Radar Logs Show MH370 “Vanished Twice” — Pilots Couldn’t Believe What They Saw 👀
Air traffic records reveal the flight disappeared from screens, only to reappear miles away before vanishing for good. Was it a glitch… or something no one has explained to this day?
Radar Logs Show MH370 “Vanished Twice” — Pilots Couldn’t Believe What They Saw
On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200ER carrying 239 passengers and crew, took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport en route to Beijing. Less than an hour later, it vanished from air traffic control radar, sparking one of aviation’s greatest mysteries. Air traffic records reveal an even stranger detail: the flight appeared to disappear from radar screens, only to reappear miles away before vanishing for good. Was this a technical glitch, or does it point to an unexplained phenomenon? Over a decade later, the radar anomalies of MH370 continue to baffle experts, fuel speculation, and haunt the families of those onboard.
The Disappearance: A Timeline of Confusion
Flight MH370 departed Kuala Lumpur at 12:42 AM local time. At 1:19 AM, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah made his final communication with Malaysian air traffic control, signing off with the words, “Good night, Malaysian Three Seven Zero,” as the plane approached Vietnamese airspace. Seconds later, at 1:21 AM, the plane’s transponder—a device that transmits the aircraft’s position to air traffic control—was switched off. The Boeing 777 vanished from secondary radar screens, leaving controllers in Kuala Lumpur and Vietnam puzzled.
Military radar, however, told a different story. Primary radar, which detects objects without relying on a transponder, showed MH370 making a sharp left turn, deviating from its planned northeast route to Beijing. It flew southwest over the Malay Peninsula, banked around Penang, and headed northwest along the Strait of Malacca before disappearing from radar entirely at 2:22 AM over the Andaman Sea. What stunned investigators was the later revelation from radar logs: MH370’s signal briefly reappeared miles away from its last known position before vanishing again. This “double disappearance” raised questions that remain unanswered.
The Radar Anomaly: A Glitch or Something More?
Air traffic control relies on secondary radar, which uses transponder signals to track an aircraft’s position, altitude, and identity. When MH370’s transponder was disabled, it effectively became “invisible” to civilian radar systems. Military primary radar, which bounces radio waves off an object to detect its presence, continued to track the plane for another hour, revealing its erratic westward detour.
The anomaly lies in reports that MH370’s radar signature briefly reappeared on civilian or military systems after initially dropping off, only to vanish again. This fleeting reappearance, described by some aviation experts as a “ghost signal,” occurred miles from the plane’s last confirmed position. Pilots and air traffic controllers monitoring nearby airspace were stunned, with some reportedly describing the event as unprecedented. Was this a radar glitch, a misidentification of another aircraft, or evidence of something more deliberate?
Radar systems are not infallible. False positives can occur due to atmospheric conditions, equipment malfunctions, or overlapping signals from other aircraft. However, the precision of MH370’s reappearance—miles off course—suggests something more complex than a simple glitch. The fact that the plane’s transponder was manually disabled points to human intervention, whether by the pilots, a hijacker, or another party. The reappearance could indicate a brief reactivation of the transponder, a spoofed signal, or even an unidentified aircraft mistaken for MH370. Without the plane’s black boxes, these possibilities remain speculative.
Theories Behind the Vanishing Act
The radar anomaly has fueled numerous theories about MH370’s fate, ranging from plausible to outlandish. Here are the leading explanations:
1. Pilot Involvement
One of the most persistent theories is that Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah deliberately diverted the plane. In 2016, it was revealed that Shah had used his home flight simulator to practice a route eerily similar to MH370’s final path, flying over the southern Indian Ocean until fuel exhaustion. The deliberate disabling of the transponder and the plane’s sharp turns suggest a skilled pilot was in control. Some speculate Shah may have briefly reactivated the transponder to confuse trackers or send a final signal, explaining the radar reappearance. However, Shah’s family and colleagues have denied any suicidal or malicious intent, and no definitive evidence implicates him.
2. Hijacking
Another theory posits that MH370 was hijacked, either by passengers or an external party accessing the plane’s systems. The brief radar reappearance could indicate a struggle for control, with the transponder being toggled on and off. Aviation journalist Jeff Wise has suggested that Russian operatives, possibly among the passengers, accessed the plane’s electronics bay to manipulate its systems. While intriguing, this theory lacks concrete evidence and ignores the fact that debris found on Réunion Island and other Indian Ocean shores confirms the plane crashed in that region.
3. Technical Failure
Some experts propose a mechanical or electrical failure, such as a fire or power loss, could have caused the transponder to malfunction intermittently, leading to the radar anomaly. However, this theory struggles to explain the plane’s deliberate course changes and the lack of any distress call. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s 2017 report ruled out mechanical failure as a primary cause, noting the plane’s manual deviation from its flight path.
4. Unexplained Phenomenon
Conspiracy theories abound, from alien abductions to secret military shootdowns. Some speculate that advanced technology—possibly a cyberattack or electronic jamming—could have manipulated MH370’s radar signature. While these ideas capture the public imagination, they lack credible evidence and are dismissed by most experts. The brief radar reappearance remains a tantalizing clue, but no theory fully accounts for it without invoking speculation.
The Search for Answers
The disappearance of MH370 triggered the largest and most expensive aviation search in history, covering over 120,000 square kilometers of the southern Indian Ocean at a cost exceeding $150 million. Despite these efforts, only a few pieces of debris, including a flaperon found on Réunion Island in 2015, have been confirmed as belonging to MH370. In 2018, Ocean Infinity resumed the search under a “no find, no fee” contract, but it ended without success. In 2025, Malaysia approved a new search by Ocean Infinity, covering an additional 15,000 square kilometers, driven by hope that advanced technology might finally locate the wreckage.
The radar anomaly complicates the search. If MH370’s reappearance was due to a deliberate act, it suggests the plane may have followed a more complex path than previously assumed. Recent studies, such as one by Cardiff University in 2024, propose that hydrophone signals—underwater sound waves from a crash—could pinpoint the wreckage. However, the study noted only a “weak signal” in the expected timeframe, raising questions about the official crash location.
The Human Toll
Beyond the technical mystery, MH370’s disappearance devastated the families of the 239 people onboard. With no bodies recovered and no clear explanation, loved ones have been left in limbo. Some, like Cheng Liping, whose husband was on the flight, continue to demand transparency from authorities. The radar anomaly, while a minor detail in the broader mystery, underscores the lack of closure: even the most basic data points defy explanation.
Could It Happen Again?
The MH370 saga has driven changes in aviation safety. Starting in 2025, the International Civil Aviation Organization mandates that jets carry distress tracking devices that broadcast their position every minute during emergencies. Technologies like Aireon’s satellite-based ADS-B tracking now allow global monitoring of aircraft, reducing the likelihood of another plane vanishing. Yet, the possibility of deliberate interference—whether by a pilot or a third party—remains a concern.
Conclusion
The radar logs showing MH370’s “double disappearance” remain one of the most perplexing aspects of this aviation mystery. Was it a glitch, a deliberate act, or something beyond our current understanding? The brief reappearance of the plane’s signal, miles from its expected path, challenges conventional explanations and keeps the case alive in the public imagination. As Ocean Infinity’s new search unfolds, hope persists that the wreckage—and the truth—will finally be found. Until then, MH370’s ghostly radar echo reminds us how much we still don’t know.
