From the last Morning Jolt of the week:
Who Took Down Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?
I realize the latest cable news coverage might make viewers feel like CNN is in summer reruns, but this seems like a big deal:
Officials are expressing growing confidence that the piece of wreckage found on the shores of a remote Indian Ocean island this week is part of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Martin Dolan, the head of the Australian agency coordinating the underwater search for the plane, told CNN on Friday that he is “increasingly confident, but not yet certain” that the debris is from MH370.
Authorities are “highly confident” that the object found Wednesday by people cleaning a beach on the French island of Reunion is from a Boeing 777, Dolan said, and “the only 777 aircraft that we’re aware of in the Indian Ocean that could have led to this part floating is MH370.”
Reminder: This plane was almost certainly taken down deliberately. In fact, our government came to that conclusion a while ago but didn’t want to tell anyone.
A preliminary assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies, produced in the wake of the MH370 disaster, suggested it was likely someone in the cockpit deliberately caused the aircraft’s movements to go off course before the Malaysian airliner disappeared.
Two U.S. officials briefed on the matter said the assessment, which was not intended for public release, was prepared months ago and was solely based on available satellite and other evidence, and not based on more detailed findings by investigators. Another government official said the assessment is the most current view of U.S. officials based on what is known so far about the plane’s fate.
If it’s terrorists, no group has taken credit for it yet. The usual theory would be a suicidal pilot, but there’s not yet any real evidence of that:
A report earlier this year from Malaysian investigators found no indications of unusual behavior among the pilots and cabin crew of Flight 370 before it took off and vanished in the early hours of March 8, 2014.
“There were no behavioral signs of social isolation, change in habits or interest, self-neglect, drug or alcohol abuse of the captain, first officer and the cabin crew,” the report said.