In the three-part documentary MH370: The plane that disappearedfrom Netflix, the British director Louise Malkinson makes it clear that the airline Malaysia Airlines has a lot to explain in relation to the disappearance of Flight 370, which occurred in March 2014.
It may seem like a no-brainer, until careful research reveals the company’s omissions and technical errors. Most unknown to the public and coming to light for the first time. But MH370: The plane that disappeared goes further, revealing the direct responsibility of the airline in the difficulties to unravel one of the most controversial cases of modern aeronautics.
The script uses both verifiable — or at least available — facts and hypotheses to make a complete reconstruction of the event. Something that allows you to explore all the edges of a tragedy that quickly became the center of all kinds of conspiracy theories. The first chapter of the series shows, perhaps, the only point on which all the debates agree. There was no indication of the disaster that was about to strike.
MH370: The plane that disappeared
The documentary is a methodical reconstruction of the mystery of the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared in March 2014. In three chapters, it analyzes the events that occurred during the first days of the mysterious air disaster. Also, the responsibility of the airline in the considerable failures in the search protocol. But the production is much more interested in telling how the tragedy impacted the lives of the relatives and friends of the victims. Beyond the conspiracy theories and the controversial debates about air safety, the miniseries shows the human face of the incident. And he presents his disturbing perspective on the lack of answers to the biggest unknowns surrounding the case.
MH370: The plane that disappeared and that it is still a mystery
At least on March 8, 2014, when the plane took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. Rightly, the argument includes everything from images of the airport to a short narrative of daily life in the facilities. It also makes it clear that the MH370 (a Boeing 777) was another of many routes that they took off the same day under similar conditions. Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s final message, wishing him good night and ensuring that all is well, did not indicate a major disorder or even a deadly situation.
Perhaps one of the most chilling elements of the story of MH370: The plane that disappeared be the admission of a fact that remains a mystery. Once the aircraft took off, there are few explanations as to what might have happened. The documentary builds a narrative thread that covers the first hours and days of uncertainty. From the increasingly urgent news about the catastrophe, to the way in which relatives and friends of the victims reacted to the event. The first episode covers the layers of tragedy with the orderly and familiar method of a true crime.
But, beyond the reconstruction of the events, he also points out that the available data do not lead to any conclusion. The opening chapter closes with an ominous image of the Beijing airport, in which the MH370 is marked as delayed. The first indication of what would be a chain of increasingly murky circumstances.
A case where nothing is as it seems
Arguably, the real enigma surrounding Flight 370 begins with a hasty statement. Malaysia Airlines immediately admitted that it had no indication of what might have caused the disappearance. Also that it lacked scenarios that could provide some explanation for an event of such magnitude.
The company’s negligence not only extends to its handling of what happened, in terms of search and technical resources. MH370: The plane that disappeared shows that there was no method of collecting information. This includes the dissemination of news and the exchange of data with the various agencies of neighboring countries that rushed to intervene in the search for the flight.
if something makes it clear MH370: The plane that disappeared is that the airline handled the incident in a rash and disorderly manner. And what is even worse. That his mistakes during the first weeks of tracking the aircraft are the reason for an unanswered enigma. Little by little, the second chapter of the documentary delves into the failed protocol to discover clues.
The fatal sequence of events MH370: The plane that disappeared
However, he is sensitive enough to focus his story on the families of the disappeared. Gradually, the plot abandons mere technical details to explore the survivors of a devastating loss. An interest that increases as you delve into the stories of several of the relatives and friends of the 239 people on board. Director Louise Malkinson places special emphasis on how the greatest suffering lies precisely in the absence of answers.
MH370: The plane that disappeared It links the airline’s mistakes during the investigation with how they impacted entire families. For the production, the contradictory versions of the accident are as important as the pain left behind by the unknown of what happened. Especially, once the conspiracy theories of kidnappings, shootdowns and violence multiplied.
The argument delves into some hypotheses, but above all in the possibility that an error – due to malice or omission – is the real cause of the accidents. Which he endorses in the second episode, by detailing that flight 370 is not the only tragedy in the annals of Malaysia Airlines in 2014.
As baffling as it may seem, a second fatal incident was recorded on the airline on July 17. Flight 17 was shot down by Russian-controlled military forces in Ukraine. Amid public and political tensions, the case turned into a contentious discussion on aviation safety. What happened, with opaque and controversial data such as that of 370, was another element of confusion in the global investigation.
With route between Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, there is not enough information about what happened. With 283 passengers and 15 crew members dead, it was deemed a disaster that signaled — again — serious failings in safety protocol. But, what is even more worrying, the airline’s scant efforts to correct mistakes that led to tragedies.
In the end, the story belongs to the victims
But the Netflix documentary is much more interested in the human layer of the incident. Nine years later, there are still no clear answers. The search was officially abandoned in 2017. The families of the victims do not have access to documents, data or information on the evolution of the investigation. Much less, to a possible answer in the future of what could have happened.
For now, the mystery of Flight 370 remains intact and, what is even more difficult to accept, there is little chance that the enigma will be solved. Perhaps the hardest point of an incident that became a collective obsession and is now part of a historical mystery that tries to unravel in MH370: The plane that disappeared.