When the Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 mysteriously vanished on March 8, 2014, all eyes turned to the captain of the aircraft, Zaharie Ahmad Shah.
Here is a comprehensive look at the Malaysian Airlines pilot who found himself at the centre of a media storm.
Who was Zaharie Ahmad Shah?
Born on July 31, 1961, Zaharie Shah was known as a seasoned pilot who began his career with Malaysia Airlines in 1981.
With 33 years of experience in the airline, the 53-year-old pilot had accumulated 18,423 hours of flight time.
Moreover, Zaharie had been a B777 captain for 16 years and had logged 8,659 hours on that specific type of plane. Due to his impressive track record and seniority, he held positions as a Type Rating Instructor and Type Rating Examiner on the B777.
Recognized as a respected and highly skilled pilot, Zaharie had no marks against his record and was a married man with three children. He was also known to be a passionate chef and an avid fisherman living in a luxurious gated community, where he reportedly erected his flight simulator.
After the plane disappeared, rumors circulated stating that his wife had moved out of their residence.
What was discovered about him after the crash?
A close pilot and lifelong friend of Shah alleged that the pilot had locked his co-pilot out of the cockpit before deliberately crashing the plane in a murder-suicide.
“It doesn’t make sense. It’s hard to reconcile with the man I knew. But it’s the necessary conclusion,” the unnamed pilot disclosed to The Atlantic.
The peer suggested that Shah, being a senior officer and examiner, could have easily removed co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, from the cockpit and secured the door.
Another aviation expert, Larry Vance, also speculated that the crash might have been due to murder-suicide.
According to the Independent Group investigating the case, Shah, who was described as “troubled and lonely,” purposely killed the 238 individuals on board by increasing the plane’s altitude to 40,000 feet, which led to cabin depressurization and the suffocation of passengers.
Furthermore, psychologists alleged that Shah was “self-destructive” after he sent provocative messages to 26-year-old twins, Lan Qi Hui and Qi Min Lan, and made disparaging remarks about Malaysian officials.
Who was the co-pilot?
The co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, was on his first flight on a 777 as a fully approved first officer. He had flown five times previously with a “check co-pilot” overseeing him and had 2,763 hours of experience flying other jets before transitioning to larger aircraft.
Reports indicated that Fariq was planning to marry his girlfriend.
What happened to flight MH370?
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 departed from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing with 239 passengers on board. However, at 12:14 am on March 8, 2014, the airline lost contact with the aircraft near Phuket island in the Strait of Malacca.
Satellite data indicated that the plane likely continued its journey for approximately seven hours before running out of fuel. Extensive search efforts have failed to locate any wreckage, and multiple theories have emerged to explain the plane’s disappearance.
Recent discoveries, including a landing gear door found in Madagascar and an engine located in the Cambodian jungle, suggest that the crash might have been a deliberate act.
