The disappearance of Malaysia Flight 370
What happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared two years ago on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 passengers and crew after taking off from Kuala Lumpur headed to Beijing, has been one of the most baffling mysteries in aviation.
Flight MH370, operating a Boeing B777-200 aircraft, departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.21 a.m. and had been expected to land in the Chinese capital at 6.30 a.m. the same day. Since then an exhaustive search with 26 countries involved has continued covering a withering 120,000 square kilometers (46,000 square miles) of remote ocean floor up to 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) deep combed with sonar and video.
A piece of a wing of a Boeing 777 found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion in the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion on July 29, 2015, and identified as having come from MH370 on August 8, 2015, is so far the only confirmed trace of the plane. Two other pieces of debris, including one found in March 2016 in Mozambique, have not not positively identified so far. It's still unknown exactly what happened to the plane.
Photo: A relative (woman in white) of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 cries as she talks on her mobile phone at the Beijing Capital International Airport March 8, 2014.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
People stand beside the arrival board showing missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 (on top and in red), at Beijing Airport March 8, 2014.
Malaysia and Vietnam led a search for the missing jet that went missing over Southeast Asia as fears mounted over the fate of the 239 people aboard.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
An aerial view of an oil slick March 8, 2014, in a photo taken from a Vietnamese Air Force aircraft taking part in a search mission for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, somewhere between Malaysia's east coast and southern Vietnam.
Samples taken from the oil slick off Malaysia are not from the missing jet based on a chemistry lab analysis, an official said March 10, 2014.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Relatives of victims from the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 plane complete paperwork for their Chinese passports to be ready to travel to the crash site, in Beijing, March 9, 2014.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A marine marker sets off smoke after being deployed from a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion as part of the RAAF No. 11 Squadron's search over the southern Indian Ocean for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, March 29, 2014.
Objects spotted by planes searching for the missing Malaysian passenger jet in a new area of the southern Indian Ocean raised hopes of unraveling the mystery. Australian authorities coordinating the operation moved the air and sea search 685 miles north after new analysis of radar and satellite data concluded the plane traveled faster and for a shorter distance after vanishing from civilian radar screens on March 8, 2014.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft touches down at RAAF Base Pearce following its search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean, March 29, 2014.
Chinese ships trawled a new area in the Indian Ocean for the missing Malaysian passenger jet as the search for Flight MH370 entered its fourth week amid a series of false starts over sightings of debris.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Malaysia's Defense Minister and acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, center, speaks at a news conference at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur April 5, 2014.
Four weeks after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, searchers launched the most intensive hunt yet in the southern Indian Ocean, trying to find the plane's black box recorders before their batteries run out.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Royal New Zealand Air Force Tactical Coordinator Brent Collier, center, briefs the crew aboard a P3 Orion maritime search aircraft before takeoff toward the southern Indian Ocean looking for debris from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 at RAAF Base Pearce, near Perth April 11, 2014.
Search and rescue officials in Australia were confident they knew the approximate position of the black box recorders from Flight 370, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said. At the same time, however, the head of the agency coordinating the search said that the latest "ping" signal, which was captured by a listening device buoy, was not related to the plane.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A man adjusts an easel with framed pictures of the crew and passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, after special prayers at Kechara retreat center in Bentong outside Kuala Lumpur, April 13, 2014.
The search for the missing jetliner continued five weeks after the plane disappeared from radar screens, amid fears that batteries powering signals from the black box recorder on board may have died.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A Chinese Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft prepares to fly out from Perth International Airport to participate in the continuing search in the southern Indian Ocean for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 April 16, 2014.
The search for the Malaysia Airlines jetliner deep in the Indian Ocean was again cut short when technical problems forced a U.S. Navy underwater drone to surface without finding anything, officials said. While a massive air and sea search for Flight 370 is continuing almost 1,200 miles off the coast of Perth, hopes have been pinned on the Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle finding the first concrete sign of the plane in more than six weeks of hunting.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A navigational radar on Indonesia's National Search and Rescue boat shows details during a search in the Andaman sea area around northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 March 17, 2014.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
In this handout satellite image made available by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority March 20, 2014, objects that may be possible debris of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 are shown in a revised area 185 kilometers to the southeast of the original search area.
