GRAND FORKS (KFGO AM) University of North Dakota aviation expert Jim Higgins discounts most theories about the disappearance of the Malaysian airliner.
Higgins, a former airline pilot, believes suicide by one or more of the cockpit crew is a likely possibility. He says evidence the jet's comunication systems appear to have been deliberately shut down and the plane flew for several hours after losing contact with ground control rules out a catastrophic mid-air failure.
Higgins doubts the airliner could have landed somewhere because it would have been picked up on radar. Professor Higgins teaches long range navigation and advanced aircraft operations at UND's aviation school and is a CBS Radio News airline analyst.