MH370 Made ‘Rapid Descent’ Before Crash

The latest update on the fate of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 by the Australian investigators in charge indicates a rapid decent, possibly after running out of fuel.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said analysis of satellite communications indicated the aircraft was in “a high and increasing rate of descent”.

Analysis of the right outboard wing flap showed they were likely to have been in the retracted position as is normal for level flight at cruise altitude. Flaps do not appear to have been extended for landing or ditching in the ocean.

Current information appears to support the view that the aircraft was not under pilot control when it came down.

ATSB said more than 20 items of debris are of interest to the investigation team, with seven confirmed as coming from MH370.

The parts were found along the east and south coast of Africa, the east coast of Madagascar and the Islands of Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean.

MH370 disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.

A search for the Boeing 777 has been going on in the Indian Ocean for more than two years with no sign of the main wreckage.