The imagery has been analyzed by specialists in the Australian GeoSpacial-Intelligence Organization and was considered to provide a possible sighting of objects that has resulted in a refinement of the search area.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
An object floats in the southern Indian Ocean seen from a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean, March 29, 2014
Chinese ships trawled a new area in the Indian Ocean for the missing Malaysian passenger jet as the search for Flight 370 entered its fourth week amid a series of false claims over sightings of debris.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
This composite shows CCTV imagery released by police of an Iranian suspect, Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, who was traveling on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 with a stolen Austrian passport, left, and an unidentified suspect who was travelling on Flight 370 with a stolen Italian passport, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 11, 2014.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Students from an international school in the east China city of Zhuji pray for the passengers onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 by lighting candles in Zhuji, China, March 10, 2014.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Members of the public, Malaysia Airlines staff and politicians take part in a special prayer in Kuala Lumpur, March 14, 2014, as the search for missing Flight MH370 expands to the Indian Ocean.
All passengers and crew were under investigation for possible sabotage although no evidence of such activity had been found.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A woman leaves a message of support and hope for the passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in central Kuala Lumpur, March 16, 2014.
Police were combing through the personal, political and religious backgrounds of pilots and crew of the missing Malaysian jetliner, a senior officer said, trying to work out why someone aboard flew the plane hundreds of miles off course.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A family member of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 cries as other relatives shout slogans to protest against the lack of new information after a routine briefing given by Malaysia's government and military representatives at Lido Hotel in Beijing March 22, 2014.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A family member of a passenger from the missing Malaysia Airlines FlightMH 370 is cared for after fainting at Lido Hotel in Beijing, China, March 24, 2014.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A crew member from the Royal Malaysian Air Force looks through the window of a Malaysian Air Force CN235 aircraft during a Search and Rescue operation to find the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, in the Straits of Malacca, March 13, 2014.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
A family member cries as she and other relatives pray during a candlelight vigil for passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, after a month of searching for the missing aircraft.
An Australian ship searching for the missing jetliner had picked up signals consistent with the beacons from aircraft black box recorders, in what search officials said was the most promising lead yet in the month-long hunt.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
International and Australian air crews involved in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 stand on the tarmac at the Royal Australian Air Force Pearce Base in Bullsbrook, near Perth, April 29, 2014.
The international search effort for MH370 had failed to turn up any trace of wreckage from the plane. Given the amount of time that had elapsed, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that efforts would shift away from the visual searches conducted by planes and ships and toward underwater equipment capable of scouring the ocean floor with sophisticated sensors.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A boy comforts a crying girl during a special prayer for the passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in central Kuala Lumpur, March 18, 2014.
An international land and sea search for the missing Malaysian jetliner covered an area the size of Australia. Police and intelligence agencies had yet to establish a clear motive to explain its disappearance.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Handwritten notes on how a crew member should report the sighting of debris in the southern Indian Ocean is seen through a window aboard a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, March 22, 2014.
China said it had a new satellite image of what could be wreckage from the missing Malaysian airliner, as more planes and ships headed to join an international search operation scouring some of the most remote seas on Earth.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A member of staff at satellite communications company Inmarsat works in front of a screen showing subscribers using their service throughout the world, at their headquarters in London March 25, 2014.
Britain's Inmarsat used a wave phenomenon discovered in the nineteenth century to analyze the seven pings its satellite picked up from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 to determine its final destination. The findings led Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to conclude that the Boeing 777 crashed thousands of miles away in the southern Indian Ocean.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
The shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion maritime search aircraft seen on low-level clouds as it flies over the southern Indian Ocean looking for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 March 31, 2014.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the hunt for MH370 had no time limit, despite the failure of an international operation to find any sign of the plane. The fate of the Boeing 777 carrying 239 people is still a mystery.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A crew member waves from the window of an aircraft as it departs RAAF Base Pearce near Perth April 3, 2014.
Malaysia's prime minister, Najib Razak, visited the Australian search base for missing Flight MH370 as a nuclear-powered submarine joined the near-four week hunt that has so far failed to find any sign of the missing airliner and the 239 people onboard.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration vessel Hai Xin 01 is seen from a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean, as the search continues for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 April 13, 2014.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Crew aboard the Australian Defense Vessel Ocean Shield move the U.S. Navy's Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle into position for deployment in the southern Indian Ocean to look for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, April 14, 2014.
The U.S. Navy described as "speculative and premature" a media report on May 29, 2014, that said four acoustic pings at the center of the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner were no longer believed to be from the aircraft's black boxes.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A father whose son was aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 cries as he asks a question during a briefing given by Malaysian representatives at Lido Hotel in Beijing April 21, 2014.
A tropical cyclone was threatening to hamper the search for the missing Malaysian jetliner in a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean as a submarine drone neared the end of its mission scouring the sea bed with still no sign of wreckage.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Liu, whose husband, Li Zhijin, was onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, tries her husband's ring on her finger in Beijing, July 22, 2014.
