The mystery of MH370 began on March 8, 2014 when the plane carrying 239 passengers and crew members went missing shortly after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Over the years, a series of theories have been put forward about the fate of MH370, from technical failures, intentional pilots to extreme theories such as being kidnapped by aliens.
However, for the relatives of the MH370 victims, the biggest hope is always to find authentic evidence of the location of the missing plane, to be able to put an end to the pain that has lasted for many years.
The new study, by Dr Vincent Lyne, a former research fellow at Tasmania University, Australia, believes that the audio data recorded at around 0:59 on March 8, 2014 could be the key to determining where MH370 crashed.
By combining these sound signals with satellite data, the research team identified the specific location of MH370, says Dr. Lyne. The plane is likely to be in the Penang continental deep hole, a low-lying area about 6,000m deep at the seabed, located about 1,500km west of Perth, Australia.
Dr Lyne cited previous research by Dr Usama Kadri of Cardiff University, UK, showing that hydrophones - underwater recording devices - can detect aircraft colliding with water surface from up to 2,900km away.
The scientist said that MH370 flew along the 7th arc in the Indian Ocean, a curved trajectory determined based on satellite signals. This is considered the area where MH370 ran out of fuel and crashed.
MH370 did not disappear without leaving a trace. These signs, with the sound timing accurate to every second and the direction determined within a one-degree range, are not consistent with the official positions of distance around the 7th arc, he noted.
He said that the convergence of physical, audited factors, satellite data, debris analysis, and clues from MH370's home flight simulation data all pointed towards a small, but unprecedented hole in the Indian Ocean.
MH370 is there. Continuing the search along the 7th arronditure area as it is now will not bring results, because the plane simply is not there, said Dr. Lyne.
According to research published on December 8, Dr. Lyne concluded that MH370 has been recorded by 4 monitoring stations in the Indian Ocean. These stations provide a pretty clear picture of what happened to the Malaysia Airlines plane.
Accordingly, the MH370 plane successfully lowered its altitude, trying to land on the water, the fuselage sank under water and eventually collided at great depth underwater.
