Malaysia top officials believe pilot intentionally downed MH370: Tony Abbott

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott made a sensational claim saying “very top” level Malaysian officials believed that the flight MH370 was a mass murder-suicide by the pilot. Abbott, who held the prime ministerial post at the time of the MH370 tragedy, said that the top officials of the Malaysian government believed the pilot intentionally downed the aircraft.

The Beijing-bound flight carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur vanished on March 8, 2014, and no sign of the aircraft was found after one of the largest aviation searched in history. The vanished flight has remained a mystery even after a United States exploration firm scoured seabed for months.

In an excerpt from a Sky News documentary, aired on Wednesday and Thursday, Abbott said, “My very clear understanding, from the very top levels of the Malaysian government is that from very, very early on, they thought it was murder-suicide by the pilot.”

Read: Man Plans Return To Cambodia To Investigate Possible Crash Site Of MH370

Declines to disclose names

The former Australian Prime Minister declined to reveal the name of the officials, reiterating it was understood at the highest levels that this was almost certainly murder-suicide by the pilot. The mysterious disappearance of the MH370 fuelled several theories including the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, gone rogue. Some outlandish conspiracy theories around the Malaysian government, which owns the Malaysian airlines, were also floated.

“I’ve read all these stories that the Malaysians allegedly didn’t want the murder-suicide theory pursued because they were embarrassed about one of their pilots doing this. I have no reason to accept that,” he said.

Read: Singapore Airlines To Cut Flights As Coronavirus Outbreak Hits Demand

The pilot’s family has repeatedly rejected such theories and an independent investigation in 2018 backed the refusal it with a report saying none of the two pilots displayed any abnormal behaviour. According to Abbott, a new investigation in the disappearance case should be launched and unexplored part of the ocean, if any, should be explored.

Read: United Airlines Confirms 737 MAX Not Returning To Fleet Until September

Read: Vietnamese Airlines Endures $430m Loss Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

(With AP inputs)