Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 Hijacking and Crash (9M-MBD)

Incident Overview and Timeline The aircraft departed Penang Airport at 1921 local time on scheduled service MH653, bound for Kuala Lumpur. During the descent phase, while the airplane was at an altitude of 4,000 feet, a hijacker entered the cockpit and forced the flight crew to divert to Singapore. The aircraft then climbed to flight level 210 and proceeded toward Singapore. ## Cockpit Events and Aircraft Behavior According to the source, the hijacker shot both pilots and then himself. A few minutes later, the airplane entered a dive and crashed in a wooded area in the region of Jalan Tanjung Kupang. The aircraft was totally destroyed, and all 100 occupants were killed. ## Investigation Findings Cockpit voice recordings indicated noises suggestive of the cockpit door being broken in, along with screaming and cursing. No noises were heard from within the cockpit to indicate that any of the three occupants were conscious. The autopilot was disconnected, possibly due to a pitch input by someone entering the cockpit and attempting to control the aircraft. An investigator speculated that someone pulled back on the control column, causing a pitch up, followed by an oscillation. This rapidly developed into a high amplitude phugoid oscillation that resulted in a rapid dive.