Safety expert rules out fire behind disappearance of MH370

A safety expert has reportedly ruled out fire as the possible cause behind the mysterious disappearance of the Malaysia Airline passenger jet.

After it was revealed that lithium ion batteries were being carried in Flight 370's hold, it was believed that they were the reason for starting a fire in the plane.

However, operations and safety editor of Flightglobal, David Learmount, said that the pilots would have alerted air traffic control had there been a fire onboard, Sky News reports.

Learmount explained that the problem with batteries is that if they start reacting with each other, they cause an enormous amount of heat, which causes fire and the pilots would be immediately aware because of detectors.

The expert stressed that the idea that a pilot would keep a fire quiet was absolutely unthinkable, adding that the plane hasn't come down because of fire.

Although, he pointed that the theory that the aircraft was deliberately turned off course by someone who knew what they were doing was the most plausible explanation for its disappearance, the report said.

As the search enters its 14th day, rescue authorities have been trying to comb areas of the southern Indian Ocean for signs of objects spotted by US satellite, which could potentially be debris belonging to the ill-fated plane.

The Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8th with 239 people on board and went off radar just 40 minutes later. Since that day, a lot of theories have emerged trying to make sense of the mysterious disappearance.