The Royal Aeronautical Society has asked a panel of experts including pilots, airline representatives, and regulators what they thought happened to MH370.
The society summarised the panels response to various theories about the plane's disappearance.
The aircraft depressurised but continued to fly ?
It’s possible. This would explain the initial change in altitude and heading, as well as subsequent lack of communication but not why the ACARS and transponder were turned off.
The aircraft was overcome by toxic fumes ?
Unlikely. The pilots should have been able to send out a distress call and, again, it does not explain why the Acars and transponder were turned off.
There was an onboard fire which damaged the communications systems ?
Again unlikely. This would explain the lack of communication but it is unlikely that the aircraft would have then continued to fly as long as it did if the fire continued to burn.
The aircraft was hijacked ?
A possible theory but the aircraft was not flown to another destination nor was it used as a weapon for a suicide terrorist attack. If it was an individual hijacker, then no one person or motive has been established and, if it was a group, no organisation has claimed responsibility.
The aircraft was deliberately diverted by the pilot/co-pilot ?
Possible again but no reason for this has not been identified. If it was a suicide attempt then why did the aircraft continue to fly for so long?
Half of Malaysians are unhappy with the government's handling of the search, according to an opinion poll reported on the news site Malaysia Kini.
The Merdeka Centre poll found a particularly high level of dissatisfaction among Malaysia's ethnic Chinese population.
Some 74% of Chinese Malaysians were unhappy with the government crisis management, compared to an overall disapproval rate of 50%.
Two thirds of the missing passengers are Chinese.
12.28pm BST
The search for MH370 has highlighted the need for better tracking of aircraft, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Its director general, Tony Tyler, said: "We cannot let another aircraft simply vanish." He announced the the formation of a task force to find better ways of tracking aircraft.
Tyler added:
In a world where our every move seems to be tracked, there is disbelief both that an aircraft could simply disappear and that the flight data and cockpit voice recorders are so difficult to recover. Air France 447 brought similar issues to light a few years ago and some progress was made. But that must be accelerated.
IATA will convene an expert task force that will include ICAO participation to ensure that the work is well coordinated. This group will examine all of the options available for tracking commercial aircraft against the parameters of implementation, investment, time and complexity to achieve the desired coverage. This group will report its conclusions by December 2014, reflecting the need for urgent action and careful analysis.
