where she and her plane may have ended up. All have so far been unsuccessful.

Romeo and his 16-person team had begun their investigation in September 2023, starting from Tarawa, Kirbati, a port near Howland Island, and used an unmanned submersible to scan 5,200 square miles of the ocean floor.

A blurry image appearing to show an airplane-shaped object was found around a month into the search, over 16,000 feet below the surface and around 100 miles off Howland Island.

While the images caused a frenzy, sonar experts had warned it was too hazy to verify whether or not it was the long-lost plane.

A second expedition launched by Romeo has now, sadly, confirmed that what was believed to potentially be the plane is actually just a rock formation in a similar shape.

The company is continuing its search to discover the truth of where Earhart and her plane ended up.

Featured image credit:  Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Pakistani authorities have discovered wreckage of a Boeing plane in the Arabian Sea just one day after it suddenly nosedived 5,000ft in seconds and crashed into the sea.

All five crew members are feared dead.

Parts of the K2 aircraft have been found by authorities after the plane lost contact with traffic control and disappeared on Tuesday (July 7).

The Boeing 737 with five crew on board had rapidly descended off the coast of Pakistan after losing contact with aviation authorities.

Pakistani navy and search teams found debris after searching for around 12 hours in the Arabian Sea, with images revealing that large pieces of the aircraft were being lifted out of the water.

Authorities explained that rough conditions were making search efforts more difficult, with the main wreckage of the aircraft still missing.

It may be more difficult to find, given that the plane disappeared in an area where the sea was approximately 9,800ft deep, with more specialized equipment needed.

The airline stated: “We continue to pray earnestly for the safety of our colleagues.”

Plane lost contact minutes before disappearing

Pakistan's Airport Authority said the K2 Airways flight departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and was heading to Karachi when the crew reported technical problems.

“K2 Airways B 737 of Pakistan Cargo Flight en route from Sharjah to Karachi reported Navigational system issue and was promptly guided by KARACHI ACC,” Pakistan’s Airport Authority said in a statement.

Just three minutes later, radar systems detected what officials described as a "sudden and dramatic loss of altitude" before contact with the aircraft was completely lost.

The last transmitted data placed the Boeing 737 about 155 nautical miles west of Karachi over the Arabian Sea.

Flight tracking data showed the aircraft dropping about 5,000 feet in less than a minute before entering a catastrophic dive from 36,550 feet at a reported speed of 240 mph.

Airline identifies crew members

K2 Airways, a private cargo airline based in Karachi, confirmed the identities of the five crew members on board in a statement released Wednesday.

The airline said it was “fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies”.

“We continue to pray, earnestly, for the safety of our colleagues,” the statement said.

The Boeing 737 is the only aircraft operated by K2 Airways and entered service with the airline in 2024.

If fatalities are confirmed, it would be Pakistan's first fatal air crash since 2020, when a passenger jet crashed into a residential neighborhood near Karachi Airport.

Government investigators later concluded that the accident was caused by human error after determining the pilots had been distracted by discussing the COVID pandemic before a failed landing attempt.

Featured image credit: Richard Newstead / Getty

UPDATE:

Per this morning's press conference, DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly has told reporters: “We are now at a point where we’re switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.

"At this point, we don’t believe there are any survivors from this accident."

Per CNN and NBC News, it has also been reported that twenty-seven bodies had been recovered from the passenger jet, and one had been recovered from the military helicopter.

Additionally, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has confirmed the current state of the plane's fuselage as it lies in the Potomac River, saying: "The fuselage of the American Airlines plane was inverted. It’s been located in three different sections. It’s in about waist-deep water, so that recovery is going to go on today."

Speaking on the ongoing recovery, Duffy added: "As that recovery takes place of the fuselage of the aircraft, NTSB is going to start to analyze that aircraft, partner with the FAA with all the information we have to get the best results possible for the American people."

Duffy also confirmed that both aircraft were on a "standard flight pattern".

