Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 has been the subject of several theories since it disappeared on March 8 during an overnight flight, but none of them have turned up any answers so far. The flight, with 239 passengers aboard, sent out a signal after communications were lost that gave investigators a wide area to search; from central Asia to the southern Indian Ocean. After several “eyewitness accounts” from fishermen and other workers near the open water, investigators say they still haven’t found significant evidence of what happened to the plane after communications ceased; theories have included terrorism and hijacking, especially after authorities discovered that there were two passengers on board with stolen passports. But now, the FBI is helping Malaysian authorities with the investigation after it was discovered that one of the pilots had deleted data on his home flight simulator, which may give them a clue as to whether or not he was involved.

The theory behind it is that because the plane was diverted from its original route–from a northeastward path across the Gulf of Thailand to the west, across the Malaysian Peninsula–then someone with experience with aircraft intentionally changed course. The question now is why, but investigators are hoping to recover the deleted data on Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s flight simulator and get some answers.

“Right now, it’s the best chance we have of finding something,” said an official, who asked to remain anonymous.

However, authorities are stressing that just because Captain Zaharie deleted data does not make him an automatic suspect. He has reportedly had the simulator for quite a while and was very open about its use, even posting videos with it on YouTube.

Image via Wikimedia Commons