EgyptAir Engineer Declares MH370 Search Fundamentally Flawed
An aviation expert and chief engineer has provided a detailed explanation for why he believes the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will never be found using current search methods. Ismail Hammad, chief engineer at EgyptAir, asserts that investigators have been relying on incorrect information for nearly a decade, leading the search in entirely the wrong direction.
The Disappearance That Baffled The World
The infamous Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, vanished on March 8, 2014, during its scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The last communication with air traffic control occurred 38 minutes into the journey, after which military radar tracked the aircraft for approximately one more hour as it deviated significantly from its planned flight path.
After disappearing from radar approximately 230 miles from Penang Island in Malaysia, the aircraft was never seen or heard from again, creating what remains aviation history's greatest unsolved mystery and the deadliest incident involving a missing aircraft.
Engineering Evidence Versus Satellite Data
Hammad told reporters that his theory "is not guesswork but an engineering inevitability if we follow aviation fundamentals." He believes the fundamental problem with the search operation is its over-reliance on Inmarsat satellite signals, which he claims has "left investigators confused for a decade."
The engineer points to multiple pieces of physical evidence that contradict current search assumptions. "The good technical condition of aircraft wreckage recovered on the eastern coast of Africa suggests ditching on relatively calm water," Hammad explained. "These parts show no signs of damage indicating crashing with turbulent ocean surfaces or subsequent explosion from fuel vapor saturation."
He emphasized that the recovered pieces lack "dents, sooty appearance, or dark discoloration from tank explosions," all suggesting "a smooth ditching in relatively shallow and calm water."
Current Search Efforts Criticized
The latest search attempts by marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity resumed in December after being paused due to seasonal conditions the previous spring. However, Hammad takes significant issue with the search focusing again off the coast of Perth, Australia.
He argues this approach fails to account for the deviation between the aircraft's magnetic compass north and the Earth's true north. Combined with ocean currents in the Indian Ocean basin and the condition of recovered wreckage, Hammad believes these factors make the aircraft's presence around current search corridors "highly improbable."
A New Search Location Proposed
Hammad believes he has identified the solution that could save "money and time" while potentially solving the mystery that has caused immense distress to authorities and bereaved families worldwide. He recommends shifting the search focus to what he describes as the "maze of the Philippine archipelago, which consists of 7,641 islands."
The engineer's reasoning involves both technical and practical considerations. He notes that programming the autopilot computer using merely spatial coordinates proves exceptionally tricky. Additionally, he questions whether a pilot alone could continue flying a Boeing 777-200 for nine hours from takeoff to disappearance, especially considering the approximately three hours typically required before takeoff to check aircraft condition and documentation according to aviation regulations.
Hammad determined that without autopilot systems or proper navigational equipment, reliance solely on the aircraft's magnetic compass would logically focus the search zone between the Malacca Strait and Perth coastline given "all those stresses." However, he maintains that the physical evidence contradicts this assumption, pointing instead toward the Philippine islands as the most probable final location.
As families continue demanding answers and search efforts persist, Hammad's engineering-based perspective challenges a decade of investigation assumptions, suggesting that the key to solving aviation's greatest mystery may lie in reconsidering fundamental search parameters rather than continuing down what he views as an evidentially flawed path.