"This was a clear night last night; the helicopter was in the standard pattern. If you live in the DC area, you will see helicopters up and down the river,” Duffy told reporters. “This was a standard fight pattern last night as well.”

“The American Airline flight coming in to land was in a standard flight pattern as it was coming into DCA, so this was not unusual with a military aircraft flying the river and aircraft landing at DCA,” Duffy said.

ORIGINAL:

A devastating mid-air collision over Washington, D.C., has reportedly left at least 19 confirmed dead after an American Airlines flight crashed into a military helicopter, sending both aircraft plummeting into the Potomac River.

Tragic Collision Over the Potomac

American Airlines Flight 5342, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, was making its final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it suddenly lost altitude at around 400 feet.

Traveling at approximately 140 miles per hour, the aircraft adjusted its trajectory to land on Runway 33 after clearance from air traffic control, The Guardian reports.

Mere moments before impact, an air traffic controller radioed the approaching military helicopter, asking if it had the incoming jet in sight. Another call followed: “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.” But within seconds, the two aircraft collided, CNN reports.

The plane’s radio transponder went silent just 2,400 feet short of the runway — right over the Potomac. Emergency crews rushed to the scene, pulling at least 19 bodies from the river in the hours following the disaster, media sources are reporting as of this writing.

Unanswered Questions on What Went Wrong

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials confirmed the mid-air crash occurred around 9:00PM local time.

Flight 5342 had departed from Wichita, Kansas, and was preparing to land in Washington when it struck a Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter, which had taken off from Fort Belvoir in Virginia for a routine training mission, NBC News reports.

President Donald Trump said early Thursday morning that the midair collision was a “bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented".

Writing on his Truth Social platform, President Trump said: “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane."

“This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!” the president continued.

What led to the collision remains unclear. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has launched an investigation to determine whether human error, equipment malfunction, or communication failures played a role.

Are There Any Survivors?

The full death toll remains uncertain. Of the 64 people aboard Flight 5342, authorities have so far recovered 19 bodies.

U.S. Figure Skating confirmed that multiple members of its community were on board the ill-fated flight.

“These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas,” the organization said in a statement, per CNN.

“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”

The helicopter had three soldiers on board, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said. Officials have not confirmed fatalities among the military personnel.

The three military personnel were reportedly taking part in a training flight.

Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas lamented the heartbreaking loss: “When one person dies it’s a tragedy, but when many, many, many people die, it’s an unbearable sorrow.”

Treacherous Conditions Hampering Recovery Efforts

Rescue and recovery operations are proving challenging, according to D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly. The Potomac River, approximately eight feet deep where the wreckage went down, is making underwater searches extremely difficult.

“The water is dark,” Donnelly explained. “It is murky.”

"That is a very tough condition for them to dive in," Donnelly added.

With freezing temperatures and strong winds complicating efforts, around 300 emergency responders remain on-site, scouring the river for more victims. All flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport have been suspended until at least 11:00AM local time to accommodate the search mission.

Eyewitness Describes Seeing ‘White Flares’ in the Sky

Washington resident Jimmy Mazeo was enjoying dinner in a park when he noticed strange lights above.

“We saw these white flares streak across the sky. At first, we thought they were shooting stars,” he told WUSA9.

It wasn’t until emergency vehicles swarmed the area that the gravity of the situation sank in.

“We didn’t really think much of it until we saw the fire trucks, police cars, and boats racing toward the river. It was insane,” he said.

Mazeo described feeling a mix of awe and anxiety. “Of course, it’s terrible what happened tonight, but I think it’s crazy we got to see what happened. I’m praying for all the people involved in this.”

What Happens Next?

Investigators from the FAA and NTSB are piecing together the final moments before impact, while rescue teams continue their desperate search for survivors. With many questions still unanswered, families of the victims are left waiting, hoping for any updates in what has already become one of the most tragic aviation disasters in recent history.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been briefed on the accident, thanking first responders for their “incredible work.” The nation now mourns as the investigation continues.

Our thoughts go out to every person impacted by this tragedy and we wish the emergency services the best with their ongoing efforts.

Featured image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images