March 8th, 2014: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Drops off the Map
On March 8th, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 took off from Khuala Lumpur. Though the 239-passenger Boeing 777 was expected to land in Beijing at 6:10am, the final destination was never reached. This flight went mysteriously missing somewhere over the Indian Ocean, and now, over two months later, no sign of the plane or its wreckage has been found.
Wondering what happened to flight 370? You’re not alone — networks were quick to pick up the story, and CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, alike, did so with “everything in their bag of tricks” (The Daily Show, 2014). Seemingly every possible explanation for the mysterious disappearance of MH370 was covered, from a black hole to the Bermuda Triangle to a real-life instance of the TV show LOST. News network coverage of this disaster, especially that of CNN, was so outrageous that it inspired this response on The Daily Show:
Crazy though they may seem, the theories to which John Stewart alludes were, in fact, given air time in news network coverage of the missing plane. In examining the thirty broadcasts made between March 8th and March 28th on CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, the following major categories of theories could be created:
The Theories
Theory |
Number of Times Discussed |
Terrorism / Plane Hijacking |
26 |
Engine Corrosion |
2 |
Remote Island Landing |
11 |
Unintentional Decompression |
12 |
Electrical or Mechanical Failure |
15 |
Pilot Error or Suicide |
26 |
Collision with Another Plane |
1 |
Fire |
16 |
Act of the Malaysian Government |
10 |
Flammable Lithium Batteries |
3 |
‘Zombie Plane’ Theory |
9 |
Black Hole |
1 |
Bermuda Triangle Effect |
1 |
Cell Phone Interference or Hijacking |
3 |
Though some of these fourteen major categories were given more considerable discussion than others on The Situation Room, even the most outlandish were reviewed. Discussion of the Zombie Plane Theory, for example, can be observed here:
Your Turn
Which of these theories do you think best explains the disappearance of MH370? Voice your opinion here
Thanks, Emily, for bringing “i don’t have a cam doe” to life. It made my night 😉
I am so glad you noticed, Matt!