Malaysian authorities investigating the disappearance of flight MH370 have identified the captain as its prime suspect, according to a report by The Sunday Times.

Captain Zaharie Shah, 53, has been identified as the lead suspect for the disappearance of the aircraft after a Malaysian special investigating branch ruled out the other passengers of the flight, the report said.

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However, investigators have not ruled out the possibility of terrorism or mechanical failure that caused the disappearance of the aircraft, but police said the captain was the likely suspect if the disappearance was caused by human error.

Investigators conducted more than 170 interviews and found that Captain Zaharie was an outgoing person with a strong penchant for gadgets. He also loved to upload videos on YouTube.

Investigators said that Zaharie was having troubles in his marriage that may have prompted possible pilot suicide, but the captain's family denied such claims. The friends and relatives of Captain Zaharie strongly denied allegations of his involvement in the mysterious disappearance of the airplane.

Nasir Osman, Zaharie’s classmate, said that the pilot was a cheerful person. Nasir also said that Zaharie was someone who would know what to do during a crisis.

Zaharie’s brother-in-law, Asaud Khan, denied that the pilot may have committed suicide. He said that Zaharie was not stupid to take the lives of the 238 people aboard the flight. He also said that the allegation against Zaharie was only a scapegoat.

Asaud also said that if the authorities pushed on blaming Zaharie, he would not sit down and let them. Instead, he would fight for his brother-in-law, he told an Australian TV program.

Zaharie’s daughter, Aishah, also refused to believe the speculations about her father as the lead suspect of the case.

Detectives also said that they found a programmed flight simulator in Zaharie’s house. The simulator has been programmed to rehearse flights into the southern part of the Indian Ocean with drills on how to land on an island with a short runaway. The drills were deleted files recovered by computer experts, said the report.

The authorities also cited that Zaharie has no future plans for work or social commitments. This was in contrast with the flight’s co-pilot, Fariq Hamid who planned to marry his girlfriend, Captain Nadira Ramli who works for AirAsia. The initial investigation has not yet been published but was already shared with foreign investigators and other countries.

The report from Sunday Times cited Southeast Asia government officials and those from the aviation industry as sources of the information. Meanwhile, the British Daily reported that Malaysian authorities said that the probe is still ongoing. Furthermore, the report said that authorities have not drawn their final conclusions as to who is responsible for the disappearance of flight MH370.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 left Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8 with 239 people aboard. Multinational efforts to locate the plane have been done yet no clear answers were found as of writing. The disappeerance of the giant Boeing 777 aricraft has been the greatest mystery of the aviation industry.

Tagsmh370, Malaysia Airlines, Boeing 777-200, Zaharie Shah