Liu said she argued with her husband in their last phone call before the disappearance. That is her greatest regret.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Feng Xuehong, whose son, Wang Houbin, was onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, cries as she shows a picture of her son on her mobile phone in Beijing July 18, 2014.
In the last conversation with her son before the flight's disappearance, the son said, "Give me a hug, mom. Take care of yourself, and I'll come back to see you soon."
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Zhang Yongli, whose daughter, Zhang Qi, was onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, looks at his daughter's plush toys in a portrait in Beijing, July 22, 2014.
Zhang said the disappearance is disrupting the lives of he and his wife. His wife sometimes roams miles away because she cannot stand staying in their home from which her daughter has been absent for four months.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Cheng Liping, whose husband, Ju, was onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, shows a picture of the two of them together and an old card with a message given by her husband at a park near her home they used to visit in Beijing July 24, 2014.
Cheng said her life has been totally changed since the incident. Their two little sons, keep asking her when their dad is coming back.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Dai Shuqin's bag, left, which was a gift from her missing younger sister a long time ago, is hung on a wall for a photograph in Beijing July 22, 2014.
Dai's whole family was onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Dai said she cannot go out without the bag four months after MH370 disappeared because it makes her feel her sister is by her side when she carries it.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Family members of passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 cry as they gather to pray at Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing Sept. 8, 2014, on the six-month anniversary of the disappearance of the plane.
About two-thirds of those on board were from China.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik gives the final touches to his sand sculpture portraying two missing aircraft, AirAsia Flight 8501 and Malayasia Airlines Flight MH370, on Golden Sea Beach at Puri, some 65 kilometers east of Bhubaneswar, Dec. 29, 2014.
An AirAsia Airbus plane with 162 people on board went missing en route from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore Dec. 28, 2014, but the crash site was determined and bodies recovered. No trace of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has been found since its disappearance.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Xu Jinghong shows photos of her mother, Liu Fengying, who is one of the 239 people missing from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, at her home in Beijing, Dec. 30, 2014.
Relatives of those onboard MH370 said the disappearance of an AirAsia aircraft in Indonesia re-awakened their torment, nine months into their nightmare.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Kelly (last name not given), 29, addresses a news conference along with other relatives of passengers aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Jan. 30, 2015.
Malaysia declared the disappearance of MH370 an accident, clearing the way for the airline to pay compensation to victims' relatives while the search for the plane goes on.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Chinese relatives of MH370 passengers gathered outside the Malaysian prime minister's office to demand his government rescind its declaration that all onboard the plane were presumed dead Feb. 18, 2015.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A young Malaysian girl sits in her mother's lap during a gathering to mark the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in Kuala Lumpur March 6, 2015.
Malaysia Airlines has increased the frequency with which its aircraft are tracked, the carrier said, a safety enhancement spurred by the still-unexplained disappearance of MH370 one year ago.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A message left on a board of remembrance by Kelly (last name not given), 29, the wife of a passenger aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, at a vigil ahead of the one-year anniversary of its disappearance in Kuala Lumpur March 6, 2015.
Malaysia Airlines has begun tracking long-haul flights every 15 minutes, instead of 30 minutes, a year ahead of a proposal to make this the international standard, said Malaysia's transport minister.
Debris from MH370 - La Reunion
A policeman and a gendarme stand next to a piece of debris, part of a wing, from an unidentified aircraft found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion, in the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion on July 29, 2015.
The two-meter-long debris, identified as a wing flap or flaperon, was found by employees of an association cleaning the area and was handed over to the air transport brigade of the French gendarmerie (BGTA), who opened an investigation.
Boeing investigators confirmed the piece to be from a 777 -- the same type of aircraft as Flight MH370.
On August 8, 2015, Malaysian Airlines confirmed that the debris came from Flight MH370.
Possible MH370 debris - Mozambique
The item found in Mozambique in March 2016. Officials leading the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet that vanished from the sky nearly two years ago said March 2, 206 they were working to identify the debris found in Mozambique.
U.S. officials told CBS News that the piece, part of the tail section, is from a Boeing 777, the type of aircraft MH370 used.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Relatives of Chinese passengers aboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 (seated at R) wait inside the Beijing Rail Transportation Court in Beijing on March 7, 2016.
Relatives of a dozen Chinese passengers began filing suits against Malaysia Airlines at a Beijing court, a day ahead of the second anniversary of its disappearance and a legal deadline to do so.
Debris from Mozambique
It was reported on March 11, 2016 that a piece of debris was found by a South African teenager, Liam Lotter, off the Mozambique coast in Dec. 30, 2015. Authorities will examine it to see if it is from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. A five-digit number can be seen on the right side of the debris.