Editing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappearance theories (section)

==Background==
{{Main|Malaysia Airlines Flight 370}}
[[File:Boeing 777-200ER Malaysia AL (MAS) 9M-MRO - MSN 28420 404 (9272090094).jpg|thumb|The missing aircraft, 9M-MRO, taking off from [[Paris]] in 2011]]
Rob Brotherton, a lecturer in psychology at [[Goldsmiths, University of London]], wrote that conspiracy theories emerge immediately after any catastrophe occurs and conclusive information about why it does so remains unavailable.<ref name=Brotherton2014>{{cite web | url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25260-flight-mh370-the-allure-of-the-conspiracy-theory.html| title=Flight MH370: The allure of the conspiracy theory | work=New Scientist | date=20 March 2014| access-date=25 March 2014| author=Brotherton, Rob}}</ref>

Victims' relatives questioned the veracity of the [[Government of Malaysia|Malaysian government]]'s statements about the demise of the aircraft, and organized a protest at the Malaysian embassy in [[Beijing]] with the goal of forcing the Malaysian government to reveal any withheld information about Flight 370's whereabouts.

According to [[Barbara Demick]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', critics of the Malaysian government's statements also found support in the [[Joint Agency Coordination Centre]]'s announcement on 29 May 2014 that the plane was not in the search area authorities had been combing since April 2014.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-malaysia-flight-mh370-search-20140529-story.html | title=Missing Malaysia Airlines jet not in search area, officials say | work=Los Angeles Times | date=29 May 2014 | access-date=4 June 2014 | author=Demick, Barbara}}</ref> Other factors involve the lack of a [[distress signal]] from the plane.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://time.com/20351/missing-plane-flight-mh370-5-conspiracy-theories/ | title=The Missing Malaysian Plane: 5 Conspiracy Theories | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=11 March 2014 | access-date=13 May 2014 | author=Sam Frizell}}</ref>

Searches discovered debris which had a very strong likelihood, near certain, of originating from the crash, with definitive fragments first located in 2015.<ref name="ATSB Final Report AE-2014-054" /><ref name="francetvinfo 3 Sept 2015" /><ref name=bbc2 />

===Criticism and response===
Conspiracy-focused internet sites claim that the official statement that the plane crashed into the Indian Ocean is "a blatant cover-up."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eyeopening.info/2014/03/25/malaysia-airlines-flight-370-now-clearly-government-cover-evidence-contradicts-official-story/|title=Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Now Clearly A Government Cover-Up: All Evidence Contradicts Official Story|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213171611/http://www.eyeopening.info/2014/03/25/malaysia-airlines-flight-370-now-clearly-government-cover-evidence-contradicts-official-story/|archive-date=13 December 2014|access-date=8 December 2014}}</ref> They note that a [[Boeing 777]] does not have the structural integrity to survive crashing into the ocean, and that it would be comparable to hitting a concrete wall at [[terminal velocity]]. If Flight 370 hit the ocean, they say, it would have been broken into tens of thousands of pieces, many of which float on water (such as the seat cushions) and would be seen washing up on regional shores or easily spotted by search teams.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/9864556/MH370-Distrust-breeds-conspiracy-theories | title=MH370: Distrust breeds conspiracy theories | work=[[Stuff.co.nz]] | date=25 March 2014| access-date=24 March 2014| author=Wen, Philip}}</ref> Those criticisms diminished after several pieces of the aircraft were positively identified in the years after its disappearance.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Scruton |first1=Paul |title=Missing flight MH370 – a visual guide to the parts and debris found so far |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2017/jan/17/missing-flight-mh370-a-visual-guide-to-the-parts-and-debris-found-so-far |website=The Guardian|access-date=15 May 2019}}</ref>

Harvard professor [[Cass Sunstein]] noted that the conflicting information initially released by the Malaysian government explains the interest in alternative theories.<ref name="wsj-2014-03-20">{{cite web | url=https://www.wsj.com/video/flight-mh370-why-are-conspiracy-theories-seductive/BA8BBA6E-AB59-4761-933E-D672BCC0F052.html | title=Flight MH370: Why Are Conspiracy Theories Seductive? | work=Wall Street Journal | date=20 March 2014| access-date=26 March 2014}}</ref> Sunstein, who has written on the topic, argued in an interview with ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' on 20 March 2014 that conspiracy theories in general often are born out of horrific and disastrous situations because such events make people angry, fearful and looking for a "target".<ref name="wsj-2014-03-20"/>

David Soucie, a former FAA inspector, has said that the theories that have been put forth in this matter are important when there is a lack of knowledge, as the theories and notions help us to consider various possibilities. On 26 March 2014, he stated on [[CNN]]: <blockquote>In an accident investigation, it's a critical part to come up with theories. Especially right now when we don't have anything. We don't have anything tangible. We don't have something to say, hey, yes—because we don't know where that airplane is and we need to find out why. If you take one theory, the airplane would be where we're looking at right now. If you take another theory, where there was nefarious intent, they're trying to avoid radars, the airplane could be somewhere else. If you say it was—whatever it is, you've got to use these theories, weigh them against the facts so you know which one to go to.<ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1403/26/pmt.01.html CNN Transcripts] – Piers Morgan Live – 26 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.</ref></blockquote>

Tim Black, deputy editor of ''[[Spiked (magazine)|Spiked]]'', wrote: &nbsp;"...it's in this darkness, this near absence of knowledge [about MH370], that speculation has flourished,"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/flight-mh370-conspiracy-theorists-adore-a-vacuum/14812 | title=MH370: conspiracy theorists adore a vacuum | work=Spiked | date=19 March 2014 | access-date=25 March 2014 | author=Black, Tim | archive-date=25 July 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725063206/http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/flight-mh370-conspiracy-theorists-adore-a-vacuum/14812 | url-status=dead }}</ref> and an editorial in the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' not only stated that "conspiracy theories fill a vacuum when facts are scarce," but also urged governments to search for the plane to debunk these theories and give victims' family members peace of mind.<ref name=suntimes2014>{{cite web | url=http://www.suntimes.com/opinions/26436099-474/conspiracy-theories-dont-help-to-understand-cause-of-malaysian-jets-disappearance.html | title=Conspiracy theories don't help to understand cause of Malaysian jet's disappearance | work=Chicago Sun-Times | date=26 March 2014 | access-date=27 March 2014 | archive-date=15 October 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015085438/http://www.suntimes.com/opinions/26436099-474/conspiracy-theories-dont-help-to-understand-cause-of-malaysian-jets-disappearance.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>

The common hypothesis, cited also here, that MH370 avoided Indonesian radar is based only on a statement that the plane was not observed by Indonesia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/untrue-that-mh370-avoided-indonesian-radar-hishammuddin-says |title='Untrue' that MH370 avoided Indonesian radar, Hishammuddin says- Malaysia- The Malay Mail Online |author=Clara Chooi |newspaper=The Malay Mail Online |date=7 April 2014 |access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref>