MH370: Malaysia Airlines Says Book Claiming To Know Truth Behind Missing Jet Is Based On 'Pure Conjecture'

Malaysia Airlines on Wednesday had harsh words for a book that claims to know the mystery behind Flight MH370 and holds the aircraft’s pilot responsible for the jetliner’s disappearance. The airline also reportedly voiced its disapproval about a recent news article titled “Malaysia Airlines flight forced into emergency landing after flying over Icelandic volcano."

“Goodnight Malaysian 370,” a book written by journalist Geoff Taylor and former pilot and investigator Ewan Wilson, reportedly claim in the book that Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the captain of the Boeing 777, “intentionally turned off the oxygen supply in the cabin and activated the autopilot feature.” The mysterious disappearance of Flight MH370, which went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board, has given rise to several theories about its whereabouts, and triggered an unprecedented search operation for the plane.

“There is no evidence to support any of the claims made in the book which is a product of pure conjecture for the purposes of profit by the authors and publishers,” the airline said in a statement, according to The Straits Times. “It must be noted that the duo are not involved in the investigation of MH370 yet they stray into the fields of science and medicine as self described ‘experts’ offering an analysis beyond their knowledge and abilities.”

The airline reportedly said that the search for the Boeing 777 is being conducted by a “strong international team led by Malaysia, with accredited representatives from the US, UK, Australia, China, France and Singapore,” and that “international organizations and the civil aviation industry” are also involved in the ongoing investigation.

“The authors and publishers should quite simply be ashamed of themselves for what is nothing more than a cheap and maligned publicity stunt, seeking to simply cash in on the suffering of the families and undermining the dignity of all of those on-board,” the statement reportedly said.

The struggling airline also slammed a news article published on worldnewsdaily.com -- a U.S.-based website -- on Sept. 15 as “amateurish reporting” containing “glaring falsehoods.” The article claimed that a Malaysia Airlines plane, flying from Paris to New York, was forced to make an emergency landing after flying over an active volcano in Iceland.

“The airline is deeply troubled that such irresponsible articles was allowed by the editors of the news portal to be published, and it calls on the public to not to be fooled by such blatant lies,” the airline reportedly stated. “Given recent tragedies, and despite the suffering of all, we believe that such stories only serve one purpose, that is to fuel conjecture, misunderstanding and instil fear amongst the travelling public. Whatever the motive behind the story, it does not represent the ethos of ethical and factual journalism.”

The company also reportedly said in the statement that it "operates the Kuala Lumpur/Paris/Kuala Lumpur sector utilising its A380 aircraft," and noted that the airline does not fly to "New York, or any other American destinations."

The airline also said, according to Herald Sun, that it "will not tolerate baseless allegations" and would take legal action against those who seek to publish false and misleading reports.

Malaysia Airlines, which has suffered two major aviation disasters this year, is in the midst of a corporate restructuring as the nation's government attempts to turn around the ailing company's fortunes. On July 17, Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine in an area controlled by pro-Russian separatists, killing all 298 people on board.