FINALLY, THE TRUTH ABOUT MH370: Was Captain Zaharie trying to save the plane?

SUSPICION has again fallen on MH370 captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah amid claims the wing part found on La Reunion Island shows signs of a “controlled crash”.

Australian aviator Neil Hansford yesterday added his voice to the chorus of claims that the pattern of damage to the right-hand flaperon was consistent with deliberate ditching.

To many, that has kamikaze connotations. But what if the alleged signs of a controlled crash were instead the result of a desperate, heroic bid by Capt Zaharie to save the plane and the 238 other souls on board?

What if the action was forced on him following a catastrophic event, be it an in flight break up, or as some continue to suggest, a hijacking attempt?

Everything we know about the 53-year-old, happily married father points to his innocence.

He was a veteran pilot who joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981, and had more than 18,000 hours of flying experience.

In a previously unpublished interview with news.com.au, Capt Zaharie’s sister, Sakinab Shah, said he would never compromise the safety of his passengers, let alone murder them en masse in a premeditated, suicidal or political act.

Sakinab Shah described her brother as a “generous brother and uncle”. Picture: Channel News Asia Source: Supplied

“I want the world to know here is a loving man who will (sic) stop at nothing to render help when it is needed,” she said.

“The setting-up of his home simulator, which he did in 2011, the consequences of which has aroused much suspicion and speculation, was innocent. But then, that was his passion since young. He so enjoyed aviation. He enjoyed flying toy planes, he spent a large amounts of money to pursue his hobby. As such, equating his home simulator to roguish intentions on his part is not fair.

“His presence during every family function never failed to light up the occasions,” she said. “He was always sought after by sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews alike. A man [of] integrity. A generous brother and uncle who often came bearing gifts from his overseas trips.”

This time last year, Capt Zaharie and his 27-year-old co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid were being investigated as the prime suspects in MH370’s disappearance. In January, Malaysia officially declared the tragedy an accident, effectively exonerating both men but not before their reputations took a serious beating.

The rumours about Capt Zaharie were particularly vicious. Malaysian media published accusation after unsubstantiated accusation. He was suicidal because his wife had just left him (not true, Faizah Khanum was staying with relatives so she would not be alone while he was away); he was an Islamic extremist (in fact, Capt Zaharie was a secular Muslim); he wanted revenge after Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to five years’ jail for sodomy just seven hours before MH370’s scheduled departure (a ridiculous notion according to those who knew him best).

New Zealand-based aviator and Shah family friend Simon Gunson posted a tweet yesterday afternoon that summed up what family, friends and former colleagues thought of him:

“Zaharie loved MAS. The thought of how #MH370 has destroyed his beloved airline would have broken his heart. It was not in his DNA to do this.”

Reports that Capt Zaharie’s wife Faizah Khanum had left him were apparently not true. Source: Supplied

‘He was always sought after by sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews alike,’ Sakinab Shah said of her brother.Source: YouTube

Sakinab Shah says far from being hot-headed and emotional, Capt Zaharie was a man of reason, a problem-solver, a troubleshooter.

“During his younger days he would take my girls kite flying. They often relate the story of one occasion when the line snagged and the kite blew away,” she told news.com.au. “He packed them all in the car and drove to hunt for the runaway kite, which he finally located in someone else’s possession. He negotiated to have the kite back, much to their thrill. They remember this up to this very day, (they) have had such fond memories of him since childhood.

“I remember taking a road trip with him from Kuala Lumpur to Krabi in Thailand two years ago. It was a long journey, filled with laughter and humour because he brought out the best in every situation. With his wit and pleasant demeanour, he managed to solve some issues at the border crossing between Malaysia and Thailand.

“That was a good experience for me and my sister. We are proud of him. It was during this trip that we talked about doing a similar road trip to Italy, which unfortunately will never happen.”

An analysis of the flaperon by Independent Group (IG) member Mike Exnerconcluded that the flaperon separated from the plane minutes before impact during an in-flight breakup.

“If the flaperon was on the aircraft when the aircraft contacted the water, it is very likely that there would be some compression damage on the leading edge,” he said in his report.

“But there is virtually no apparent compression damage. This is much more consistent with the flaperon being ‘torn’ from the wing while in high speed flight.”

The break up, he elaborated was “most likely due to very high speeds, flutter and perhaps loss of hydraulic/electrical power to the flaperon”.

“This scenario is consistent with the steep, spiral descent observed in the B777-200 simulator.”

Mr Exner is adamant that MH370 plummeted into the ocean in a “steep, spiral descent” but others have used his analysis and their own observations to support their theory of a controlled entry.

“What [damage to the flaperon] does show is that the aircraft has gone into the water in a controlled-type crash and, as the engines have hit the water, they’ve sheared off and this part is straight behind one of the engines,” Australian expert Neil Hansford told AFP yesterday.

“There should be at least one other flaperon from the other wing (floating around).”

Former Air Accident Investigation Bureau engineer Tony Cable took a more cautious approach, telling The Guardian, “the angle of impact of a plane when it finally runs out of fuel — as the satellite pings and the capacity of a Boeing 777 suggests MH370 would have eventually done — isn’t something that can be entirely predicted.” - News.com.au