MH370 pilot plotted course to southern Indian Ocean on home flight simulator

The pilot of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 used a home flight simulator to plot a course to the southern Indian Ocean where the aircraft is believed to have gone missing, search investigators have said.

However the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said the finding did not prove that the pilot had intentionally crashed the plane.

The airliner disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Teams have been combing an area roughly the size of Greece. Credit: Reuters

"The MH370 captain's flight simulator showed someone had plotted a course to the southern Indian Ocean," JACC said on Thursday.

"The simulator information shows only the possibility of planning. It does not reveal what happened on the night of the aircraft's disappearance, nor where the aircraft is located," it added.

An Angry Birds bag which washed up on the beach. Credit: Aircrash Support Group Australia

Malaysian investigators said in 2015 there was nothing suspicious in the financial, medical or personal histories of pilots or crew.

The two-year search of a 120,000 square kilometre patch - roughly the size of Greece - has cost almost A$180 million (£105 million).

Earlier this month officials said the search for the airliner will be called off it it is not found soon.

The engine piece and an interior panel were discovered in the Indian Ocean. Credit: Australian Transport Safety Bureau