Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing at 12.41am. At 1.07am, the last transmission was received from the plane, which said everything was operating normally, according to Malaysia Airlines.

The Boeing 777-200 is one of the most popular commercial jets in use, with more than 1,000 of the long-range planes in service with various airlines since 1995. There have been less than 60 reported incidences with the plane.