The plane that disappeared over the waters of the Gulf of Thailand was hijacked, a Malaysian official told reporters Friday night.
The Associated Press reports that the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity since he wasn't authorized to talk to the press, said a hijacking was no longer just one of the many theories about what happened to the missing plane.
"It is conclusive," he said.
See also: Timeline: The Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
Investigators have concluded that one or more hijackers took control of the plane, and at least one of them had significant experience as a pilot, switching off communications devices and steering it off course. There's no word on exactly where the plane was taken, or if it survived.
A key piece of evidence that led investigators to conclude it was a hijacking was the timing of signal failures. The plane's transponder signal ended more than 10 minutes before the plane's messaging system failed. Such a big gap rules out the possibility of a sudden, catastrophic event.
A hijacking was seen as one of the more plausible scenarios about what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing on March 8 when it dropped off radar just one hour after takeoff.
Since then, investigators have examined many possible theories, including hijacking, rapid decompression, pilot error and even a missile attack.
It appears hijacking is now the definite conclusion according to the Malaysian government. But the questions of who was behind it and why are far from being answered.
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