Hijacking MH370
Hijacking MH370
This Section assumes the possibility that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was hijacked and explores how it could have been done.
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, and 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: 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. |