The satellite communications system on board the doomed Malaysia Airlines flight 370 was switched back on 40 minutes after "it went dark," a researcher has claimed.
The plane disappeared without a trace on March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.
Jeff Wise, an author and researcher, has investigated one the greatest aviation mysteries of all time since the plane vanished.
The expert said today: "Looking at the fine print of the Inmarsat data log, we saw that in fact the system had been turned off and then back on again.
"At 18:03, 42 minutes after the plane disappeared from air traffic control, radar the satellite tried to put through a text message. MH370’s satcom hadn’t responded.
"Then 22 minutes later at 18:25 MH370 initiated a log-on with Inmarsat. It was coming back online."
MH370 hunter who's '99% likely' to have found crash site sends out explorers
The researcher, of New York City, said this suggested the plane had not gone dark because of an electrical disaster.
Mr Wise, who wrote the book The Plane That Wasn’t There, told Daily Express : "Another detail of the Inmarsat data seemed a curiosity at first but in time would be recognised as having great significance.
"We had always assumed that while the transponder and radios had gone dark shortly after ‘Goodnight Malaysia Airlines 370’ the satcom system had remained active.
Google Maps tech expert claims he's found doomed flight MH370 in 'darkest part of Cambodian jungle'
"After all, whoever took the plane never used the satcom.
"They probably had no idea that its intermittent handshake exchanges could be used to track the plane, since the technique hadn’t been invented yet."
It was worked out that after the satellite communications system was turned back on over the Malacca Strait, the plane likely flew on for no more than 15 minutes before making a final turn south.
From 19:41 UTC the plane’s flight path matched a straight line, indicating that it was in autopilot.
However, it is still unclear why the person in charge of the plane would turn off the satcom and then turn it back on again, especially as it was never used.
It comes after a former pilot sensationally claimed the missing flight could have been heading towards a secret runway .
Ex-United Airlines pilot Randy Ryan reckons there is "zero possibility" it was as a result of an accident.
"So far what little debris that has been found was all found on the westerly route I am suggesting it was flown," he said.
