MH370, which had been travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, disappeared on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board. The Boeing 777 aircraft last communicated with air traffic control at 1.19am when the plane was flying over the South China Sea. Minutes later, it completely disappeared from civilian radar screens during a routine handover from Malaysian to Vietnamese channels.
Analysis of radar and satellite data shows that it suddenly changed course and flew back across Malaysia before turning south of Penang and then towards the southern Indian Ocean.
The pilot, Captain Zaharie Shah, has been on the receiving end of much criticism over the years, as claims surfaced suggesting he may have gone on a suicide mission.
However, security expert Sally Leivesley put forward an alternative theory during ITN’s documentary: “Malaysia 370: The Plane That Vanished”.
Ms Leivesley, who is a specialist in catastrophic and extreme risk, revealed it was possible the plane was the victim of a cyber hack.
She said in 2015: “Cyber hijacking is a new form of warfare.
“This is an act of taking over control – people within the passenger cabin could have entered the systems by hacking the entertainment system.
“Or there could have been air-side access through the maintenance window.
“A pre-programmed plot timed to simulate the pilot’s activity has taken that plane off course and actually controlled every action of that plane.
“They could have lost the plane, or landed it.”
However, despite agreeing the theory is feasible, experts failed to back the idea during the documentary.
Bob van der Linden, who works in the Aeronautics Department of the National Air and Space Museum, deemed the situation unlikely.
He said during the same programme: ”I don’t think a computer hacker took control of the aircraft.
“It is possible, but I highly doubt it.
“The systems on board are so sophisticated – they are designed to be as safe as humanly possible.
“To have a door opened by a computer is highly unlikely to me.”
It is not the first time claims of this nature have come to light, though.
Last month, it was reported how cyber defence expert Chris Roberts had put forward a similar scenario.
He explained in 2018: “A determined hacker with the right tools and the right knowledge of a 777 would have the ability to go through the cabin system, to the cockpit system and influence the flight.
“The in-flight entertainment system is connected to a box that is just underneath the seats.
“Then you can work like hopscotch to other parts of the network where you can look at fuel management, take control of the engines, and several other systems.”