Malaysia Airlines Flight Officially Longest Disappearance in Modern Aviation

 By 
Brian Ries
 on 
Malaysia Airlines Flight Officially Longest Disappearance in Modern Aviation
Members of the social group Christian Muslim Alliance Pakistan take part in a candlelight vigil for passengers that were aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, Tuesday, March 18, 2014 in Islamabad, Pakistan. Credit: Anjum Naveed

It has been 11 days since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished from the skies, officially making it the longest disappearance in modern aviation history. Adam Air Flight 574, which went missing for the first 10 days of 2007, was the previous record-holder of the grim feat after it vanished off the coast of Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province.

Authorities said on Tuesday that the search area has expanded to 2.24 million square nautical miles and they are focusing on two primary "corridors" -- one in the north and one in the south. There are now 25 countries involved in the search and recovery operation. Some relatives of the missing passengers are threatening to go on hunger strike, protesting what they claim is a lack of information being shared by the Malaysian authorities.

According to data from the Aviation Safety Network, 102 airplanes have gone missing, never to be found, dating back to 1948. Only two of them were carrying more than 100 people -- Malaysia Airlines flight 370 and Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, which vanished over the Pacific Ocean carrying 93 U.S. soldiers in March 16, 1962.

The points of origin, intended destinations, and flight paths of those missing planes are plotted on the interactive map below. Click on paths, represented by blue lines, for more information about the flights (zoom in on the map to reveal shorter flight paths not immediately visible on the map as a whole).


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