March 8, 2014

12:41 AM

All tracking systems are functioning and Boeing 777-200ER take off from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, with the destination being Beijing. 

1:07 AM

One last communication signal is sent out, but nothing was seen as unusual. The routing was normal towards Beijing according to Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport. 

1:19 AM

Someone in the cockpit makes a voice check-in with air traffic controllers. According to Malaysia Airline officials, the check-in was from Fariq Abdul, the co-pilot. 

1:21 AM

The plane’s transponder stops communicating, and in return, a transponder sends electronic messages from the plane. 

1:22 AM

Thai military radars are tracking the plane’s signal, but disappears. 

1:28 AM

The Thai radar picks up an unknown aircraft flying in a direction opposite of what flight 370 had been traveling. Furthermore, the plane seemed to change directions during this timeframe, and it is unclear whether or not the redirection was reprogrammed. 

1:30 AM

Civilian radar loses contact with the plane over the Gulf of Thailand.

2:15 AM

Even though the Malaysian plane isn’t transmitting information, a plane can still be detected by the radar. By this point, the plane was hundreds of miles off course.

2:40 AM

Malaysia Airlines says it learns the plane was missing from the radar. 

2:40-3:45 AM

The airline, while attempting to locate the plane, used all types of possible communication to get in contact with the plane, while also contacting other aircrafts heading in the same direction. 

3:45 AM

Malaysia Airlines issued a red alert, stating that the plane had been missing from radar. 

7:24 AM

Malaysia Airlines announced that the plane had disappeared on Facebook

8:11 AM

Orbiters high above the ocean detected the plane as the satellite attempted to connect with the plane, but the communication systems seemed to be down because the satellites were unable to connect. Timeline of MH370 disappearance

March 9, 2014

Search efforts were focused on the Gulf of Thailand. During this search and efforts to locate the plane, it was discovered that two of the passengers traveling had stolen European passports, which prompted the theory that terrorists may have been responsible, but it was later confirmed that there were likely no terrorist attacks made. 

March 15, 2014

Najib Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, stated that the plane was deliberately diverted and continued flying for six hours after contact was lost, which expanded the search to the southern Indian Ocean. 

March 24, 2014

Family members of the passengers march on the Malaysian embassy in Beijing demanding answers on where the flight is and their search efforts. 

April 24, 2014

The search and rescue becomes a search and recovery phase, and then switches to an underwater phase. 

January 28, 2015

Malaysia officially declares the disappearance an accident and the passengers are presumed dead. 

August 5, 2015

A wing washed up on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean, but this claim was never confirmed. 

March 2016

The Australian government says two pieces of debris were found that likely came from flight 370. 

October 2016

A piece of an aircraft wing was found on Mauritius and was identified as belonging to the missing plane. However, this debris did not help refine the search for the plane. 

July 2018

An official investigation report is released in Malaysia concluding that the plane was manually turned around in mid-air. Timeline of the search for MH370 – a visual guide