Exactly one week ago on Friday, a plane took off from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport, intending to ferry 239 people to Beijing. But it never arrived. The Boeing 777-200ER vanished from radar systems one hour later and hasn't been seen or heard from since.
See also: Where Is the Plane? 16 Possible Scenarios
Twelve countries are involved in an "unprecedented" search effort spanning 35,800 square miles, and that search area continues to expand. Family members of the missing, growing increasingly frustrated, are camped out at hotels in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing.
As we head into the weekend with no definitive signs of the missing jetliner, you're sure to encounter plenty of people discussing the whereabouts of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. So here's the one thing you need to know:
All we can say with 100% certainty is that a Beijing-bound plane did take off from Kuala Lumpur and disappeared shortly after reaching its cruising altitude over the South China Sea. The rest is based on an endless stream of conflicting reports, government denials, anonymous sources and rampant speculation.
It is a confounding mystery.
The latest reports, which surfaced on Reuters Thursday and Friday, reveal details of the plane's route for hours after its last point of contact, pinging satellites along the way to its unknown destination. This is a fascinating development; there is talk of a "navigational route" that was plane was following, passing waypoints named “Igari,” “Vampi,” and “Igrex,” on its way toward Europe — or the Middle East.
But even those reports were questioned by investigators in Malaysia: “I need to know who is saying these things,” Malaysia’s transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters at a Friday news conference. His department later released a statement: “Any new evidence should be passed to the investigation team in Malaysia in order to assist the investigation."
Coupled with reports that the plane's transponders were turned off mid-flight, investigators now suspect that criminal activity occurred aboard the missing aircraft. "What we can say is we are looking at sabotage, with hijack still on the cards," a senior Malaysian police official told Reuters.
Where Is the Plane? 16 Possible Scenarios
A lot is plausible, but what's possible? Mashable spoke to Todd Curtis, former aviation safety engineer at Boeing and creator of AirSafe.com, to find out.
Timeline: The Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
Mashable tracks the plane's disappearance since it vanished late in the evening (ET) on March 7.
Malaysia Concludes: 'The Plane Vanished'
Malaysian officials are denying U.S. investigators' report that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 remained in the air for about four hours after it lost contact.
Chinese Satellite Images of Malaysia Airlines Debris a False Lead
China State TV reported it had satellite images that may show the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370. However, when a search team went to the location, nothing was there.
Oil Rig Worker: 'I Saw the Malaysia Airlines Plane Come Down'
A man describes seeing what he believes to be the plane burning — in one piece — at high altitude, flying perpendicular to the standard plane routes that cross over the area.
Missing Passengers' Phones Are Still Ringing. Can They Hear It?
Why could families get through to their missing loved ones’ phones but not hear anything? Does this signal that the passengers are still alive? Unfortunately, the ringing phones don't mean much of anything at all. This story explains why.
Disasters at Cruising Altitude: A Map of Deadly Plane Crashes
While the cause of the Malaysia Airlines flight 370 incident is still unknown, the map below plots a few other crashes that occurred during cruising altitude, or problems that began during cruise, as the result of mechanical failures or technical errors.
Be sure to follow @MashWire on Twitter, where we'll continue to share the latest reports from reporters and government officials who are tracking the case.
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