Frequency

Deep Dive: MH370

On March 24, 2014, the Malaysian Prime minister made a shocking announcement: using a new kind of mathematical analysis, scientists at the British satellite communications company Inmarsat had determined conclusively that MH370 had flown into a remote area of the southern Indian Ocean. Because there are no islands in the area, there was no possibility that anyone on the plane could have survived. Therefore, all 239 passengers and crew must be dead. It was a stunningly sweeping conclusion to reach based entirely on a kind of mathematics that no one in the outside world knew the details of. But was it correct? Herein lies the technical heart of the MH370 mystery, one that no TV documentary (and only one book) has ever delved into, involving as it does such arcana as geosynchoronous orbital drift and Doppler precompensation. But Jeff and Andy break it down for you in plain, easy-to-understand English. For show notes and links to the video-only version of this podcast, visit deepdivemh370.com.