Why is Netflix’s MH370 documentary so haunting?

Netflix released MH370: The Plane That Disappeared on Wednesday, March 8. At first, I was indifferent about it.

“Meh. Are they still talking about that plane? Haven’t they figured out what happened to it yet?” I wondered flippantly.

And yet…I found myself drawn to the three-part docuseries. After watching the trailer, I added it to my list.

Partly because I’m a sucker for documentaries. But maybe also because it had to do with travel? Not to mention it is actually very mysterious. As is pointed out in at least one of the three episodes (if not all three), the disappearance of Malaysian Flight 370 on March 8, 2014, is “the greatest aviation mystery of all time.” (But not the only one. The Civil Aviation Academy Australasia listed 10 aviation mysteries of our time. However, of those, they also list Flight 370 as number one.)

Wait, what? Flights really can disappear in this day and age, and what happened to them can remain unsolved? I thought that was just some far-fetched Lost plot.

Apparently not.

That’s among the reasons MH370: The Plane That Disappeared is so haunting. And totally captivating. While enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon after coming back from a long flight the day before, my husband and I decided to give it a shot. We were immediately engrossed and binged the entire thing the same day.

Now I can’t stop thinking about it. If you’ve seen it, maybe these same issues are haunting you too?

Similarities and Differences to Lost

Lost kept coming to mind while watching MH370: The Plane That Disappeared.

Similar Jets, Different Itineraries

Both the real-life Malaysian Flight 370 and the fictional Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 were Boeing 777 jets.

But Flight 370 was a red-eye heading from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing, China. Flight 815 was headed from Sydney, Australia, to Los Angeles, California.

Diverted Courses and the Indian Ocean

Both diverted from their original courses. Flight 815 disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. Later, its wreckage would be found in the Sunda Trench in the Indian Ocean. (Which was staged by the wealthy industrialist Charles Widmore, who was one of the leaders of the Others.)

Flight 370 went dark over the South China Sea 42 minutes after takeoff, disappearing entirely from radar. However, when Inmarsat data was later analyzed, it appeared the flight had diverted from its original course. It registered that the plane made a sharp left turn, heading back over Malaysia before heading south over the Indian Ocean.

The Wreckage, or Lack Thereof

At least the families of those aboard Flight 815 got the closure of knowing the wreck had been found. The torment the families of those aboard Flight 370 are on full display in The Plane That Disappeared and it’s heart-wrenching.

That’s a privilege we had watching Lost. Well, two, really. First of all, we knew it was a fictional show. Second, we knew what happened to those aboard. We didn’t know where they had crashed or what was up with the Smoke Monster and the rest of the island’s mysteries, which lent to the deliciousness of the series. And we knew the survivors worried about their families and in many cases longed to get word to them.

But we didn’t really get to see the impact their disappearance had on those waiting for them elsewhere. That’s one of the things that make the docuseries about MH370 so haunting. That grief is very much on display and at the center of the show.

Some wreckage was found in the Indian Ocean after the disappearance of Flight 370, but it’s never been conclusively identified as belonging to it. Which has helped fuel a number of conspiracy theories, including a very Lost-esque one that the pieces that have been discovered were planted there.

Conspiracy Theories

The thing I really liked about The Plane That Disappeared was how they laid it out. They interviewed everyone from families who lost people on the flight the day it vanished and employees of Malaysian Airlines to aviation experts and journalists who covered the case.

And the way they shared the information made it easy to see how conspiracy theories have taken hold in the quest to find answers. Pretty much each episode explores one of the three major theories about what happened to the plane.

The Pilot

The first episode, “The Pilot,” explores the theory that initially prevailed soon after the flight disappeared. They surmised the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, had committed mass murder-suicide, which has since been debunked. It’s suggested in certain parts but isn’t made abundantly clear the Malaysian government both cleared Shah and apologized for blaming him until near the end of the third episode, though.

However, it’s also in this episode that we meet Cyndi Henry, a Tomnod volunteer. Tomnod was a project by DigitalGlobe, a satellite company, that recruited volunteers like Cyndi to examine satellite images of the areas where the flight might have gone down. As a photographer, she felt she had an eye for spotting things and felt she might be able to help.

She also summed up a feeling of why I believe I’m haunted after watching this documentary:

“When I saw the anguish on the faces of these family members, I thought ‘I have to do something.’ It just tugged at my heartstrings.

Their pain is so visceral you can’t help but want this mystery solved for them. And if you were able to contribute to a solution, you’d definitely want to offer assistance like Henry did.

She ended up spotting something on the satellite images she was given to examine that looked like it could be wreckage from a plane. Among the things she felt she could identify were the nosecone, the fuselage, and the tail.

She reported it, but the weird thing was, no one seemed to want to listen. Even worse, the Malaysian government dropped a bombshell. Based on new satellite communication evidence they received at that time, the Boeing 777 had taken a turn and flown back over Malaysia before heading out over the Indian Ocean.

What? Was that even possible? According to pings from the Inmarsat data, yes. Which presented the next theory and conspiracy theory about what had happened to the plane.

The Hijack

If the pilot wasn’t responsible, then perhaps the plane was hijacked. Up until this point, aviation journalist Jeff Wise offered helpful insights into the case. Then he posited some wild theories about Russians stealing the plane to distract from the Crimean War.

He had an elaborate explanation how they accomplished the heist too, which didn’t result in a crash. Rather, it landed in Kazakhstan. Which, you kind of hope might have happened because then the passengers and crew might still be alive. But there’s no evidence that’s true.

The Intercept

Another talking head who seemed very reasonable was French journalist Florence de Changy. As a south-east Asia correspondent for Le Monde, she covered the disappearance extensively. But then she had a theory that the U.S. military shot down the flight to prevent some mysterious cargo from reaching China.

What kind of cargo? Possibly something electronic. China is infamous for copying our tech and then reproducing it. Or maybe it was something more sensitive than that.

Some of the family members also believe this is a plausible explanation. And it would explain the wreckage in the South China Sea that Tomnod volunteer Cyndi Henry spotted. It would also explain why there’d be a cover up.

What really happened?

This is the most haunting question of all. Will the flight ever turn up? Was either Russia involved or the U.S. in MH370’s demise? Will the friends and loved ones of those aboard ever get a conclusive answer?

I’d like to think yes. Because witnessing the raw grief of those left behind via the news footage back when the crash happened and their continued anguish in the interviews for this documentary was painful. There are certain things you wouldn’t even wish on your worst enemy. What happened with Flight 370 is one of them.

MH370: The Flight That Disappeared Trailer

For More Info

Visit https://www.netflix.com.

Check-In

What do you think happened to Malaysian Flight 370? Do you think it was hijacked or shot down? Or do you believe there was a catastrophic malfunction that caused it to crash in the South China Sea?