Hijacking MH370
Hijacked!
This Section explores the possibility that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 could have been hijacked.
Hijacking an aircraft is a terrorist act and a crime. In Malaysia that could lead to a death penalty; in other jurisdictions up to life in prison.
Hijacking any commercial passenger jet since the events of September 11, 2001 would not be easy. Prior to 9/11 the cockpit was often easily accessed, airline policy was generally to comply with hijacker's demands, but all that has since changed.
So, if a Malaysia Airlines' Boeing 777 were the target of a hijacking attempt in 2014 what would be involved?
There is no revealed plan, there are no informants, there were no named suspects, nothing substantial on which to build a case.
So everything in this Section is like reverse-engineering: assuming a hijack was attempted, knowing that MH370 headed north-west over the Andaman Sea instead of going to China, how could it have been achieved?
This Section is divided into sub-pages each with a topic representing a stage in the planning and execution process. Each topic is summarised below; the navigation buttons on the right link to relevant sub-pages.
| Development Stage | Link to Each Topic |
Preamble: A brief history of aircraft hijacking, improvements in aviation security, and a short overview of terrorism. Although 'who' is not known, this preamble suggests the kind of operative(s) involved. |
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Purpose: A hijacking must have a purpose. Defining the purpose of the exercise is pre-requisite to targeting a type of aircraft. |
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Preparation: Basically an information-gathering stage. Everything that needs to be known about a target aircraft, flight paths, security controls, |
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Planning: Synthesis of ideas and data to create a plan, identify a target flight, allocate responsibilities and finalise a sequenced action plan. |
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Practice: Rehearse the communications and planned actions. Increase familiarity with aircraft components and controls. Identify flaws and improve processes. |
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Performance: Identify an actual flight and perform as planned to facilitate a successful hijack. |
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Problems: Not part of the planning process! Evidence suggests that if MH370 had been hijacked the attempt was only partially successful. Hijackers would not have intended for the flight to end in the south Indian Ocean. |
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Postscript: A collection of facts which, taken together, could indicate that a hijack was intended and did occur. |
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