Tony Abbott told ‘early on’ MH370 pilot had committed mass ­murder

Tony Abbott knew early on that the MH370 pilot had hijacked his own aircraft in an act of mass murder-­suicide.

Tony Abbott knew early on that the pilot of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 had hijacked his own aircraft in an act of mass ­murder-­suicide after being briefed by top Malaysian officials.

In a documentary airing this week, Mr Abbott says “it was crystal clear to me” as prime minister after MH370 disappeared six years ago that the Malaysians ­believed Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah had deliberately taken himself and 238 passengers and crew to their deaths.

“My very clear understanding, from the very top levels of the Mal­aysian government, is that from very, very early on here they thought it was murder-­suicide by the pilot,” he says in the Sky News documentary MH370: The Untold Story airing on Wednesday and Thursday night.

“I’m not going to say who said what to whom. It was crystal clear to me they had a very clear understanding that this almost certainly was what had happened.”

Mr Abbott says the Malaysians never mentioned alternative ­explanations for the loss of the aircraft, such as a fire or a terrorist ­hijack. His revelations are likely to encourage critics in the aviation community who claim that in its investigation report on MH370, the Malaysian government, to avoid loss of face, tried to cover up suggestions a captain on a government-owned airline would commit mass murder.

Mr Abbott says the way 239 people on MH370 “literally dis­appeared off the face of the earth” is “absolutely haunting”, and calls for a new hunt for the aircraft after two failed searches. “I’m not just referring to Australia here, I’m ­referring to all of the countries who had citizens on the plane. This is not something that a decent ­people can let go,” he says.

MH370 disappeared 40 minutes into a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

The Malaysian government’s investigation report claimed there was no evidence Zaharie, ­des­cribed as a model pilot and well-adjusted individual who had no financial or personal problems, had hijacked his own ­aircraft.

On the release of the report in July 2018, investigation leader Kok Soo Chon said Zaharie was “a very competent pilot, almost flawless in the records, able to handle work stress very well”.

“We are not of the opinion it could be an event committed by the pilot,” he said.

In the documentary, Mr ­Abbott says: “If it is a fact that the furthest reaches were not explored because of assumptions of a pilot who was no longer at the controls. I would say, let’s ditch that ­assumption.”

MH370: The Untold Story airs on Sky News on Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm. Senior journalist on The Australian Ean Higgins, author of The Hunt for MH370, spent years investigating the mystery and worked with the Sky News team on the documentary.

The Hunt for MH370, by Ean Higgins.